The Virgin Mary “wore a hijab”, showing Islam’s attitude to women does not conflict with Western values, council staff who handle anti-terror work have been told in a talk about Islamophobia. The Telegraph has more.
In a talk about Islamophobia, North Yorkshire council staff who handle anti-terror work were taught that Islam’s attitude to women did not conflict with Western values.
An example used was that “Mother Mary wore a hijab”.
The lecture was part of a publicly funded training programme titled Project Unity, which the Telegraph understands has also been presented to students, police officers and civil servants responsible for the counter-extremism Prevent programme.
The presentation also said that “Jesus grew a beard”, as Muslim men are instructed to, and stated that “the hijab was prevalent in the UK only 100 years ago”, with images showing shawls common in early 20th-century Britain. These have no relation to Islam.
No images of either Mary or Jesus were made for centuries after their lifetimes, and Jesus was initially depicted as a beardless youth.
As a Jewish woman in the 1st century, it is likely that Mary wore a head covering, and she is often depicted in later artworks with some kind of shawl or veil. She lived 600 years before the advent of Islam and the codification of rules around the hijab, which today refers to a scarf that covers the hair.
The Project Unity training was delivered by Abbas Najib, a former police officer and now the Chief Executive of the Better Communities Bradford charity.
Since 2019, the charity has received £490,000 in public funding from the National Lottery Communities Fund, including a £35,000 grant to roll out Project Unity, a series of lectures designed to tackle Islamophobia and concerns that Muslim beliefs are antithetical to British values.
Material includes defences of Sharia, which is said to be no different to Christian doctrine, with slides stating: “Sharia is not a foreign threat. It is a moral tradition – like any other – shaped by faith, reason and a commitment to human dignity.”
It adds that one element of Islamic jurisprudence requires that “children cannot be struck on the face, cannot be marked, and must freely consent to marriage”.
Slides also defend pro-Palestinian marches, which are said in the talks to be “protesting genocide”.
On Tuesday, the Telegraph revealed that an institutional talk based on this Project Unity material was delivered to North Yorkshire Police officers at a hate crime conference last year.
In footage of the talk, Najib lectured attendees about Nigel Farage, comparing the Reform UK leader’s opinions – specifically his doubts about the compatibility of Islam with British values – to a racially aggravated offence.
Well, as long as the children are freely consenting to marriage, that’s alright then…
Worth reading in full.
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1) At a similar Muslim training programme forced upon the police years ago, one police constable asked the Muslim imam an awkward question:
“Is it true that no Muslim man, woman or child is guaranteed entry to Paradise unless they have killed an infidel, or died trying to kill one?”
The Muslim imam was taken aback, but when pressed by several other officers, he sheepishly said, “Yes.”
2) Remember that ONLY THE VICTIMS of sodomite rape are considered “Guilty” by Islam, for “Tempting the Innocent Rapists”, and only the victims can be thrown off high buildings. Islam uses the same justification for raping women, children & goats. Islamic teachings say that if a Muslim rapes his goat, he is forbidden to eat the meat, but must kill the goat to punish it for “tempting him”, and sell the raped goat meat in another town.
its time all tax funded donations to any charity were stopped
Thank goodness I am retired and no longer live in Yorkshire. It will probably be only a matter of time before the local Health Trusts introduce compulsory “ combating Islamophobia “ indoctrination sessions, as the one at which it was my misfortune to work forced all employees to attend a session titled “ Celebrating Diversity “. Every religion other than Christianity was lauded. The chaplain and I put up a robust defence, but nowadays, we would no doubt end up on some government list of subversives. This was before 2006, when I escaped, so it has been going on for a long time.
Not to forget that Joseph (if I’m to believe the art works I’ve seen over the years) sported a beard of middle-eastern luxuriance, which probably means he was a moslem.
first off, how do they know this, i guess they must have a photograph of her or a written statement from one of her relatives that’s still alive. Secondly where did she buy them from, I guess (again) it must have been Amazon. If you think my post is a load of b……. then it’s far better than this garbage coming out of Bradford, the sink hole of yorkshire..
Unlike Judaism and Christianity, there is a scarcity of contemporary accounts and archaeological evidence for the supposed roots of Islam. It was a religion manufactured from taking bits of other religions and heresies, attempting to validate itself by ascribing its belief systems to recognised historical and religious figures. What this talk highlights is that the pattern hasn’t changed; Islam still attempts to subvert to its own end.
You wrote “It was a religion manufactured from taking bits of other religions”.
True. But who did that? Islam was invented by the wealthy 40-year-old Jewish Yemeni woman who asked her 25-year-old employee Mohammed to marry her, then later wrote the Koran for him, based upon the Jewish Talmud but written in Classical Arabic, but Mo didn’t know it, because he was illiterate.
It was Jewish Yemeni Khadija whose vast wealth, inherited from her Jewish Yemeni father, funded Mo’s expeditions of conquest (“Convert or lose your head!”). Islam was invented by Jewish Yemenis as a Proxy Army to destroy Christianity while deflecting all blame away from the Jews. That’s why the two religions are so similar.
Didn’t Islam emerge about 600 years after Christianity? So the hijab wouldn’t have existed anyway…
God works in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform.
Things that predate their invention being his speciality.
Yes, most of the inhabitants of such desert regions wear similar garments to keep the sand out of their hair.
How does a dress habit from two millennia ago have any relevance to Britain today?
Large areas of British cities are still dressing that way?
The most evil thing on the planet is religion itself. It has caused more misery, suffering and death than anything else. The sooner the human race stops worshipping non existent mythical entities the sooner we can all live in peace.
Ignorant and stupid in the most feral way.
You mean like Scientism, Atheism, Socialism, Communism, Rona-ism and all the other ‘non religious’ cults you support.
The Koranimal cult is not a religion.
It is a political-theocratic fascism.
See the Roman empire – the white slave empire – for more info.
(and no idiot boy you would not have been the effem cicero walking around waving your hands philosophising, you would have been illiterate, maybe a white slave, poor, a soldier, and dead by the age of 35).
I do not agree that religion is evil. It is no more evil in itself than politics or patriotism. The world’s major religions promote fairness, order and basic standards of morality. In a world that is baffling and unsettling, religious belief provides a way of putting events into perspective. You may see that as delusional, or you may see it as a sort of coping mechanism based on unreality, but either way it can bring comfort.
The problem arises when religion is weaponised by fanatics to impose their beliefs and their will on others. I’m not talking about open conversation and an exchange of views here, but coercion and punishment for refusal to convert. In exactly the same way that party politics morphs into totalitarianism, or patriotism morphs into xenophobia. That is what leads to warfare and suffering.
In the 1960s and early 70s my Mum often wore a headscarf when going out, although as time went on she stopped doing so. It wasn’t a hijab. She also wore a hat in church, as did many women of her age, but in later years even that stopped as fashions and practices changed.
As did our late queen.
I always thought Mary wore lycra leggings and a tank top
Lycra leggings would explain the virgin birth. Just hoping God has a sense of humour now.
We’ve yet to establish whether she favoured elaborate gel nails.
As a Catholic I take extreme offence that this falsehood is being told about the Virgin Mary who is held in great reverence by Catholics, and how this is just accepted as ok by the Government and its Public sector operatives including Prevent.
If the same abuse was said about the Prophet to the same audience can you imagine the level of retribution which would be visited on those who taught such things? why is it ok for Muslims to abuse the Catholic faith and the Government laps it up, and does nothing to stand up for the Catholic faith?
I am a free speech believer and I was not offended by films such as the Life of Brian etc, but I feel now the need to say something as why is it allowed that this abuse can take place? indeed this veiled hatred and two tier justice is once again absolutley apparant by this Government?
I often ask “if they did/said this same thing to Muslims, what would happen?”
A few points if I’m allowed.
Where the hell were you clowns during the Muslim Jihad of the medeival era?
Sodomising each other in imitation of that corrupt clown Luther and playing God (and politics).
I think you are generalising re belief only true Christians, I for one do not believe that, I do also believe that Religion like anything else is open to challenge, can be taken the P out of etc. I am not a devout Catholic and I believe people can worship any Religion. True faith and belief is not rocked by others questioning etc. However; Islam believes non of these things, they have and do kill people for doing nothing more than showing an image of Mohamed, or for slightly bending a page of the Koran, they constantly push themselves ahead in front of the Christian country they have elected to live in, demanding special priviliges, and being granted them by pople in power who either want their votes, or are scared of the consequences if they do not grant them. They have now visibly turned on other religions, the Jews, and now the Christians with this toe in the water regarding the Virgin Mary.
I am fed up the creeping Islamification of the country.
I was already a lapsed Catholic when JC Superstar was originally a ‘thing’, but resisted all attempts by then-girlfriends who tried to cajole me into watching it.
Lapsed, perhaps, but the idea struck me as distasteful. Besides which, the snippets of its songs I’ve heard over the years tell me it was a blessed decision.
Thank you for taking the time to respond.
F&F ps to my comment.
Our family, despite some initial reservations, were delighted to have an Irish Catholic girl marrying one of our younger male members. I have equal respect and affection for my Catholic colleagues. My negative views apply only to the hierarchy of the Church and their aggressive policies over centuries. Nevertheless, I hope that one day there will be an Irish pontiff (there has never be one) to change my opinion.
“Since 2019, the charity has received £490,000 in public funding”
This nonsense did not start when Labour took office.
People in this country are so largely ignorant of history, the Catholic tradition, and art that they are likely to swallow anything.
Professor Dumbledore sports a beard. Is Harry Potter an Islamic story? But then as Revelation also describes Jesus as wearing female garb, an ankle length garment, ‘tied at the paps’, he could just as well be made out to be trans.
I’m not sure the Islamic police would approve of all that hair showing.