Ramadan: The Islamisation of Britain 

Last week witnessed the inaugural illumination of London’s West End to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, was on-hand to switch on the 30,000 sustainable lights coalescing into crescent moons and stars, which will be on display along Piccadilly Circus until April 21^st. The initiative was organised by Ramadan Lights UK, in a first not just for London, but for Europe itself. Khan was quick to tweet his enthusiasm: ‘I was delighted to officially switch on the West End’s first #Ramadan lights earlier this week. London is the first major European city to have a spectacular lights display like this. They are a beautiful expression of our capital’s inclusive values and diversity.’

I was delighted to officially switch on the West End’s first #Ramadan lights earlier this week.

London is the first major European city to have a spectacular lights display like this. They are a beautiful expression of our capital’s inclusive values and diversity. pic.twitter.com/BZI24I1fMM

— Mayor of London (@MayorofLondon) March 24, 2023

There has been no discernible criticism of Khan for this latest show of Islamic strength within the British media, which concerns me more than the display itself. While the lights certainly look good, in fact I’d say substantially better than London’s Christmas illumination, I’m curious as to how far Khan’s ‘inclusivity’ stretches? Are we to expect a similar enlightenment for Yom Kippur later in the year – I suspect not. Moreover, an ever more visual Islam inevitably necessitates a continued erosion of our Christian heritage to accommodate it in the public square. And it is an inheritance already dangerously depleted.

It is no coincidence, for instance, that the celebration of Christmas is something UK authorities are increasingly unwilling to embrace. Last year’s Christmas lights did go up in London, but they were time-limited due to the energy crisis. Meanwhile, other councils are frequently taking the easy option of cancelling them altogether. These are not isolated incidents. Nativity scenes are increasingly banned in Britain, to ‘avoid causing offence’. Whitehall employees have been instructed for years to avoid saying ‘Merry Christmas’, under the same pretext. London universities consider banning the sale of alcohol on parts of the campus, on the grounds of ‘cultural sensitivity’, Christian preachers are arrested in heavily-populated Muslim areas, to avoid conflict, and police are banned from asking for ‘Christian names’. In short, the more Islam you allow, the less Christianity you feel comfortable with. A decade ago, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, warned of a Christianity crisis, arguing that the Church of England was ‘one generation away from extinction’. He may have had a point.

While many would argue that Ramadan lights, much like Easter Eggs without the word ‘Easter’, are trivialities, I believe they are missing the point: a lack of confidence in your own culture, inevitably leaves you vulnerable to replacement; Islam has been undermining Britain for decades. It is no surprise that the pejorative term ‘Londonistan’ was applied by French intelligence back in 1995, angered by the British government’s laissez-faire attitude to Muslim radicals who went on to commit atrocities on their soil, nor that the British government are consistently alleged to have appeased such terrorists. 

The fact that London is the first major European city to play host to Ramadan illuminations, confirms that it is far from an insignificant event. Moreover, this occurs with a Census-estimated UK Muslim population of around 6.5%; small granted, but vocal. That population has doubled within a decade, and is only set to increase. The Muslim birth rate is at least one child more than the native population. Almost half of British Muslims are under the age of 25, with Mohammad the most common baby name in the UK – which it has been for nigh on a decade. What exactly are we expecting from this population when its numbers double, or treble as has been forecast as early as 2050?

One thing’s for certain, it means increased conflict with Britain’s secular, liberal values. While a tiny minority of Brits consider homosexuality should be illegal (5%), that is matched by an astonishing 52% of British Muslims. Just 14% of Brits do not think it acceptable for a gay person to become a teacher, rising to 47% for British Muslims. Almost a quarter of British Muslims (23%) would welcome the introduction of Sharia Law in Britain, and most alarming of all are the 4% who sympathise with Islamic terrorists. It’s no surprise therefore, that 90% of MI5’s terror watchlist is comprised of jihadis. 

Rather than a multicultural utopia, Britain’s growing Muslim population guarantees more riots in heavily-Muslim areas, such as last year’s chaos in Leicester which was sparked by Pakistan’s loss to India at cricket. It means more teachers in hiding following a lesson on free speech, and it means more death threats to children who do not fully appreciate the gravity and reverence which must be afforded Islam’s holy book. These are not trivial things.

Neither are the voting irregularities commonplace within the Muslim community, the hate-preaching mosques, and the Islamic school trusts which consider gay people ‘evil’. A larger and emboldened Muslim population, inevitably means more churches vandalised, more unofficial sharia courts, more bollards and armed police at any surviving Christmas markets, and of course, more grooming gangs.

Sadiq Khan’s Ramadan display may seem innocuous on the surface, but it is a portent of things to come – things much less bright and festive. One might hope that somewhere inside government, there lurks the odd raised eyebrow at this replacement of British culture. Although, even if there were, public disapproval of Khan is highly unlikely, the readymade accusation of ‘Islamophobia’ ever-primed for action. A third of Britons already believe Islam threatens the British way of life – how high does that number need to get before the authorities act?

So forgive me if I do not choose to celebrate the Islamisation of our Capital’s thoroughfares for Ramadan – it smells too much like capitulation for my taste.

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This piece first appeared on Unity News Network, and is reproduced by kind permission.