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Imam recites Muslim call to prayer in Church of England on armistice
Row as imam recites the Muslim call to prayer during a Church of England cathedral's Armistice concert without permission
Imam performed call to worship in front of 400 people at Blackburn Cathedral
Was part of anti-war concert last Saturday -- the night before Remembrance Day
He said 'Allah is the greatest, I bear witness that there is no other God but Allah'
Dean Peter Howell-Jones said he 'partially agrees' with calls for his resignation
http://bigwnews.com/world-news/
November 18, 2018
An imam was filmed reciting the Muslim call to prayer in a Church of England cathedral the night before Remembrance Day.
He performed the call to worship in front of an audience of around 400 people in Blackburn Cathedral last Saturday.
In Arabic, the imam made the declaration: 'Allah is the greatest; I bear witness that there is no other God but Allah; I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.'
It was part of a concert to commemorate the armistice and was carried out without the church's permission.
The imam is seen reciting the Muslim call to prayer in front of around 400 churchgoers in Blackburn Cathedral
It was part of an organised concert to commemorate Remembrance Day -- but his call to worship was carried out without the church's permission
Peter Howell-Jones, the dean of Blackburn Cathedral, has said he 'partially agrees' with calls for his resignation.
He told The Sunday Times: 'I don't think this should have happened here. If people are going to call for my resignation there's nothing more I can say or do to people to pacify them because actually I agree with their arguments.'
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The call to prayer was part of Welsh composer Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man -- an anti-war Mass -- organised by Blackburn Music Society.
The second movement, which is sometimes omitted, is a traditional Muslim adhan recited in Arabic.
Peter Howell-Jones, the dean of Blackburn Cathedral, has said he 'partially agrees' with calls for his resignation
The dean only realised that the Muslim call to prayer was in the piece shortly before it began and didn't want to cause upset by removing it, the newspaper reports.
The controversial call to worship was carried out at Blackburn Cathedral (pictured) last Saturday
Mr Howell-Jones said he never looked into the contents of the Mass because the Blackburn Music Society regularly held events at the church and no controversy had ever come of them.
It's thought the music society asked the imam, rather than a musician, for the part on the advice of the Blackburn with Darwen Interfaith Forum.
On its website, it described itself as an organisation that 'builds stronger links between different faith communities and promotes community cohesion and social inclusion within Blackburn with Darwen'.
Gavin Ashenden, a former chaplain to the Queen, criticised the church for trying to move from 'being a religious organistion to a cultural one'.
Dean Howell-Jones stressed that Blackburn Cathedral was not only a place for Christian people, but for all faiths.
Watch this video by the esteemed Bishop Gavin Ashenden on what took place here. He nailed it.
