My apologies to any readers who have missed my posts over the past few weeks. I’ve been taken over by preparations for the Newham elections on 6th May. 
The Christian Peoples Alliance is putting up candidates for Newham Council right across the borough; I’m standing as CPA candidate for Newham’s executive Mayor; and in the national General Election on the same day we’re running a candidate – Stan Gain – in the West Ham parliamentary constituency.
This is a massive exercise for a small party that relies almost entirely on volunteers. But we’re up and running, the initial exhausting preparation and organisation is over, the campaign is going well and I’ve now a little more time for blogging.
On the doors it appears many people are confused about how to vote in the General Election. “They’re all the same” and “I can’t tell the difference” is a common refrain, and apathy a common result. Many it seems won’t vote at all.
So I was amused to see this refusenik position being bolstered recently by handbills that suddenly sprouted on walls and advertising hoardings around my neighbourhood. ‘Voting is Haram’ they announced – ‘haram’ being an Arabic term for ‘forbidden by Islamic law’. Muslims were being urged not to vote in the elections.
This is of course a minority position within the Muslim community (here) that is propounded mainly by extremist groups like Hizb-ut-Tahrir and al-Muhajiroun and its successors. And it’s in interesting contrast to Premier Christian Radio’s worthy initiative called ‘I Promise To Vote’ (here) which attempts to mobilise Christians for the elections.
Personally I’ve always insisted on going to the polling station and fulfilling my civic duty. But in the past, when faced with the mind-numbingly anodyne and limiting choice of one of the three main parties (which is Box and which is Cox?), I’ve often scrawled ‘Christ is King’ across the ballot paper and stuffed it in the box.
It may have been a spoilt ballot paper, but at least I’ve expressed my views.
April 21st, 2010 at 8:01 pm
Imagine if you lot ever got into power, you force the lot of us in churches and close down the shopping (and Mosques/Temples/Gudawaras) centre on Sundays. Any religion besides Christianity will just be persecuted like the inquisitions in Spain during the Dark Ages.
So why would I ever want to vote for these extremists? Why would anyone, oh…. unless your a Christian you might get special treatment, that’s why its called the ‘Christian Peoples Alliance’, just for Christians, anyone else will just have to burn in hell for eternity.
how nice…not really just a bunch of bullies
April 27th, 2010 at 7:53 am
Sandy, where on earth did you get those nutty ideas from?
April 28th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
Actually these nutty ideas that your referring to are in the History books, we don’t have to look to far back what Christianity did to those who did not follow its strict doctrine.
so if you read the history books the inquisitions actually had taken place on Planet Earth, maybe your on a different planet from us then?
But you don’t have to look to far to see what could happen if these extremist ever got into power, just read Alan’s blog and you will see for your self. its all about how terrible other religions are and how good the Christian religion is, mind you Alan has never really spoken about how the church scandal that have been taken place where the innocence of children’s have been robbed by these so called good Christians.
Ahhh the hypocrisy is breathtaking sometimes
April 29th, 2010 at 6:07 am
Ah yes, the Inquisition, the Inquisition, the Inquisition. Two thousand years of creative and caring Christianity and, as is typical, you refer to one awful blot on the religion’s record. I don’t see you refering to those Christian non-conformists and protestants who across Europe and elsewhere took on the authorities and the institutional church and thereby opened up society to free speech and democracy.
Furthermore, it’s only Christianity and those public values that flow from it that will protect minority faiths etc. Our elitist authoritarian nanny state is a direct result of secularised thinking that reckons the state is god, that the state can (and should) control everything, and that it can (and sometimes should) close down our freedoms in order to handbag us all into line. Despite the historical blots on the church’s record, it’s still very true that freedom and space to differ (ie liberal democracy to use our terminology) are at the heart of the Christian Gospel.
A major problem for you however is not only that godlessness results in an authoritarian nanny state (or worse), but that it also causes mass slaughter – or at least, the evidence seems to point that way. The 20th century was the most secular in the world’s history and it was also the most bloody by a long chalk. Hitler, Stalin, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot – all these godless and bloody leaders give secularisers and atheists a real problem. Atheism’s short track record is not good.
True religion, or at least true Christianity as taught by Christ, leads to peace-making, creativity, justice and active service to the poor, marginalised, vulnerable and voiceless. And, despite some awful blots of which you mention one, that is the overwhelming record of Christ’s kingdom and church over two millennia. Why? Because that’s what Jesus himself taught and exemplified.