One is reminded of King Lear, broken on the heath, by the immensity of human loss and suffering. London, and the UK, is reaching a summer breaking point. As temperatures soar to 31 Celsius, murder, hate and death keeps erupting in weekly events, each unbearable for both victims, and any bystanders with a heart or soul.
Last night, a terror attack on law-abiding, decent, and needless to say, blameless, Muslim British people attending a Mosque, injured many. This is awful, and this blog is not going to state the obvious here. But we did not want this event to pass without comment.
This blog considers the British Muslim population of the UK to be an incredible, enriching, and valuable part of the whole intermixed splendour that is UK culture and society. Far from being a fifth-column, Muslims in the UK are - as we saw after the Grenfell Tower Fire - as compassionate or more compassionate than any other community - and their doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, workers, drivers, artists, musicians, writers, actors, newscasters, and so on - add extraordinarily to this nation. None of this should have to be said - but some hate-filled people clearly think that you have to be white and Christian to be English or British, and any one who does not fit into a very narrow image of Britishness is a threat.
It is so terrible to see what is happening in our streets, we are unravelling. But people of faith, people who care for each other, keep appearing to remind us, that we are human, and deserve to be treated fairly, and with kindness. The other day at a Westminster summer fayre, while bands and choirs sang, a broad and relaxed audience of all faiths, and races, laughed, danced and ate together. It was a paradisal vision of brother and sisterhood. We are possibly a much better humanity that we sometimes recognise. Time for better angels to stay the course.
Last night, a terror attack on law-abiding, decent, and needless to say, blameless, Muslim British people attending a Mosque, injured many. This is awful, and this blog is not going to state the obvious here. But we did not want this event to pass without comment.
This blog considers the British Muslim population of the UK to be an incredible, enriching, and valuable part of the whole intermixed splendour that is UK culture and society. Far from being a fifth-column, Muslims in the UK are - as we saw after the Grenfell Tower Fire - as compassionate or more compassionate than any other community - and their doctors, nurses, teachers, engineers, workers, drivers, artists, musicians, writers, actors, newscasters, and so on - add extraordinarily to this nation. None of this should have to be said - but some hate-filled people clearly think that you have to be white and Christian to be English or British, and any one who does not fit into a very narrow image of Britishness is a threat.
It is so terrible to see what is happening in our streets, we are unravelling. But people of faith, people who care for each other, keep appearing to remind us, that we are human, and deserve to be treated fairly, and with kindness. The other day at a Westminster summer fayre, while bands and choirs sang, a broad and relaxed audience of all faiths, and races, laughed, danced and ate together. It was a paradisal vision of brother and sisterhood. We are possibly a much better humanity that we sometimes recognise. Time for better angels to stay the course.
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