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July 12, 2006

UK: Muslim Fun Day Mars Marriage Plans

Alton Towers in Staffordshire is the largest leisure park in Britain, with rides, entertainment, camping areas and accommodation. It is enjoyed by thousands of families every year. Recently, it announced that it was going to have a Muslim Fun Day, arranged by a group calling itself Islamic Leisure. On September 17, anyone entering the park will have to comply with the strict dress codes laid out by Islamic Leisure.

No-one will be allowed access to the site at all on September 17, the day of the event, unless their tickets have been purchased via Islamic Leisure. On its website, the Fun Day organisers claim: "Islamic Leisure is pleased to present exclusive access for our guests at the first ever national Muslim fun day at Alton Towers." They write of "bringing Islam and leisure together."

The Sun newspaper first disclosed the details, and reported that non-Muslims calling to reserve tickets for Alton Towers for September 17 had been refused.

The Sun also quoted a man who was denied a reservation for his family: "Its the only day we can go, yet I can't because I'm not Muslim. Can you imagine all the fuss if there was a Christians only day?"

A Muslim student on a web message board had written: "It's hardly encouraging integration."

Women will not be allowed to go on the same sides a the same time as men, even if married. As well as having halal food, and prayer rooms and prayer mats provided, Islamic Leisure has announced there will be gender-segregated areas.

But the Muslim-only exercise in apartheid has caused a problem for one couple who had planned to have their wedding at the Emperor's Suite in Alton Towers. 18 months ago, state the Telegraph and the Daily Mail, 30-year old Amanda Morris and her fiance, 31-year old Scott Lee, paid £5,000 ($9,215) to reserve rooms at Alton Towers.

The couple had booked 20 rooms for guests on the night of 16 September, hoping that their 60 wedding guests would enjoy taking part in the rides the following day.

Amanda explained: "Our family and friends have a lot of young children and we thought it would be a great idea to include that in our wedding plans."

She says: "Everything was booked - the photographer, the hotel rooms, everything. Then some of our guests started getting letters saying they would have to cover up because it was a Muslim event. Alton Towers haven't even had the decency to let us know they had hired it out."

She does not blame Islamic Leisure, but says: "It's a nightmare. We have been planning this for so long and now this happens nine weeks before the ceremony. People are ringing us saying it must be a joke. I don't know what we are going to do now. I would still like the wedding to go ahead, but I just don't know how it will all work out. I'll be gutted if I have to cancel it now."

Islamic Leisure have confirmed that those attending the wedding will have to conform to their religious prejudices, such as having no alcohol, and no music. Yaseen Patel, director of Islamic Leisure says: "The body will have to be covered, (though) they do not have to wear the hijab."

A spokesperson for Alton Towers states that a condition of Islamic Leisure's booking would be that hotel and wedding guests would be exempt from the Muslim dress code.

So it seems that Islamic Leisure are not only breaking an agreement, but intimidating guests by sending them letters. How Islamic.

The Daily Mail notes that the fun day's aims were to be: "integrating Muslims into the wider community."

On the Daily Mail website, 36 comments are posted, and universally they condemn the situation. One person wrote: "married couples will be banned from going on rides together".....A return to the dark ages if ever there was one, besides which I thought the aim of the muslim fun day was to help them intigrate into British values and traditions, not the other way around.

And another: I seem to have lost 9 months of my life, I presume I have been in a deep sleep since July 2006 because I've just woken up and it's already April 1st 2007.

And: Madness, utter madness. When in Rome eh? This is still a free and equal country isn't it? The last 200 years of reform did happen didn't it? Or have I been dreaming and woken up in the Vatican circa 1500? The mind boggles at how this sort of discrimination can not only be considered fair, but also legal.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at July 12, 2006 7:21 AM

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