Parliament to discuss possibility of Muslim and Hindu bank holidays

I would like to think they'll discuss it for about 30 seconds, long enough to say "**** off", then repair to the bar.

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A official e-petition asking the government to create Muslim and Hindu bank holidays has reached 119,000 signatures, meaning that the proposal must be discussed in Parliament under rules established in 2011.

The petition, started by Jo Timmis, calls for the government to make Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, and Eid, the Muslim festival at the end of Ramadan, official British bank holidays.

Timmis says:

"I believe that given the number of Muslims and Hindu’s in this country it is only fair that we allow them to have the most important days in their faiths recognised in law."

By giving them public/bank holidays for these days we would be going some way to help to recognise the importance of these faiths to many within the country."

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Parliament to discuss possibility of Muslim and Hindu bank holidays | Descrier News

Excellent idea. We should also cancel Christmas and Easter as bank holidays as they might offend said Hindus and Muslims.

But there are some sane voices out there remarkably enough.

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Muslim and Hindu leaders say they do not think Eid and Diwali should be public holidays, despite an appeal to the Government to make them so.

A petition has been submitted to The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills calling for major Muslim and Hindu religious festivals to be celebrated with a nationwide day off work.

More than 110,000 people have signed the petition, submitted by Jon Timmis.

Mr Timmis said: "I believe that, given the number of Muslims and Hindus in this country, it is only fair we allow them to have the most important days in their faiths recognised in law.

"By giving them public/bank holidays for these days, we would be going some way to help to recognise the importance of these faiths to many within the country."

Vinod Popat, Leicester-based chairman of The British Hindu Voice, said: "We would be extremely happy if Diwali is recognised with a public holiday.

"However, Diwali is worked out on a lunar calendar so every year it would be on a different day.

"It would be impractical to set a date for it.

"I don't think it is a very good idea. How many festivals are there for other religions – should they all be marked with a public holiday? The country would grind to a halt.

"This is a Christian country and while there is a growing Hindu population who would appreciate another holiday for Diwali, I think things are fine as they are."

Suleman Nagdi, of the Federation of Muslim Organisations in Leicester, agrees.

He said: "Any move to recognise other faiths is a good thing but I do not think there should be a public holiday.

"Muslims make up only three per cent of a population."

Mr Nagdi said there were two Eids a year and he was unclear whether both were being proposed for holidays.

He said the dates varied according to the lunar calendar.

"It would be different days every year. It's a nice idea but I can't see how it would be practical," he said.

"How could businesses plan for it in advance? How would schools be able to plan?"

He also said Eid begins when the new moon becomes visible but some British Muslims measure that from when it appears in the nearest Muslim country – Morocco – while others used a centralised measure from Saudi Arabia.

Concerns have been raised some of the signatures on the petition have been from abroad rather than the UK, however as more than 100,000 have signed the petition it could be considered for a debate in Parliament.

A spokeswoman for the department said: "It will be a matter for MPs to decide whether a debate is held in parliament."

The petition will remain open until August 12.

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Faith bank holidays 'impractical', say Muslim and Hindu leaders | Leicester Mercury

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

"I believe that given the number of Muslims and Hindu’s in this country it is only fair that we allow them to have the most important days in their faiths recognised in law."

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Christian - 59.5%
Islam - 4.4%
Hindu - 1.3%
Sikh - 0.7%
Jew - 0.4%
Buddhist -0.4%
No answer / non religious (but I bet they enjoy Xmas and Easter Eggs) - 32.8%

No case to answer.

However, just as it peeves me as a business owner here in Thailand when some religious day makes me shut the doors and give everyone a day off, so it should in the UK as well. I would go for scrapping all mandatory religious holidays and giving an allowance of days for use for all of this hocus pocus. Then people can chose when to take a holiday.

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Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Excellent idea. We should also cancel Christmas and Easter as bank holidays as they might offend said Hindus and Muslims.

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The Hindus and others tend not to mind Christmas, though it is already severely curtailed in Brit places to avoid offending the peaceful guys.

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Originally Posted by pseudolus

Christian - 59.5%
Islam - 4.4%
Hindu - 1.3%
Sikh - 0.7%
Jew - 0.4%
Buddhist -0.4%
No answer / non religious (but I bet they enjoy Xmas and Easter Eggs) - 32.8%

No case to answer.

However, just as it peeves me as a business owner here in Thailand when some religious day makes me shut the doors and give everyone a day off, so it should in the UK as well. I would go for scrapping all mandatory religious holidays and giving an allowance of days for use for all of this hocus pocus. Then people can chose when to take a holiday.

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I would go for scrapping all religions.

I'd ask for a Klingon holiday. Or Jedi.

Let's see them argue it.

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Originally Posted by pseudolus

I would go for scrapping all mandatory religious holidays and giving an allowance of days for use for all of this hocus pocus. Then people can chose when to take a holiday.

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That makes sense to me.

F*ck muslims, hindus, and christians, for that matter.

No religious holidays for banks.

It should be secular.

3 holidays a year enough to cover all. God Day for religious folk, God Damn day for us damned for eternity types and Spend All Your Money day to appease consumers and capitalists.

I'm all in favour of the muslim holidays mind you.

That's two weeks extra on your vacation every year.

:)

^Yeah, just imagine all those Poles taking Ramadan off. The country would grind to a halt.

Ramadhan isn't a holiday.

It's a pagan festival usurped by Mohamed, and his equally demented followers.

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Originally Posted by leemo

It's a pagan festival usurped by Mohamed, and his equally demented followers.

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Eh?

Care to provide a link?

Ramadan is the name of a month, the month in which Muslims fast. It is not a festival.

He probably doesn't know that the Muslim holidays shift 11 days every year either.

:)

British Bank Holidays.

Interesting? How so?

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

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Originally Posted by leemo

It's a pagan festival usurped by Mohamed, and his equally demented followers.

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Eh?

Care to provide a link?

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Er, no I really don't care to do so, try that new fangled thing called google.

In pre-Mo days, Ramadan was a pagan period of peace and fasting, during which no tribe is supposed to attack any other. Mo broke with that 'tradition'.

Try reading your Koran instead of using it as a doorstop, after all, it is a collection of Allah's own words.

Btw, Allah was a pagan moon god for centuries before Mohamed decided to nick it for himself.

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Originally Posted by leemo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leemo

It's a pagan festival usurped by Mohamed, and his equally demented followers.

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Eh?

Care to provide a link?

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Er, no I really don't care to do so, try that new fangled thing called google.

In pre-Mo days, Ramadan was a pagan period of peace and fasting, during which no tribe is supposed to attack any other. Mo broke with that 'tradition'.

Try reading your Koran instead of using it as a doorstop, after all, it is a collection of Allah's own words.

Btw, Allah was a pagan moon god for centuries before Mohamed decided to nick it for himself.

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I did indeed look it up and you are right.

The "Pre-islamic" Ramadhan to which you refer indeed does exist, the Quran even says that this is when Moh'd received the holy book (and there was me thinking it he got it from Amazon).

But I don't get your claim about "usurping" or "breaking tradition", as muslims are supposed to be pious and good in Ramadhan; the lads in my office won't even swear and any sign of getting worked up about anything is frowned upon.

So I'm guessing the "tradition" didn't change much, just the owner's name.

And I didn't know until today the the Zoroastrians used to pray five times a day, didn't do Freddie Mercury any good, did it?

Ramadan was a non-Muslim pagan Arab festival » No Country for Women

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leemo

Quote:

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Quote:

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Originally Posted by leemo

It's a pagan festival usurped by Mohamed, and his equally demented followers.

---

Eh?

Care to provide a link?

---

Er, no I really don't care to do so, try that new fangled thing called google.

In pre-Mo days, Ramadan was a pagan period of peace and fasting, during which no tribe is supposed to attack any other. Mo broke with that 'tradition'.

Try reading your Koran instead of using it as a doorstop, after all, it is a collection of Allah's own words.

Btw, Allah was a pagan moon god for centuries before Mohamed decided to nick it for himself.

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I did indeed look it up and you are right.

The "Pre-islamic" Ramadhan to which you refer indeed does exist, the Quran even says that this is when Moh'd received the holy book (and there was me thinking it he got it from Amazon).

But I don't get your claim about "usurping" or "breaking tradition", as muslims are supposed to be pious and good in Ramadhan; the lads in my office won't even swear and any sign of getting worked up about anything is frowned upon.

So I'm guessing the "tradition" didn't change much, just the owner's name.

And I didn't know until today the the Zoroastrians used to pray five times a day, didn't do Freddie Mercury any good, did it?

Ramadan was a non-Muslim pagan Arab festival » No Country for Women

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On his night journey Mo was given a guided tour of the various heavens where he met his predecessors and even Allah. At that meeting Allah ordered him to instruct his followers to offer prayers 50 times per day.

This pissed him off but the other Mo butted in, pulled Mo the Muslim aside and told him not to take this shit, whereupon the newcomer returned to Allah and negotiated it down to 10 times daily. As he was about to say fok me I've 'ad a result, Allah said go on then I'm a real good bloke make it five.

Otherwise you lot would be bent over every half hour.


As for Muslims being pious and peaceful during Ramadan, it may be that your lot have hopes for a better life this time round rather than on the never never. But for your own satisfaction and/or understanding of this 'pious and peaceful' month, which might even give you a clue, clock what happens next Ramadan just like the last and the one before, at peacelovers in Paki, Iraq, Afghan, Bangla, Sudan and other friendly places. As I recall, the ever growing 'Ramadan scorecard' of deaths in the name of the usurped pagan moon god should be keeping the Compassionate and Merciful real busy.

You could go for the common Muslim/apologist bolthole, that these thugs misunderstand Islam.

But then, how do you also argue that the Koran and supporting texts are perfect and were precisely delivered by Allah to be understood by all Muslims? You do believe that, don't you? And if you don't, would you say so publicly, even during the 'pious and peaceful' month?

There is a patron saint for prostitute.
Google it.
Holiday cripple pattaya though.

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I would like to think they'll discuss it for about 30 seconds, long enough to say "**** off", then repair to the bar.

Quote:

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A official e-petition asking the government to create Muslim and Hindu bank holidays has reached 119,000 signatures, meaning that the proposal must be discussed in Parliament under rules established in 2011.

The petition, started by Jo Timmis, calls for the government to make Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, and Eid, the Muslim festival at the end of Ramadan, official British bank holidays.

Timmis says:

"I believe that given the number of Muslims and Hindu’s in this country it is only fair that we allow them to have the most important days in their faiths recognised in law."

By giving them public/bank holidays for these days we would be going some way to help to recognise the importance of these faiths to many within the country."

---

Parliament to discuss possibility of Muslim and Hindu bank holidays | Descrier News

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Jo Timmis? or Jon Timmis?
If it's the Timmis I know about, then I personally wouldn't be surprised if this was all about furthering their own career and profile... a profitable career in some left-wing quango beckons perhaps? or a career in the Labour Party? :puke: