Whaaattt?

It is certainly outrageous to claim the Remembrance Sunday parades are an act of prayer. They are an act of remembrance and recognition for people who have given their lives, willingly or not sacrificing their tomorrows for our today and many had no, or very different, belief systems from the west.

That Imam is quite something and absolutely right about extremism creeping in.

I've said it before, if you migrate to another country with a different culture, especially if seeking safety, you should accept the laws and mores and not impose your own. Tolerance and respect work two ways. Beliefs should not be thrust down other people's throats.

 

I think the point being made is not that Remembrance Day is a religious event in itself, but that many (most?) of the events commemorating the Armistice are religious, usually Christian. The fact that most events are on the nearest Sunday (Remembrance Sunday) rather than on the 11th itself points to that too.

In the same way, iftar is actually the meal that breaks the fast. The fast is as cultural as it is religious but is obviously heavily intertwined with religion, taking place after sunset prayers, but the thing that people seem to have been offended by is the praying. Obviously if you are offended by people 'being religious' in public (I'm not, as long as it's not imposing on me) then you will be offended by the open iftar as much as prayers at remembrance services or religious carols and Bible readings at Christmas events. That is your prerogative. The fact that this has come up now, about this particular event, after years of peaceful, inclusive and quite joyous occasions involving many religions and none is quite telling though.

 

Surely that is because a Sunday is the one likely to cause the least disruption, similar to Easter being around a weekend , friday and monday as with most bank holidays being a monday.

The only one that is held on the actual day is Christmas day.

 

As far as Trafalgar Square goes it annoys me that those public figures using the media to express their 'outrage ' never actually go there unless there is a photo op.
We go down there quite often at night (usually late) when the weather is warm and there are often youngsters playing music, dancing and having fun. It's good fun.
It's a public space. So if Muslims want to say their prayers there once a year, so what. I despise all religion equally but the freedom that we have to believe and think as we wish, and not as we're told to, is a very precious freedom.

 

Definitely the nearest Sunday to cause least disruption @LG_, just as, in the UK, May Day is the first Monday of May and Whitsun the last, regardless of when they actually fall.

In Belgium and France, Armistice/Remembrance Day is celebrated on the 11th of November, regardless of when it falls, as are May Day and Whit Monday.

 

That's a very fair point. I think when you get a gov singling out one group and saying they must have special protection against questioning or criticism, people think "Now hold on a minute ...".

One thing's for sure. The event will get lots of attention from now on.

 

Indeed - or as is the case here, the opposite. No special pleading, nothing to see here, until someone decided to dog whistle and the populists stepped up.

.

 

Some politicians play up to one group, others to a different sector. Both are attempting "populism" in their different ways. If they think it has votes in it, they'll back anything. Activities that were jogging along without comment get caught in the spotlight.

 

I like the way BBC's Saturday Kitchen team do specials for Diwali, Eid and Hanukkah as well as Xmas and Easter - concentrating on the sharing and celebratory aspects we can all enjoy. Seeing the human side of religions without being evangelical about it has to help break down barriers against tolerance.

 

It may have been mentioned earlier, but police had to protect a single individual's right to speak about Christianity in what the police were told was 'a Muslim' area. If it's a Muslim area why don't they have these mass gatherings there?

 

Who told the police it was a Muslim area?
If a Christian turned up in my garden and started to "speak" about Christianity they'd need police protection.
Anyway there is no such thing as a "Muslim area" or a "Christian area" it's all England.

 

Just heard on the radio that the person likely to become the next DG of the BBC is a former head of Google Europe, what made me smile was that he is said to be well liked having rowed for both Cambridge and Oxford.

 

Apparently the US military have requested a further $200 billion for the Iran campaign, restocking munitions and worryingly future actions!
Cuba obviously but where after that, Diego Garcia, Greenland?

 

They are using Patriot missiles that cost $4m a time to shoot down Russian made Shahed drones that are estimated to cost $20 to 30000. They also are using fighter jets costing billions to buy and keep flight worthy to shoot the drones. That's a huge imbalance @NigelJ

Just imagine how much food, medicine, housing and education they could provide to their own people for all that money.

Trump has pushed the US national debt to almost $39trillion as of March 2026. That's up 2 trillion on one year and is not likely to diminish any time soon. Quite the contrary.