“There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”. This formulation of words, a declaration of the falseness of all other religions and the certainty that the founder of the Muslim faith is the final prophet of God, is called the shahada.
It is the first and most foundational of the five pillars of Islam. It is also spoken, or sung, multiple times a day in the Islamic tradition by a muezzin, in modern times often through loudspeakers across the public spaces of cities and seeping into private residences. This ritual is known as the adhan, or the call to prayer, and originates with the early Muslims arrival in Medina.
Its purpose is clear. To let the whole area know what beliefs are practiced, and to ensure that all are included, whether willingly or not.
This accords with the idea that there is no difference in classical Islamic thought between the religious and the secular; this is a Christian distinction (as when Christ says ‘render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s’ or ‘My kingdom is not of this world’).
This context is important when hearing about a large-scale event in Trafalgar Square. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, joined a huge open-air Muslim prayer, led by a muezzin proclaiming the shahada in the form of an adhan, in the centre of London, to mark the end of another day of fasting during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.
Conservative Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy has been attacked by the Left for calling this an ‘act of domination’.
Many, terrified of incurring the wrath of the Islamists or the chattering classes, have condemned Timothy and called him all the usual buzzwords. They liken this even to football match screenings or Sikh celebrations in the same space.
Nick Timothy is right: domination is not a bug of Islam — it’s a feature — James Price | Getty Images
But Nick Timothy, aside from being incredibly brave, is also right. There is a categorical difference between a loud, declarative assertion that your religion is right and all others are false, and other festivals.
This is compounded by the proselytising nature of Islam. There is a compulsion for Muslims to try to convert, as there is in Christianity, but which is absent in, say, Judaism or Hinduism.
And whilst many Christians are now too timid to try to convert anyone, it deserves special treatment in Britain because this is a Christian country, shaped by Christian morality, beliefs and ways of being that existed in England for centuries before Islam even existed.
Most of all, though, political Islam, that is to say Islamism, preaches that taking over public spaces is a technique to spread its influence.
This is similarly true of head coverings, applying pressure to prevent children from drawing images of Jesus (considered blasphemous), restrictions on dogs (considered filthy) or pushing halal.
These acts push societies towards political Islam, and away from a modern, westernised version of the faith, where religion and the secular world are kept more distinct.
That is why Timothy is right – this is an attempt at cultural domination. We should reject it as a uniquely dangerous phenomenon.
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