York Interfaith Group (YIG)
Newsletter – August 2016
· Editor’s Note
As it’s hot and lovely outside I’ll keep my note brief this month. We have to make the best of it while we can! And perhaps that doesn’t just mean the weather. Maybe that applies to our lives as well. Not in the epicurean sense of ‘eat drink and be merry’. But in terms of the way in which we apply ourselves, and make the best use of our precious time. I have a fiend dying prematurely from the awful cancer that has sapped his life from him. Visiting him in St Leonard’s Hospice (what a wonderful and peaceful, dignified place that is by the way) I asked him what he had learned from life. He said that ‘time is precious’. He is right. Viewed from the vast span of eternity, mortal life on this earth is very brief indeed. What we make of it matters. It matters what we do with our freedoms, knowledge, gifts and privileges (and we are privileged) and it matters who we become in the process. Then, maybe we will be able to leave this life in peace and with a confidence that what we face on the other side will be a warm welcome and a perpetually happy state of existence. As two passages in the Book of Mormon put it “this life is the time for men (and women) to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men (and women) to perform their labours” (Alma 34:32) and “Adam fell that that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy” (2 Nephi: 2:25).
· Contributions to our Monthly Newsletter
Thank you, to those who have sent contributions to . We welcome your articles, thoughts, events, notices, poems, views and questions for publication and discussion. We hope that our group is open, inclusive, transparent, participative and responsive to your needs.
· August York Interfaith Group Meeting
7.30pm Tuesday 2nd August 2016
York Interfaith Group Planning Meeting
Please bring vegetarian food to share
· York Interfaith Meeting the York MPs
In June York Central MP Rachael Maskell (Labour) asked to confer with members of York Interfaith Group to discuss topical issues where faith perspectives are helpful. A positive, constructive conversation took place at the City of York Council Station Rise offices with eight York Faith representatives putting their points in a spirit of mutual respect, civic participation and with caring for the society in which we live. Just a couple of items on the agenda included the ugly, sporadic rise of anti-semitism and the need for civility in political discourse. Engaging faith communities in political life and seeking contributions of religious leaders to public debates were also raised.
York Outer MP Julian Sturdy MP (Conservative) has subsequently also been contacted to provide the opportunity for the York MP from the other main party to hold a similar consultation and has agreed to do so. A date is being arranged for September. If anyone would like to participate please let Mark Cosens know on 07796095152.
· Faith Quotes: Thank you, to Sister Agatha, for providing:
“There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around shining like the sun.. There are no strangers. If only we could see each other as we really are all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, nor more cruelty, no more greed!” (Thomas Merton)
“..all the divisions between people and nations are being removed for me, There are moments when I see right through life and the human heart, when I understand more and more and become calmer and calmer, and am filled with a faith in God that has grown so quickly inside me that it frightened me at first but has now become inseparable from me” (Hetty Hillesum)
· All-Party Parliamentary Group on Faith and Society: Statement of Hope
In the summer of 2016, we find ourselves in difficult times as a nation. The reverberating context of the economic crash of 2008 and the growth of terrorism, crisis and wars in recent years have resulted in a great movement of people, which has led to distant problems rippling into our local settings. The European Referendum campaign and its aftermath have served as a lightning rod, and the result is great concern about uncertainty and intolerance.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Faith and Society was formed to support and promote the work of faith organisations in the United Kingdom. Faith groups are often the very glue of society; they provide a place for people to come together, they seek out solutions, and they provide hope. We want to affirm these values of community and hope for the United Kingdom today. Today, we need to draw on this legacy for the whole of the United Kingdom.
We, the undersigned, agree…
-That the United Kingdom has been and will continue to be a place of tolerance and sanctuary;
-That this nation has been and will continue to be at the forefront of the development of democracy, rights and freedom, that we are proud of these traditions, and that they are our most lasting export;
-That we have been and will continue to be a dynamic nation where many settle and play an important part in our economy and cultural life;
-That we have a hope in our nation; that the United Kingdom continues to have a positive role to play in the world 1;
-That we continue to have purpose to benefit not only the people of the United Kingdom, but also of Europe, the Commonwealth and the rest of the world 2.
Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP Chair APPG Faith and Society, Member of Parliament for East Ham
Gary Streeter MP Member of Parliament for South West Devon
Fiona Bruce MP Member of Parliament for Congleton
The Baroness Neuberger DBE Member of the House of Lords
The Rt Hon the Lord Tyler Member of the House of Lords
Rt Hon David Lammy MP Member of Parliament for Tottenham
Steve Double MP Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay
1. The United Kingdom is one of the founding members of the United Nations (serving as a permanent member on the Security Council), and is a member of NATO, the G7 and the Commonwealth.
2. The UK has committed to continue overseas aid.
· Launch of Muslim Community Safety Forum anti-Muslim Hate Crime Report 19th July 2015 PRESS RELEASE
The Muslim Community Safety Forum (MCSF) released its long awaited report following a conference last November and detailed important information relevant to the work of MCSF across West Yorkshire, and the need for the police, local authorities and third party reporting centres to work towards addressing the rising tide of anti-Muslim hate crime.
Kauser Jan, Chair of the MCSF said: “We are calling on the police, local authorities and others who deal with hate crime to do more in tackling the worryingly rising trend of anti-Muslim hate crime across West Yorkshire. Official statistics underestimate the extent anti-Muslim hate crime, as there is reluctance by victims to report.”
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the majority of those encountering anti-Muslim hate crime are Muslim women because of their visible religious identity markers. Whilst they are encouraged to come forward and report, they do not see the point.
The report cites that in November 2015, Islamophobic offences had more than doubled since 2010. According to the Home Office reports on Hate Crime in England and Wales in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015, racial and religious hate crime accounts for 88% of motivating factors for hate crime recorded by West Yorkshire Police. The police force recorded 40 anti-Islam hate crimes in the first six months since sub-categories of the faith strand of hate crime reporting was introduced on the 13th October 2014. This figure equated to 57.2% of all faith based hate crimes.
This figure worryingly increased to 75 incidents between June and November 2015, equating to 84.3% of faith based hate crimes. It is apparent that there is an increase in hate crimes against Muslim victims and after the 13/11/15 Paris attacks, out of 13 faith related occurrences, 12 were against Muslim victims.
“In order to be effective and help victims, we are recommending that awareness needs to be raised at a grass roots of the nature of hate crime and what actually happens once an incident has been reported; intelligence is shared on the numbers of victims of anti-Muslim hate crime and these figures are used to direct resources where they are needed most; and the five local authorities should commit to developing and implementing a Yorkshire-wide strategy to tackle Islamophobia. We are also very happy that Mark Burns-Williamson has agreed he will continue to work with the MCSF to challenge Islamophobia” Said Kauser Jan, Chair of the MCSF.
The MCSF is committed to increasing its strategic reach across West Yorkshire, whilst simultaneously actively trying to increase its representation.
Notes
1. For further information contact MCSF on: or
2. MCSF is a ‘legacy’ of the Building Bridges project and was set up in 2014, following the Islamophobia Awareness Month conference in Leeds.
3. The MCSF is a voluntary sector organisation that is run by volunteers who come from various professional backgrounds.
4. The objectives of the MCSF (West Yorkshire) are:
To promote the safety and well-being of Muslim communities across West Yorkshire
To promote a culture of reporting hate crime among Muslim communities
To facilitate the exchange and sharing of information, experience and expertise among statutory bodies, voluntary and community services
To promote and encourage the development of the highest professional standards and codes of practice
To encourage research, study, dissemination of information & to publish results & findings relating to Islamophobic & religious hate crime and faith-based religious incidents.
5. The full MCSF report can be downloaded here: http://hamara.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/MCSF-Report-Final.pdf
● YREN @ Yorkshire Day Festival
Monday 1st August at 12 – 3pm Parliament Street, York
York Racial Equality Network will be at the Yorkshire Day Festival and look forward to meeting and talking to members of York’s growing Diverse Communities.
We would like to hear about issues that are concerning you and what you like about living in York.
Have you experienced an increase in race hate incidents? If so have you reported it?
Have you had difficulties finding health services that recognise your cultural or religious needs?
Would you like a say in how services are planned?
York Racial Equality Network(YREN) works to improve community cohesion/engagement and ensure that views are York’s BME groups are heard. We’d like to hear about your experiences and what you think could be improved.
Please do come along on Monday 1st August 2016 we will have a stall just outside the main Marquee on Parliament Street.
We look forward to meeting you.
Rita Sanderson
Liz Hamilton (Voice Worker)
www.yren.co.uk
07593 405091
· Refugee Action York (RAY) – Service at the Unitarian Chapel
BY Margot brown - RAY
The Lord Mayor of York and Lady Mayoress, with Rev. Margaret Kirk who led a special Interfaith service in June at St Saviourgate Unitarian Chapel, York to mark the end of Refugee Week. With representatives of faith groups from York and organisations supporting refugees, including Refugee Action York, York Racial Equality Network , Amnesty International and York City of Sanctuary.
‘no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark.
You only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well’
Above are the opening four lines of the poem ‘Home’ by the Somali poet, Warsan Shire which was read by the Lord Mayor at an Interfaith service in the Unitarian Chapel, St Saviourgate to mark the end of Refugee Week 2016. Members of Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian, Ba’hai and Buddhist communities in York quoted from their scriptures the words which express the Golden Rule – ‘Do as you would be done by’
The service had been suggested by Margot Brown one of the organisers of Refugee Action York (RAY) and she worked together with Margaret Kirk on plans for it. During the service representatives from RAY, York Racial Equality Network (YREN), Amnesty International and York City of Sanctuary (YCoS) spoke about the work they do in York with refugees and their hopes and plans for the future.
The powerful and moving poem by Warsan Shire encouraged those listening to remember the phrase ‘Welcome home’. Welcome has been the theme of the 2016 Refugee Week and the event in York, on Saturday 25 June, was an installation and stall in Exhibition Square by Refugee Action York, Amnesty International, York and British Red Cross on the theme of welcome. The word ‘Welcome’ was written in shoes with a pathway of shoes walking towards it, symbolising the long journeys, often on foot, to reach somewhere safe which says ‘welcome’ made by so many refugees. In addition to these two events, the programme for Refugee Week was varied and stimulating ranging from music gigs, Festival of Ideas talks to films at the City Screen and a pub quiz. The Lord Mayor, Lady Mayoress and York Central MP, Rachel Maskel, attended several of the events during the week.