Nigel Farage: All mass public religious observances should be banned
The Reform UK leader described a Ramadan event in London as an ‘attempt to overtake, intimidate and dominate our way of life’
Nigel Farage has said all mass religious observances in public should be banned after warning his party’s Scottish conference that Muslim prayer events will be coming to Scotland “soon”.
The leader of Reform UK described a Ramadan event in London – which was attended by London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan – as an “attempt to overtake, intimidate and dominate our way of life”.
He said his party will “stand firm for the Judeo-Christian principles upon which our nation was built”.
Speaking at the Ingliston Country Club and Hotel in Bishopton, Mr Farage there was a “myth” for years that no one in Scotland cared about immigration, adding: “But it's just not true, is it? It's just not true."
An open iftar event which took place in London's Trafalgar Square on Monday has become a flashpoint in UK politics this week, with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch backing her shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy after he described it as an “act of domination and division”.
The Ramadan Tent Project, which has hosted around 20 open iftar meals this year, describes its mission as “bringing communities together”. Iftar is a meal eaten by Muslims at sunset to break their fast during Ramadan.
Mr Farage said: "I put it to you that what happened in Trafalgar Square this week should act as a wake up call and a warning to everyone.
"We have always been a country that believes in religious tolerance. We've always been open to different faiths, persuasions and beliefs coming to our country and having their own private observance."
He said the Jewish community was "probably the best example I can think of that".
He added: "But mass public praying, mass chanting of Islamic slogans in Trafalgar Square was a shock, until you learn that the same group - the Ramadan Tent Project - have done it in Coventry Cathedral, they've done it in London's Guild Hall, they've done it in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
"Folks, if it hasn't come to Scotland yet, it will come soon. This is an open, deliberate, wilful attempt, not of the private observance of a different religion, but the attempt to overtake, intimidate and dominate our way of life, and it is funded by the taxpayer."
Mr Farage continued: "Now we are fair, reasonable, tolerant people. But we will not put up with this, and we will, as a party, stand firm for the Judeo-Christian principles upon which our nation was built."
Asked later if his position was that all mass religious observances should be banned, the Reform UK leader said: "Yes."
Further asked if that includes Jewish or Catholic observances, he added: “I’ve never seen Jewish services taking place in places of historic Christian worship, or anywhere else.
“We have to get this right. We can’t stop individuals from praying, we wouldn’t want to stop individuals praying, but mass prayer is banned, mass Muslim prayer is banned, in many Muslim countries in the Middle East itself.
“So yes, we have to stop this kind of mass demonstration, provocative demonstration, in historic British sites, because that’s what it is.”
About 3,000 people were expected to attend the event held by Ramadan Tent Project in London. Similar religious gatherings have long taken place in the city, such as Jewish celebrations of Chanukah and Christian Easter Sunday processions.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has called for Mr Timothy to be sacked by the Tories.
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