Faiths to unite in 7/7 memorial
Christopher Morgan and David Leppard
BRITAIN’S main religious leaders will gather under the dome of St Paul’s Cathedral in London on Tuesday to pledge “mutual respect and understanding” at a service of remembrance for the victims of the July 7 bombings.
With the Queen and Tony Blair looking on, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, Hindu and Christian dignitaries will stand side by side to “reaffirm the values we uphold in the face of the sorrow and pain being felt by so many”.
Ken Livingstone, the London mayor, is the only politician with a central role in the service. He will read the lesson.
The ceremony, while Christian, is intended to be “inclusive” and makes numerous references to ethnic and religious reconciliation.
Zaki Badawi, chairman of the Imams and Mosques Council of the United Kingdom, will make the pledge on behalf of Britain’s Muslims. He said: “These gestures are helpful. Sadly, Muslims are still a frightened community and this act of remembrance gives them reassurance.”
The congregation will include some of the 700 injured by the bombs and relatives of some of the 52 dead, who included three Muslims.
Rachel, one of a group of the injured calling themselves Kings Cross United, said: “We will be standing shoulder to shoulder as a group within the cathedral. We will be standing alongside other Londoners and for us this is an important marker on our journey.”
Many survivors have complained that the culture department initially seemed unsure of whether to invite them to the service at which the locations of the four bombs — Aldgate, Edgware Road, King’s Cross and Tavistock Square — will be written on four candles.
Representatives of the bereaved families, emergency services and transport staff will carry the candles in a procession to the central altar as the choir sings part of Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem.
A public inquiry opening this week will hear that attempts to rescue survivors of the bombings were hampered by a delay in radio communications. Rescue teams had to work “blind” for 90 minutes after the blast at King’s Cross, which killed 27.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0, ... 63,00.html
http://www.officialconfusion.com/headlines.html
77 Memorial Tues 1st Nov - anyone going ?
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