Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent of The Times
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A diocese of the Church of England is giving an unprecedented £250,000 towards a multi-faith building in which the largest amount of worship space will be reserved for Muslims.
The Guildford diocese is one of the wealthiest in the UK. The Bishop of Guildford, the Right Rev Christopher Hill, today handed over the £250,000 cheque to Surrey University for the first multi-faith building of its kind in Britain.
The £6.5 million building will contain separate worship spaces for the Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Sikh communities, along with a further shared space for Buddhists and Hindus.
All faiths will share the cafe in the basement, with a shared staircase down from the upper floors.
Converting each other will be strictly forbidden, an insider said, but it is hoped that the different faith members will form friendships, learn to respect each other and enhance each other’s understanding.
Muslim chaplain Dr Abdul Mateen Sansom, said: “As well as being a sorely needed practical solution to student needs, I believe the design and underpinning ethos of this project have potential for notable impact nationally and internationally.”
Lesley Scordellis, lead fundraiser for the centre and development manager at Surrey University, defended the Muslim advantage in the space allocation.
“It isn’t about giving greater provision for Muslims, it is about likely numbers using it. We certainly have a strong demand for worship space from the Muslim community,” she said.
“We do sit right beside Guildford Cathedral so the relative provision in the locality is very different.”
She continued: “We think it is the first of its kind. It breaks with the tradition of having a shared space for each faith. It is all in the same building but each has a completely separate space. The Jewish space has a kosher kitchen exclusively for them to use. The Muslim space has an ablutions facility exclusively for them. The design of the building is to facilitate the feeling that they are in one building about faith.”
Professor Christopher Snowden, the university’s vice-chancellor, said he was “delighted” by the support from the diocese. “Local support of this nature is crucial to our fundraising.”
Bishop Hill said: “We are proud to participate in this significant venture toward world understanding here in Surrey.”
A fundraising campaign has begun to raise the rest of the cash. The mutli-faith centre is due for completion in 2010.
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I am a muslim student in the University of Surrey. This will not only benfit the muslim socity it will also benfit many other sosicties and it will bring other religions togther & its beautiful to see there is amosque right next to acathedral in a vast multi-cultural institution it makes all worth.
Gasim Ibrahim, london, UK
You folks are short cited. What better way to keep track of the Muslims than to control where they pray and possibly exert influence over their activities.
J, Los Angeles, CA
Excellent idea. Lets hope it leads to greater understanding and friendships between faiths.
john dickens, leigh on sea, uk
If the Church of England continue to open the door for other religions, it means all the bishops and leaders are not reading their Bible and not praying to their Lord! They are not a spiritual leaders, they are hopeless! The end of the world is coming very soon!
Lim Heng Loong, Beaufort, Sabah, Malaysia
Speechless. I am just speechless.
TS, Oshawa, Canada
"The mutli-faith centre is due for completion in 2010."
If memory serves the year 2010 is when the next world war will occur - per Nostradamus.....
aine, bronxville, ny
These bishops lack a Christian worldview. See http://www.creationontheweb.com/content/view/5362
A.L., Brisbane, Australia
Time to get out of Babylon (false religious systems) especially those with the sin of Jeroboam (those that change times, dates, place of worship and priesthood).
kate b, cheshire, uk
Well, at least we can hope. But I wouldn't bet any money on it.
Philip Saenz, Houston, Texas/USA
This is incredible. I wonder if Jesus would of donated money for people to worship Apollo, Mars or Baal? I wonder if Paul, Timothy, Luke or anyother apostle or early church father would of donated money for people to worship false Gods? What does the Church of England stand for? I can tell you they dont stand for Christ and the Bible, " I am the lord thy God and you shall have no other gods before me." You have to wonder if the leader of the Church of England even reads the Bible.
Bob, Murfreesboro, usa/ Tn
the church of england is not what it used to be...It used to be a Christian Church...It spends more time helping Islam than spreading the good word. Why doesn't thye chyurch just shut its doors and convert islam. Bishop Rowan seems to be studying more about Islam than preaching Christianity...I was trying to learn more about this church, but i was wrong. This church has lost its Christian ways.
Arthur Malcolm, oradell, usa
WOW, a powder keg with new materials all under one roof, the shock wave of this blast will be heard world wide.
bill.p, whitehaven, cumbria
Working in a University as I do, I'm familiar with multi-choice questions, but not with multi-choice answers, and reading about multi-faith mixtures like this, helped along with a handsome gift from the diocese of Guildford, prompts me to affirm that salvation is to be found In the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him only. Exclusive stuff is truth, but that's its nature, excluding everything outside itself, and as for the way of salvation, John McArthur expressed it nicely in his commentary on Romans, saying:-
âAs far as the way of salvation is concerned, there are only two religions the world has ever known or will ever knowâthe religion of divine accomplishment, which is Biblical Christianity, and the religion of human achievement, which includes all other kinds of religion, whatever name they may go under.â
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary :
Romans 1-8 & 9-16
Moody Press, 1995
Who's going to share this good news? if not Jesus' followers who? If not now, when?
Paul, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
I take no pleasure in saying this but----What is wrong with you Brits? Time to wake up and stop being so "multicultural". How many church bells ring across any Muslim country? You had (have?) your own culture and it is time to put your foot down and reclaim it. You could learn something from former Australian Prime Minister Howard's comments the other day.
PJ, Los Altos Hills, CA/USA
Yet another case of caving into MUSLIM demands. What business is of the C of E to propagate a faith that gives no reciprocity or respect to other faiths in the lands that they are in the majority. If they think that caving in and sucking up to these individuals would bring reciprocity, one has only to ask Christians living in their lands how they are treated. This is like feeding the bear hoping it would not bite ( to appease it), but it will attack at the opportunity .
How come the Church leaders are so STUPID?
Faqi, London, UK
It's a satanic cult. What kind of madness is this? Church of England should read the scriptures maybe.
sunnybrookg, Lakeland , Florida, USA
No problems for the rest of the money. The Saudis, though not keen on giving aid to Tsunami victims in a Muslim country such as Indonesia, can always be relied on to back such a venture, that puts Islam in a dominant position, by virtue of space to Muslims.
Our leaders, both spiritual and temporal, continue to show a complete lack of understanding to the threat and its MO.
DaveP, Beverley, UK
Why are the faiths not all accorded the same amount of space, instead of basing it on the "likely numbers" of the relative worshippers? How were these numbers determined, and why are Muslims in the Guildford diocese so much more numerous than Christians? I'm curious where the rest of the funding will come from - Saudi Arabia perhaps? This is another reprehensible example of capitulation to the Islamists. England, as a lifelong Anglophile I beg you to save yourselves.
Jeff T., Los Angeles, California, USA
This reminds me of the old man and the Cobra ,the old man came across a snake out in the cold,frozen and dying. the old man took the Cobra home .Gave the snake a warm home in to live and all the food he could eat . This went on for months.until the Cobra was healthy and strong again.
The old man fixed the snake a fried field mouse,the snake's favorite dinner. upon setting it in front of the snake The Old Man was stricken by him.
In his dying words he said'' How could you ,,Do this to me".Haven't I gave you a good home and feed you the finest food . And the Cobra said yes ,,yes you have ,But from the beginning you Knew I was a snake and as a snake I can never change and as a Snake is a Snake Does.
SOOOO,,,No matter how much the Government or Other Religious Leaders do for Snakes that were brought into the house,Be prepared for their strike as it will happen.because as a Snake is a Snake Does.
CaptBlasto, St Louis,, Mo
There is no end to this is there.
Chris, Bellingham, WA
Christians, particularly Anglican bishops, seem to think that "tolerance" is the highest virtue. It is not - righteousness is. Tolerance does not require that Christians, and bishops particularly, turn a blind eye to the murderous persecution of fellow Christians in Islamic countries. Tolerance does not mandate that one keep one's mouth shut to the subjugation of women, and non-Muslims by Muslims. "Tolerance" does not require Anglican bishops to accept polygamy or any aspect of a barbaric and retrograde system of laws.
Righteousness requires the ability to see the truth about Islam, and not be afraid to speak about it.
The way the CofE is going, it is going to "tolerate" itself out of existence, and take Britain with it.
DaveP, Beverley, UK
I wonder if the good Bishop will ever make an oppology to the thousands of mudered Catholics within England and their total repression throughout the centuries?
steve, Manchester, NH
I am appaled and angered by these ridiculous moves to appease the muslims, whilst in muslims countries, faiths other than Islam are severly oppressed, if not banned altogether. Islam should not be recognized or respected, let alone it's spread encouraged and funded, until it fully recognizes and respects the validity of all faiths, and takes steps to fund the building of non muslim places of worship on all muslim lands.
Only then, there is fairness, as fairness is NOT one sided.
P. Shivan, London, London
I wonder if the COE leaders will convert to islam when the day finally arrives?... or have they already been infiltrated. I cant imagine for one moment a substantial sum of money like this being collected by immans for the good of the Christian community somehow can you?. What is making our political and religious leaders act in this way?...must be the fluoride in the water methinks :-(
Dan Levinson, Edinburgh,