Minutes:
Updates on previous Matters Arising:
Cllr Mary Cooke referred to a previous matter, where it was noted that arrangements were being made for the SACRE Chairman to meet with the Chairman of Croydon SACRE. It was noted that this meeting had not taken place as yet. However, the Chairman was now in possession of the email contact details for the Croydon SACRE Chairman, and it was anticipated that a meeting would be arranged for the near future. Members would be updated in due course.
The Chairman updated Members concerning the attempts that had been made by the Archdeacon’s Office to email incumbents on behalf of SACRE in an attempt to gain details of small religious groups that were meeting in the Borough. It had been agreed previously that churchwardens should be copied into the email sent to incumbents. This was done, and seven responses were received, but they were not particularly helpful. The Chairman was grateful for the responses that had been received, and it was noted that at least on this occasion, some responses had been generated, and this was an improvement on the last exercise.
The RE Consultant informed SACRE Members that she had recently met the Archdeacon at Scotland Yard. The Archdeacon had noted that inter faith meetings had been established in the borough of Croydon, and he was interested in doing the same in Bromley. A meeting would be set up soon to look at this, and SACRE Members would be updated in the near future.
It was also noted that it had been agreed to purchase the document on “British Values”, and that this would soon be distributed to all maintained schools in Bromley; these were mainly primary schools.
Islamic Competition:
SACRE Members were reminded that the prize giving for the Islamic Competition had taken place at Darul Uloom on 12th November 2015. The competition had been set around the concept of “The True Meaning of Islam”. Pupils had been required to explain what they considered to be the essential teachings of Islam, and to discuss the implications of these teachings for contemporary issues. They also had to finish with a statement to explain what they had gained from their work. Forty students had competed from five different schools.
A document was tabled at the meeting that highlighted extracts from some of the entries submitted. The extracts tabled looked at various themes such as:
· The perception of Islam in the Media
· Jannah and Jahnnam
· The Shariah Law
· The Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad
Mr Jed Stone remarked that the event had been a very interesting and enjoyable evening, and that he was impressed by the projects and the extracts. He stated that both pupils and parents were impressed, felt welcome and enjoyed the experience. He felt that new friendships had been made, and that those in attendance would have gained a greater understanding of Islam. Mr Mahmood stated that the extracts had been displayed to show the quality of the entries, and that the focus of the projects was on God. It was important to see where the focus was. The RE Consultant stated that she had taken the opportunity to discuss religious education with the head teacher.
It was noted that the former Clerk to the Committee (Ms Christine Reeks) had emailed the new login details for the NASACRE website before she had left Bromley Council. The RE Consultant stated that she would re-email the login details for the website.
It was further noted that a new generic email for Bromley SACRE had now been set up, and this was:
This could now be used for all future SACRE emails.
RESOLVED that:
(1) The RE Consultant email SACRE Members with the login details for the NASACRE Website.
(2) SACRE Members would be updated in due course concerning the anticipated meeting between the Chairman of Croydon SACRE and Bromley SACRE
(3) The RE Consultant would update the SACRE Members in due course concerning the establishment of an inter faith group in Bromley