"It is requested that Members do not partake of any refreshments until after the Iftar refreshments are served."

"It is requested that Members do not partake of any refreshments until after the Iftar refreshments are served."

That is the last line of an email sent by the Council to to all members of London's Tower Hamlets Council. The whole email according to Tower Hamlets Liberal Democrats reads thus:

"Iftar refreshments (a balance of the chicken, lamb and vegetarian-based Iftar packs, together with fruit, water and orange juice) will be provided in cases where it is not reasonable to expect Members observing Ramadan, and who are required to attend a formal committee or other meeting, to travel home in time for sundown in order to break fast and undertake prayers. Where other refreshments would normally be provided at these meetings, the level of these will be reduced accordingly. Water will be provided in the meeting room as normal.

It is requested that Members do not partake of any refreshments until after the Iftar refreshments are served."

It would seem as though the Tower Hamlets Council were trying to enforce a Muslim Festival on non-Muslims. I rarely agree with the Liberal Democrats but this this line on the same page had me nodding in agreement:

"...we fervently believe that the rules of any one religion should not be imposed upon others. This sends out the wrong message to our community. Our community consists of a number of different religions, all of which should be valued, and no one religion should be accorded more status or influence than others. Freedom of belief is an important human right, and we Liberal Democrat Councillors, Muslim and non-Muslim, agree that this request is inappropriate."

I heard a Councillor being interviewed last night and was disappointed to hear her refer to the "holy month of Ramadan". Ramadan may be holy to Muslims but it is not to Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, etc. etc. etc. The denoting of Muslim festivals and tenets in this manner is one that the BBC follow, often referring to "the prophet Muhammed" rather than "the Muslim prophet Muhammed".

The Telegraph like many news sources report the same story but they have the additional information that

"the town hall's business agenda will be reduced throughout Ramadan to accommodate Muslims, with only seven committee meetings scheduled and special prayer breaks included in the evening events."

Of course it was Tower Hamlets council that were reported to have renamed their Christmas lunch to "festive lunch". As is often the case, the respecting of religious groups seems to be a one-way street, in favour of Islam.

I have stated previously that Sharia law will be the norm in several British Cities by 2020, I am still of this opinion but fear that it may more extensively practised than anyone currently believes possible. The "dhimmi" attitude of Tower Hamlets Council over this matter and the similar behaviour of many other Councils and authorities in this Country will accelerate what Dr Rowan Williams described as "unavoidable" - the introduction of Sharia law into the UK. The diference is that whilst I believe that Dr Williams thought Sharia law would be a parallel system applying just to Muslims who chose to be dealt with under this legal code, I believe that it will apply to non-Muslims living in largely Muslim areas (bear in mind that Tower Hamlets is reported as being only 36% Muslim).