"Three hundred Islamic religious scholars in the UK are calling for changes in the law to stop publication of any images of Muhammad the prophet of Islam. They want amendments to the Race Relations Act to give Muslims the same protection as Sikhs and Jews. They also want the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) to tighten their self-regulatory code of practice to prevent the publication of pictures of Muhammad."

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"The Telegraph UK reports that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, and his predecessor, Lord Carey, have mounted a "stout defense of Christianity's place" in British society, saying political correctness or fear of offending other religions should not be allowed to cloud the fact that Christianity lies at the heart of British culture."

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Dear Supporter,

Equality Bill

We give thanks to God that last night the House of Lords resoundingly rejected the Government's planned religious harassment law. Peers voted by 216 to 126 for Lord Lester and Lady O'Cathain's amendment deleting religious harassment from the Bill.

Under the Government's plans it would be illegal for a public or state body to 'harass' an individual on the grounds of their religion or belief. Peers from all parties warned the religious harassment law could be used to restrict freedom of speech and religious liberty. Many expressed fears that the law would encourage politically correct officials to stop public expressions of Christianity, such as evangelism or carol services - leading to more cases such as those we have seen in our newspapers in recent days.

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Among those wanting the UK to keep a Christian distinction were Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and Hindus.

A recent survey done for the BBC News 24's Faith Day, and posted by Virtue Online, revealed a strong consensus, among UK citizens, to retain Christian values - about 75 percent. Among the 1,019 respondents, over two-thirds said they were Christian, however only 17 percent said they attend church regularly.

Besides the majority of those reported to be Christians who favored Christian values, 69 percent of Jews agreed as well as nearly 50 percent of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. About 44 percent of those surveyed who were reported to have no faith, also said that the UK should "retain a Christian ethos."

In other poll results, 59 percent of men surveyed said they were Christian, while women were 75 percent. Seventy-three percent of the people questioned said the July 7th bombings made no difference to their views of Islam, while 19 percent were stated to be "less sure."

by BBC News Staff / Aimee Herd reporting : Nov 15, 2005 : BBC News, Virtue Online http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3243