Iran nuclear deal: Obama is fulfilling Shia 'End Times' prophecy
The Iran nuclear deal thrashed out between Tehran and Washington has heartened 99% of the world. It was a triumph for diplomacy; the vindication of politics; a welcome and…
Islam
Cameron can no more "destroy the Caliphate" than he can abolish the New Jerusalem
David Cameron's long-awaited speech on Islamic extremism (aka Islamism) was sort of worth waiting for. As he expounded his 'One Nation' vision to defeat the "poison" of extremism, he peppered the strategy with important Conservative themes of "shared community",…
The greatest weapons against ISIS are grace and truth
As our nation falls silent at midday on Friday we will mourn with those who mourn and hold in our thoughts and prayers those who lost their lives in Tunisia…
Pastor James McConnell charged for "satanic Islam" broadcast
Pastor James McConnell delivered a sermon at the Whitewell Metropolitan Tabernacle in Belfast on 18th May 2014, in which he denounced Islam with all the zeal of the prophet…
ISIS one year on: Christianity brings hope in the midst of suffering
Exactly one year ago tomorrow, Islamic extremists calling themselves ISIS (/ISIL/Islamic State) seized control of Mosul and its surrounding provinces following the rapid capitulation of the Iraqi military. In the…
The undue political interference of 'undue spiritual influence'
Giles Fraser (pictured centre) has written a perfectly-pitched (yes, indeed) piece, 'Is it one rule for the Hindus and another for the Muslims?', which relates to the judgment in…
If Labour wins, Islamophobia will become a crime and truth stifled
This is a guest post by the Rev'd Canon Dr Gavin Ashenden – author, theologian and Chaplain to the Queen (one of c35) ___________________ I had never heard of the…
Labour candidates address sex-segregated election rally
We are not in Lahore in the Punjab, but Hodge Hill, Birmingham. It is not a private gathering in a mosque or other sanctified space of holiness, but a…
Westminster Abbey acknowledges Mohammed in succession of prophets
"Peace be upon all auspicious prophets of God, from Adam, Noah and Abraham to Moses, Jesus and Mohammed Mustafa.." That wasn't quite how the prayer was rendered in Westminster…
BBC 'Kill the Christians' – at last, thank God, but please don't leave it there
As regular readers of His Grace’s blog will be fully aware, the plight of Christians around the world is a subject that is discussed frequently on these pages. I…
Queen's chaplain agnostic on "good or evil" violence in the Qur'an
Apparently, young people are turning to Jihad because school's a drudge and mainstream religion is not sufficiently 'exciting'. That's the general headline summary of a speech given by Justin…
Let’s stop reviling Islam with ‘Islamism’, and call the cult what it really is
Rather like the Naming of Cats, the classifying of Islamic sects is a difficult matter, and it’s certainly not just one of your Eid-Al-Fitr games. As we’ve witnessed the…
Prophet, Islamist, cartoon or bear: which Mohammed most offends?
Apparently we now know the identity of the Islamist butcher known as 'Jihadi John', who has an undoubted penchant for making snuff movies involving the decapitation of charitable and…
BBC spins disaffected Muslims to deflect from emerging Islamists
The BBC published the results of a ComRes poll yesterday, which they spun in their own inimitable multiculturally-sunny and cloudless way. 'Most British Muslims "oppose Muhammad cartoons reprisals"', they…
Christian dead exhumed after Muslims object to burial next to unbeliever
So, there you are, happily resting in peace, with flights of angels singing thee to thy rest, and then you realise that someone has already been interred right next…
Ukip ban on non-stun slaughter will affect Jews more than Muslims
When David Cameron spoke at the Knesset almost a year ago, he was unequivocal in his opposition to anti-Israel boycotts; his support for a two-state solution; and his denunciation…
What are 'Muslim values', Lady Warsi?
The problem is her article's timing, and that when David Cameron stretched out his hand in friendship and promoted and indulged her time and again, there was impatience, irritability…
Mehdi Hasan: "No Reformation in Europe without Muslim theologians"
Mehdi Hasan delivered an oratorically brilliant if rather sanctimonious speech at the Oxford Union in May 2013, which now rings in the head like tinnitus in the wake of…
Cameron rebukes the Pope
The Pope of Rome hath erred. Again. In the wake of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Pope Francis was asked by journalists aboard the papal plane what he thought of the…
Farage is right to defend our Judæo-Christian heritage
Some things in politics are so utterly predictable that we can guess what our politicians are going to say with a high degree of certainty before they open their…