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Editorial:
Minority Report
Anna Rankin
Comment:
Racism in Ulster: Up-front and Ugly
Ken Newell
From
the Director: Naming Our Sin
David W Porter
Faith
in Ulster: Facing Up to Diversity
Stephen Skuce
Faith
and Practice
Walter Lewis
Interview
with Rose Ozo: Where the Heart Is
Anna Rankin
Craigavon:
Religious Liberty in the Shadow of Drumcree
Small Steps
Tim Foley
Embracing the Stranger
Richard Kerr
Review:
On Eagle's Wing
Ethel White
Review:
Conflict, Controversy and Co-operation
John W Morrow
Review:
The Subversive Manifesto
John Kyle
Review:
L is for Lifestyle
Claire Martin
Review:
It Will Not Be Taken Away From Her
Cary Gibson
Review:
Prophetic Untimeliness: A Challenge to the Idol of Relevance
Paul Rankin
Review:
Two Little Boys
John Gillespie
Review:
Son
David Smith
CRAIGAVON:
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY IN THE SHADOW OF DRUMCREE
IN THE WAKE of the row centring on objections to granting planning permission for Northern Ireland’s first purpose-built mosque, three miles outside Portadown, and an increasing number of racist attacks against Muslims in the area, a number of meetings were organised between the mainstream churches and representatives of the Muslim community in Craigavon. Methodist, Presbyterian, Church of Ireland, Catholic and Mennonite church leaders took part in the discussions facilitated by NICEM (Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities).
Discussion centred on two main aspects. Firstly, to find agreement among the local churches in regard to the persecution of members of minority ethnic communities and the personal attacks on families in Craigavon, some of whom had been burnt out and intimidated out of their homes. “As a persecuted minority you tend to assume the whole community is against you. Through these discussions their community representatives were able to discover that many in the wider community wanted to defend their interests and rights,” says Archdeacon David Chillingworth who was involved in the talks.
There is widespread concern about vulnerable minorities in the area and in particular incidents involving South East Asian nurses. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that not everything is reported in the media but enough is reported to cause serious concern. “These nurses are hugely respected in the community and they are seen to be gentle and kind to an extraordinary degree.”
The second area of discussion was linked indirectly to the dispute about planning permission for the mosque at Bleary in terms of what it would mean for the churches to defend the right of Muslims to have a mosque in Craigavon. Plans to construct the £200,000 mosque, funded by the Muslim community, on land donated by a member of their community, have been stopped in their tracks. There are about 200 Muslims in the Craigavon area. Friday prayers have been taking place in a community centre since vandals burnt a temporary mosque five years ago.
“From the Church of Ireland perspective, we wanted to be very clear that there was a need to be definite that the focus should not be interfaith issues or theological judgement – our concern was for religious freedom and the protection of minorities.” This concern to bring the language of civil and religious liberty to bear on this particular issue in Craigavon is underlined in a statement issued by Bishop Harold Miller:
“The Christian Gospel and the example of Jesus Christ should inspire Christian people to love and protect the small minority of people from other religious backgrounds who have made their home in Northern Ireland. This is a test of our preparedness to abhor racism, and especially subconscious and unacknowledged racism.
The whole issue of Bleary is not a question of interfaith worship, or of watering down our sincerely held beliefs – it is an issue of freedom of religious expression, something which we would all uphold.”
The intimidation many are experiencing is being seen as a transfer of sectarian feeling towards vulnerable minority ethnic communities. “In terms of the level of intimidation it is similar to what took place in Belfast in the mid-1970s. It is subtle and unseen but once people have been intimidated it is very difficult to stop them moving out.”
Much work remains to be done to provide adequate protection and support to these vulnerable communities. “The subtext to all these conversations was the realisation that it is hard for communities to support one another where there is no history or experience of relationship between Christian churches and the Muslim community.” Is this something the mainstream churches are taking on board? The discussions have at the very least generated a commitment to ongoing dialogue and ongoing assessment of the situation in regard to vulnerable minorities, but what more can local churches do?
David Chillingworth identifies the basic problem as the lack of ongoing, visible contact with people from ethnic minorities. Often, people are simply not aware that they are there and when trouble erupts they are out before anything can be done. “It is very difficult to do anything that is not just tokenism unless we develop real and lasting relationships – in which case many things become possible – this applies as much to ecumenical relations as to relationships with people from minority ethnic communities.”
“This is one example of how we in the Church of Ireland are becoming much more conscious about what Christian identity actually means and questioning at an institutional level what our ‘community of interest’ really is. The Hard Gospel initiative that I am involved in is, in part, a consciousness-raising initiative taking place within the Church of Ireland. It is an attempt to see racism, sectarianism, sexism, and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation etc., as issues which are all linked and which basically stem from an inability or unwillingness to deal with difference.” The Hard Gospel process is trying to get the Church of Ireland at all levels to engage with these issues.
“We have had to ask ourselves ‘What does civil and religious liberty mean in the shadow of Drumcree?’ If we seek to uphold civil and religious liberty it must be for everyone, not just for some.” He is confident that by and large the church has been moving away from over-identification with sectional interests and the defence of traditional alliances in favour of an approach which seeks to express concern for the good of all people in society.
In the end, Craigavon Borough Council granted planning permission for the mosque and the Muslim community in the area are now taking time to consider how best to move forward with the project.
ARCHDEACON DAVID CHILLINGWORTH is Rector of Seagoe Parish. From a conversation with Anna Rankin on 5th August 2004.
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