Andrew P

The more I read this, the more I realize how it is utterly illiterate. How exactly do you decolonize someone’s birthplace? He lived there. No one came in and conquered his house. It’s just a house of a man that exists. These people are exhausting 🙄

Too many are too polite to say this. But mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination. The adhan - which declares there is no god but allah and Muhammad is his messenger - is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination. Perform these rituals in mosques if you wish. But they are not welcome in our public places and shared institutions. And given their explicit repudiation of Christianity they certainly do not belong in our churches and cathedrals. I am not suggesting everybody at Trafalgar Square last night is an Islamist. But the domination of public places is straight from the Islamist playbook. Trafalgar Square belongs to all of us. It is a national memorial to our independence and our salvation. Last night was not like a televised football match or a St Patrick’s Day celebration. It was an act of domination and therefore division. It shouldn’t happen again.

a curiously poor picture of Clegg, unveiled at the National Liberal Club yesterday

Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating in London and around the world. This Ramadan, I’ve had the privilege of breaking bread with Londoners of all backgrounds.