These articles were first published in our April edition of the newspaper, click here for more.
The Court of Appeal ruled in February that Islamic marriages, or Nikahs, are not valid under English law.
This clarifies that sharia marriages are not legally recognised at all in the UK. Muslim women have no legal protection if their husband divorces or leaves them or seeks another wife. Tim Dieppe said: ‘A requirement to register Islamic marriages would protect the women if their husband divorces or abandons them, and also act to prevent polygamy.’
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) will maintain its opposition to assisted suicide, following a survey of its members, it announced in February.
The independent survey of 6,674 members – 13% of the RCGP – found that 47% oppose a change in the law on assisted suicide. Of the remainder, 40% felt there should be a change, 11% favoured neutrality, and 2% abstained. The RCGP said it would not review the position on assisted suicide for at least five years ‘unless there are significant developments on the issue’.
The NHS issued guidelines in February allowing for staff to refuse to give treatment in non-emergency situations where sexist or homophobic behaviour, like objecting to a rainbow flag / lanyard, is exhibited.
The Labour Party called for expulsions from the party after a 12-point pledge was produced on trans rights. Leadership candidate, Dawn Butler, said: ‘A child is formed without sex in the beginning’. Mainstream women’s rights groups were branded ‘extremist’ and many people resigned or suggested Labour ‘#expelme’.
34 police forces in England and Wales recorded almost 120,000 ‘non-crime’ hate incidents between 2014 and 2019.
So called ‘hate incidents’ must be recorded ‘irrespective of whether there is any evidence to identify the hate element’, according to the College of Policing guidelines. Although such cases are not crimes, they can appear during criminal-record checks.
Upton Baptist Church, Chester, praised God for the provision of Dave Stott as their pastor at his induction service on 2 February.
Dave has served the church since 2008. Jonny Pearse preached from 2 Timothy, encouraging all to fan into flames the gifts given to them, and to rely on the Spirit’s enabling. He emphasised it is the ‘power of God’ that keeps and gives confidence in times of suffering, and ensures none are ashamed of the gospel.
Ofsted is fuelling division and alienating religious groups with its secular agenda, said the Policy Exchange in February.
Ofsted was too frequently failing to distinguish between law-abiding religious people and those with genuine extremist views, conflating ‘extremism and socially conservative or traditional religious practice’. Ofsted was guilty of ignoring the Human Rights Act, which protects the freedom of parents to ensure their children are educated according to their own beliefs. It advised Ofsted to work alongside ‘rather than in opposition to, communities of faith’.