Challenging Times

Justice should be blind. But in Greater Manchester last week, it received a poke in the eye.

The statue of Justice on the Old Bailey carries a scales (symbolising the need to weigh the issues) and a sword (symbolising the power to execute judgment). Justice is blindfold (symbolising her impartiality) – she judges the issues without any bias for or against the individual involved.

This is rooted in our Judaeo-Christian heritage. For example, Leviticus 19:15 says, ‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favouritism to the great, but judge your neighbour fairly.’

Our civil society used to be based on this principle that the law treats everyone equally, regardless of who they are.

Not any more, apparently. Increasingly, it seems that (as George Orwell said in ‘Animal Farm’) that while all of us are equal, some of us are more equal than others.

This past week, the Greater Manchester Police issued their officers with advice not to arrest Muslims at prayer times during the month of Ramadan, out of sensitivity to possible community tensions.

Even some Muslim community leaders have called this policy lunacy.

Mohammed Shafiq of the Ramadhan Foundation, said, ‘we must all be equal under the law.’ He is right. He went on to say, ‘If people think Muslims are immune from the law, it will only stir up tensions within the community.’ Right again.

Could we imagine the police deciding not to arrest a Christian suspect at Church on a Sunday, if it suited them to do so? No, seriously. Could we?

The people who make and administer our laws are increasingly driven by what is expedient, rather than by the principle of justice and equality. ‘Justice’ becomes whatever you can get for yourself by shouting loudest. Then they wonder why crime is increasing, and why the police, the legal system, and government itself is held in growing contempt by the governed.

BBC report: Ramadan arrest advice ‘is lunacy’

The Christian Research Association has published the results of its most recent English Church Census. This apparently shows that the rate of decline of church attendance in the UK is slowing down. (It’s a bit triumphalist to say that this amounts to ‘pulling out of’ the nose dive, but no doubt it will be seized on as good news by churches across the country: Look! The guy is bleeding to death less quickly than he was!)

Christian Research have prepared a slide show in various formats (Powerpoint, pdf, Corel presentation) to summarise the most important results of the census. Go here.. They also have a press release, and details of a series of roadshows across the UK in the next few months.

The most common cause of wars is religious differences. This is what most people in the UK think, according to a recent survey by YouGov for International Alert. This bears out my subjective impression that people are increasingly terrified by what they see to be the threat of religious fundamentalism (and that they do not distinguish between fundamentalist brands of different religions). You can read the full results of the survey here. There is also a pdf press release.