My Lords, I am grateful for this opportunity to discuss both the broad intentions of the Bill—to give authorities the freedom to determine for themselves whether they wish to hold town hall prayers as part of official business—and some of its details, and, in those details, explain why we consider it a gentle and necessary measure.
This morning I woke up, as we all did—that is always an important part of the day. After doing that, I rather hoped that I might have had a bit of a lie-in, which means that I leave the house at about 8 am, rather than 6.30 am or 7 am. Being a father of three, with two children under the age of three—I know that those who are parents will share this experience—I was awoken at 5 am. One milk bottle followed another, after which, what did I do? I prayed, in my own Muslim way, in a moment of prayer and reflection.
I then travelled to the House, as all noble Lords did today, and arrived to be confronted by barriers and what have you. Sadly, there was an incident outside your Lordships’ House this morning. Nevertheless, I then came into your Lordships’ Chamber and prayed. I am grateful, as we all are, to the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Leicester for leading Prayers this
morning. We started, as usual, with reflections on our duties, on what our country is about and on why we are here.
11 am
I say to my noble friend Lord Avebury—I hope he knows that I respect him greatly—that I have been at many multifaith ceremonies with him where we have prayed in our own way, and others have prayed in their own way. That is a reflection of what our country is and it is reflected right here in your Lordships’ House. When we say the Lord’s Prayer, I recite the Lord’s Prayer. I am a Muslim by faith and was educated in a Church of England school, and—do you know what?—I do not find any offence in the prayers of other religions. In fact, the reflection of all other faiths and indeed of no faith teaches us to respect each other, and that is vital in our country and society today.
The noble Baroness, Lady Flather, and I share much in common in our thoughts, and indeed I pay tribute to the work that she does. Over the last few weeks we have remembered those who gave their lives in the First World War—people of all faiths and none who came together to stand against tyranny. We have had prayers and reflection, but I can tell your Lordships that when we pray, by whatever mode, I reflect and pray in my own way, as I do in your Lordships’ Chamber. When certain prayers are recited and other noble Lords join their hands in one way, I raise my hands in another—and your Lordships’ House allows me to do just that.
I will to pick up a final point before I turn to the substance of the amendments—and, again, I address my noble friend Lord Avebury. He gave the example of a Muslim councillor in a particular council. I, too, served for 10 years on a local council. I was a cabinet member in a local council in London. Was I ever offended by prayers? On the contrary, I was not. I attended prayers because doing so gives people of faith and perhaps even those of no faith a moment of reflection and inspiration. As my noble friend Lady Eaton said, there is a time for quietness before one gets into the frenzy of the day.
These are important elements of how we define ourselves as a society and what we are, and in bringing together people of all faiths and none to celebrate what our country stands for. Doing that does not exclude anyone. I ask my noble friend Lord Avebury: are we suggesting for a moment that those who do not take part in Prayers at the start of our proceedings are somehow excluded and that their contributions are held in less regard? On the contrary, we are equal Peers of the realm and have the greatest respect for each other. I give way to my noble friend.