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November 14, 2006

Britons Critical of Christless Christmas

Topics: Faith

It appears that contrary to American media, the ACLU, and multicultural secular progressives in the U.S., the British apparently "get it" when it comes to keeping Christ in Christmas (albeit for not all the right reasons):

[...] The Christian Muslim Forum, set up by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual head of the Church of England, complained that taking the Christian message out of Christmas played into the hands of extreme nationalists who then accuse Muslims of undermining Britain's Christian culture.

"The desire to secularize religious festivals is in itself offensive to both our communities," said Ataullah Siddiqui, vice chairman of the forum.

Anglican Bishop of Bolton David Gillett said that when local authorities rename Christmas so as not to offend other religions, their stance "will tend to backfire badly on the Muslim community in particular."

"We are concerned that those approaches, which are based on anti-religious philosophies or a fear of religion, are causing alienation in a wide variety of communities and fanning the growth of extremism," said Bishop Gillett, the forum chairman.

[...] "We are concerned that those approaches, which are based on anti-religious philosophies or a fear of religion, are causing alienation in a wide variety of communities and fanning the growth of extremism," said Bishop Gillett, the forum chairman.

"Sadly, it is [Muslims] who get the blame for something they are not saying. And after all, the Koran speaks with honor about Jesus and tells of his birth to Mary, a virgin," he added.

The threat of radical Islam, rammed home by the London bombings in July last year, has led Britain to rethink its traditionally tolerant attitude toward ethnic minorities.

The government has opened a debate on whether the policy of not imposing a single British identity on immigrants, and instead promoting multiculturalism, has led to the segregation of minority communities.

Secular progressivism affects all faiths, not just Christians and Jews. It's about time that people of all faiths begin coming together, in genuine tolerance for one another, and let it be known to the secular progressives that faith is the glue that holds a people and a culture together, and that tinkering with it is equally offensive to people of all faiths (or at least it should be).

Posted by Richard at November 14, 2006 8:15 AM

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