Letter: Legalised bigotry

Published on Tuesday 21 June 2011 16:55

Jack Kilpatrick (Letters, 21 June) is right to be concerned about the new sectarianism laws as religious groups will inevitably use them to suppress wider, legitimate opposition to their agenda.

Indeed, it has already begun. Representatives of the Catholic Church in Scotland, an institution that famously branded singing and doing the Hokey Cokey a "faith hate crime", has recently suggested that sectarianism is in part fuelled by newspapers which publish articles and letters from those who object to Catholic faith schools. It is already seeking to use the sectarianism debate to suppress legitimate alternative views of how children in Scotland should be educated.

The Accord Coalition, which opposes single-faith schools and their exemptions from human rights legislation, is chaired by a rabbi and numbers Hindu, Islamic and Christian organisations among its members.

It would be bizarre, indeed, if a newspaper could be considered to be fuelling sectarianism by publishing articles from a consortium of religious and other groups campaigning to eradicate it. But then it is bizarre that one can be imprisoned in the "best small country in the world" for singing stupid songs at a football match, but legally able to practise institutionalised discrimination and prejudice in the education system.

Alistair McBay

Lawmuirview

Methven

The Scottish Government appears to be attempting to railroad legislation to control sectarianism at football matches through the Scottish Parliament this week.

The agenda of the justice committee in its initial hearings this week is dominated by Scottish Government intentions. Yet submissions by lawyers to the committee suggest that there are adequate powers at present to deal with such disorder.

Will the justice committee demonstrate that parliament has an independent will to hold the Scottish Government to account and urge a delay to have more time to consider in depth the complexities of challenging sectarianism in contemporary Scotland?

Norman Bonney

National Secular Society

Atholl Crescent

Edinburgh