General Chat

Hi Emmybaby Thanks for replying.......... it gives some degree of understanding how & why some leave their country. Living under dictatorship like that the intolerance must rub off sub conciously, no wonder they leave thier country and seek a haven in the european countries. Can I ask is it hubby's job that your there? Are you able to come home? Much happiness Debi ( not so sure I could live that kind of saudi Live lol......... I'll find out more about bahrain )

Forgive me if I'm being too simplistic - but if they don't like our way off life then why don't they just b off? Be they the council fools or anyone else.

Hi Emmybaby This thread is about a English Council in our capital making a BOLD decision based on no research at all and then putting it in PRINT in their own Parish Council Magazine. The Muslim community were never consultaed , infact not one of their constituancy were consulted it was ASSUMED by a JUNIOR and not CHECKED by the powers who be. With that said I am intrigued to learn about how the other side of the coin deal with 'outsiders' within their own country, as we do bend over backwards in the UK and make ALL welcome and I see no division in our rules for these people ( majority of the time ) I have family and friends who have lived in Saudi, Bahrain etc and most keep to their own little compounds ( ex Pats etc ) My husbands cousin in Bahrain lives in a compound that has everything you need, pool, playground and a ZOO lol. I quite fancy the lifestyle LOL Much happiness Debi

Emmababy, No different from any other religion then.

Emmybaby, It was not the local Muslims who objected - or any other religious group. The Muslims called the decision ridiculous. It was a council employee who made the decision acting without consulting local groups. Gwynne

hiya all, my mother in law (85) says they took the great out of britain. a long time ago x

Norah - no one can erode beliefs unless you want them to be eroded. You call your Christmas Lights exactly what you want to call them, and hang anyone else's thoughts on the matter. Much as we would like to think otherwise, the UK is now a miazma (spelling) of beliefs and religions; we all have to live side by side in harmony if we want to live peacefully; I dont think that the Muslims in this country could give two hoots what the Lights at Christmas are called - I just feel that the powers that be are afraid of offending anyone and are overstepping the mark with their 'political correctness'. It's just my opinion, but I think that 'mountains and mole hills' comes to mind. Not worth getting in a tizzy about really. Jacqui

Jacqui thats not the point this basically is a Christian country and many of our traditions seem to be getting eroded away There are many Christians who look upon this festival as a very religious one and they should have the right of calling the lights Christmas Lights this is a free country - right? Having lived in Leeds for many years I saw many festivities for other religions including Jewish, Muslim and Hindu and no one complained By the way I had a very nice Muslim family live near me in my last house I always sent her a card and she did likewise to us. Norah

Ahem! Whiile I hate to disappoint both Roxanne and Saints Alive it's actually run by a Lib Dem Tory coalition but no doubt Labour will get the blame lol! Debby

Well I am a Christian and I am deeply OFFENDED by any council's remark against our religious festivities therefore do I have a right to go to the Race Relations Board ? By the way we had a very nice Muslim family who lived nearby at my last house she always sent me a card at Christmas and I her !!!!! Norah

more to the point why are they being paid so much money to make decisions like this??.

Am I to believe that Lambeth Council is run by a Labour region ( just curious)

Prison officers have been banned from having the George Cross Tie Pins in wakefield because they are deemed racist this country is getting rediculous Paul

I can't understand this. I don't get offended when my kids come home from school/playgroup and say they have done things for divali or hanukah and the like - even though they are to do with faiths we are not part of. I am happy to look at divali fireworks, and go along with chinese new year celebrations. I've also participated in the Mexican festival of the dead. I am not offended by the existence of all these things. So why is it that someone somewhere has decided that other faiths and cultures are offended by my cultural celebrations. Surely we can all share in the joy of something that is part of another culture without being offended that it is happening. The world is a depressing place at the moment, lets all share in the joy of each other's festivals, be enriched by them and feel better for it. Angela

I agree roxanne. jean

Does it really matter at the end of the day what we call the lights displayed before during and after 25th December? Christians refer to them as Christmas Lights and they are part of celebration of the birth of Jesus; Muslims have probably referred to them in the past as seasonal lights (I really dont know) Hindus might have possibly referred to as 'late Dvali Lights' (I dont know that either) In your own heart of hearts you can refer to them as whatever you want , no matter what faith you follow (or not). It's all splitting hairs again and not worth getting in a tizzy for - in my own humble opinion. Jacqui

OOOOOh Best not to get me started on this one.

theres another thread going about the same thing, I said on there its the people with nothing better to do that are causing the trouble. I also agree with gloria, theres a lot I would like to say but feel I shouldnt. jean

Your quite right David Owen ........ and I said as much in one of my answers on this thread. Perhaps because as it's Front Page news in one of our better newspapers and perhaps because this is a general topics board I felt strongly enough to bring into the foreground . Oh and because I have the FREEDOM to do so . Its an extremely debatable topic.......and one that has many sides and opinions of which we can learn. I'd like you to take time and read through the whole thread please David Owen and see that some people have corrected my original thread and added in more depth to the article. You see I too have learnt that this HEADLINE FRONT PAGE article has in fact sprouted from a junior in the Lambeth Council. However it was breaking news when I wrote the original thread and thus factual..........at that time. Much happiness Debi

If we are expected to respect their relgion, then they must learn to respect ours, I will for one refuse to call them 'winter lights' they are now and always will be christmas lights. Bev