"Violence is violence. It has no place in Islamic teaching", says a leading Muslim scholar in a fatwa, an extended religiously-based argument, directed at those who justify hatred and terror in the name of faith.
Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri Ul-Qadri's 600-page analysis is "arguably the most comprehensive theological refutation of Islamist terrorism to date," according to the Quilliam Foundation, the London-based counter-terrorism think tank.
"Terrorism is terrorism," Ul-Qadri, founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, an organisation claiming hundreds of thousands of followers in South Asia and the United Kingdom, declared.
Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri is regarded as a mainstream Muslim scholar who is a "widely recognised and respected authority on Islamic jurisprudence."
At a press conference earlier this week, he criticised Muslims who, in justifying terrorism, say it furthers the goal of correcting wrongs done to Muslims.

As the government prepares for its Pre-Budget Report today, three of the UK's largest Churches have called for priority to be given to job security and protection for the poor.

The Methodist Church, the Baptist Union and the United Reformed Church (URC) have challenged a call made yesterday (8 December) for public sector cuts.

They have criticised the right-of-centre thinktank Reform, which has suggested that jobs should be cut in the National Health Service and the police in order to reduce public borrowing.

The Baptist Union's Graham Sparkes urged the government to deliver "a Pre-Budget Report that puts people's welfare before market gains" and insisted that "We cannot just return to business as usual".

Sunday 20th December 11am-12noon
All-Age Nativity Service
Speaker: Timmy the Lamb
Christmas Day 10.30-11.15am
All-Age Service 
Bring a present to church!

Muslims regard Judaism and Christianity as divine religions. Islam is a continuation and an extension of those great religions. In order to qualify as a Muslim, one has to believe in Moses (Musa) and Jesus (Isa) along with all the Biblical prophets, peace be upon them. Muslims have to believe in the Torah (Tawrat), the Psalms (Zabur) and the Gospel (Injil) although Muslim scholars do have some issues about the accuracy of a few parts of these scriptures. And although Islam declares that it is the way of life chosen by God for humanity and that Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the final messenger of God, and that the Qur'an is the final message, the Qur'an  affectionately refers to the followers of these previous scriptures as the People of the Book.

Methodist, Baptist and United Reformed Church leaders have called on people to send an extra card this Christmas, to Immigration Minister Phil Woolas MP, asking him to end the detention of children in the asylum system.
Revd David Gamble, President of the Methodist Conference, said: "Britain is the only country in Europe which locks up the innocent children of people who have had their asylum claims declined. Every year hundreds of children are sent to detention centres; most of them are under five years old and many of them are locked up for more than a month. Holding innocent children in detention centres can never be justified."
People should send their cards to Phil Woolas MP at the Home Office, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF and can find tips for drafting their Christmas message at www.jointpublicissues.org.uk/childrenindetention.

The Charter for Compassion (http://charterforcompassion.org/), reproduced in full below, was launched globally on 12 November 2009.

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves.

Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

For decades Margaret and John Fall have been mainstays of St Andrew's Tennis Club, with its own hard courts on Graham Road, acting as secretary and treasurer. Now they have handed on these responsibilities, along with the club's proud reputation as a friendly group where people of all abilities are welcomed, the club has thanked them with the presentation of a specially commissioned painting of the club. For more information about St Andrew's Tennis Club, see the Falls or Marion Howdle.

"The United Reformed Church believes support for the BNP to be incompatible with Christian discipleship. We have consistently advised members not to vote for parties holding racist views. If a BNP representative does appear on Question Time, we expect it to demonstrate clearly that the party's views are extreme, and are held by very few people." The Revd Richard Mortimer, Deputy General Secretary of the United Reformed Church

Fred Kaan, one of the great hymnwriters of the twentieth century and a minister of the United Reformed Church in Britain, has died at the age of 80. He passed away in the early hours of Sunday 4 October 2009.
Kaan's hymns are found in most Protestant English language hymn books. Among the best-known are ‘For the healing of the nations' and ‘ Now let us from this table rise'.
He is also famous for the 1960s refrain 'Sing we a song of high revolt', penned to the tune of The Red Flag, which reflected his passionate commitment to social justice as an integral part of the Gospel message.
Although his health had been failing for some time, Fred Kaan was well enough to make a special appearance at the United Reformed Church General Assembly in 2008, where he took part in a public discussion with two other well known hymnwriters, Brian Wren and Alan Gaunt.

Mr Hussain writes:
The inhumane attacks on the homes of Pakistani Christians which resulted in the deaths of eight people is a major crime. Senior Muslim scholars from Pakistan personally known to me, have unambiguously condemned this as a serious crime, and a sin. They have shown their solidarity and extended hands of friendship to the bereaved Christian families. Amongst these scholars are the following: Pir Ameen al Hassanat, spiritual leader of the Chishtia order; Allama Syed Riaz Hussain Shah, President of Jammat ahl Sunna and Haji Fazal Karim. Our British charity Muslim Hands has already visited the affected Christians to provide support to the victims and will continue to do so.
I would like the Pakistani High Commissioner in London to do two things to stop this kind of violence against minorities ever happening again: