The task of integration” “

An attack on an Anglican church by a group of Moslem youth. It happened in the church of Saint Philip in Bradford, a town in northern England where half the population is of Asian origin. “Those responsible for the attack are unemployed youngsters – explains Father Patrick McCuffrey , in charge of interreligious dialogue in the diocese of Leeds – ; they belong to the second generation of immigrants, who are torn halfway between their Asian and British identity. An episode not linked to religious fanaticism. This gang is certainly not interested in dying for Osama Bin Laden”. After France, the enquiry that SIR Europe is conducting into the various Islamic communities present in the continent now continues with England (cf. Sir Europe no. 5/2001 ). After the 11 September, explains McCuffrey, the relations between Christians and Moslems became strained, but I’m an optimist, I’m convinced that the majority of British Moslems wish to live in peace; all they ask is that their own religious identity be recognized”. Overcoming conflict and ghettoization. Father McCuffrey’s analysis is shared by Philip Sumner, another frontier priest, famous in the UK for having revived economic, social and religious life in one of the most run-down and deprived areas in the country, the Moss Side district in Manchester. Since 11 September he has been active in the parish of Oldham, the theatre of violent clashes in May this year between the police and the population of Asian origin. “The situation of tension between Christians and Moslems antedates the terrorist attacks of 11 September”, he emphasizes. The Moslems live, work and socialize without any need to enter into contact with the British culture that hosts them. “They are ghettoized – adds Sumner – and feel themselves excluded from jobs and schools, and discriminated against by the police. When they claim to be second-class citizens, we have to agree with them”. “I believe – concludes Father Sumner – that forging a dialogue between white majority and Moslem minority is a continuous task that requires a fund of hope and patience. We need faith in dialogue, an awareness that each little step forward will bring us closer together and become a point of no return”. Some facts and figures. According to the statistics contained in the report “Religious Trends: Issue No.3”, a study published by Christian Research, the Moslem population in the UK is increasing and in forty years time the number of practising Moslems will exceed that of Christians, Catholics included. And while the number of those attending mosques is increasing, the number of Anglicans and the members of the other Protestant congregations is in decline. At the present time, there are some 600,000 practising Moslems in the UK as against one million or so Anglicans. These figures are all the more significant if we consider that the members of the Anglican Church are representative of a population of over 50 million, while the total Moslem population is barely one million. The Catholics who regularly attend Mass amount to just over one million out of a population of some five million. The intensification of Moslem religious practice is visible in the urban landscape of the UK, where the minarets of mosques have shot up in cities throughout the country. Although there are occasional episodes of tension, such as the recent attack on the church of Saint Philip in Bradford, it may be said that the UK is an example of harmonious co-existence between Christians and Moslems. The right of minorities to preserve their own cultural and religious identity is recognized. Collaboration between Moslems and Christians. Optimistic about the state of interreligious relations is also Dr. Zaki Badawi, head of the Muslim College of Ealing Broadway in north London, the seminary where future imans study. “I don’t believe – he says – that the terrorist attacks of 11 September will have any negative consequence on the state of relations between Christians and Moslems. The majority of British Moslems condemn violence and want to live in peace”. In Great Britain two of the most important associations of international aid, one Catholic and the other Moslem, have been cooperating together since 11 September to respond to the grave humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Cafod, the aid organization of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, and Islamic Relief, its Moslem counterpart, have declared that they are proud of their ability to work side by side during this grave crisis.