Overview
- The public iftar and Muslim call to prayer in Trafalgar Square, attended by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, set off a national row over religion in public life.
- Conservative MP Nick Timothy called the mass prayer and the adhan an act of domination, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he should be removed from the Conservative front bench.
- Anglican bishops Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy and Arun Arora defended the gathering as peaceful hospitality, with Arora writing that there was nothing sinister about it.
- Traditionalist voices, including Christian Concern’s Tim Dieppe and Bishop Ceirion H. Dewar, warned of cultural erosion and urged limits on mass ritual prayer in civic spaces.
- Critics also pointed to buffer zone laws that penalize even silent prayer near abortion clinics, framing the Trafalgar Square event as proof of uneven enforcement.