Britain bars US clergy under 'anti-terror' law

London Times ^ | 25-05-2006 | BY RUTH GLEDHILL, RELIGION CORRESPONDENT

[Studley]

A GROUP of trainee Methodist ministers has been barred from Britain by the Home Office under laws passed 12 years ago to prevent unqualified religious leaders entering the country. Every year, the Methodist Church in the US sends 14 probationer ministers to this country for a year, and they have never been turned away before. But for the first time this year, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate has ruled that the 14 trainees fall foul of legislation passed in 1994 under which ministers who are not ordained cannot get a work visa.

[Studley]

A GROUP of trainee Methodist ministers has been barred from Britain by the Home Office under laws passed 12 years ago to prevent unqualified religious leaders entering the country. Every year, the Methodist Church in the US sends 14 probationer ministers to this country for a year, and they have never been turned away before. But for the first time this year, the Immigration and Nationality Directorate has ruled that the 14 trainees fall foul of legislation passed in 1994 under which ministers who are not ordained cannot get a work visa. Church leaders accused the Home Office of an attack on religious freedom. Although probationer ministers in the Methodist Church are fully trained, they cannot be ordained until they have served a set of churches, known as a circuit, for two years. An estimated 100 such probationer Methodist ministers have been admitted to work in Britain since 1994, according to this week’s Methodist Recorder. Dr Paul Glass, Superintendent Methodist Minister for Wakefield, said: “This rule is meant to be for unqualified Islamic students. You could not imagine somebody less like a terrorist than a young American Methodist minister. “It seems to be ludicrous and a direct attack on religious freedom. The Government is in danger of looking ridiculous. “Faced with a Government that is acting in increasingly authoritarian ways, I would hope that we could bring as much pressure to bear as possible to change this restrictive action.” Lord Griffiths, Minister of Wesley’s Chapel, Central London, described the ban as a “denial of natural justice”. He said: “Decades of good practice have now been lost and the opportunity to develop and enhance international relations thrown in the water. If ever there was a law with unintended consequences, this surely has to be it.” The Methodist Church has said it is hoping that a new pre-entry qualification and post-entry civic knowledge test for ministers of religion will help them to gain visas in the future. The Rev David Deeks, general-secretary of the Methodist Church, said: “This decision had nothing to do with political correctness or imams from Pakistan. Rather it is a difference of opinion — the Methodist Church regards all those who serve under the discipline of the Church to be ministers, even before they are ordained. “The Home Office does not agree. We continue to work closely with the Home and Foreign Offices to resolve this.” A Home Office official said: “We have received correspondence highlighting immigration provisions as regards trainee Methodist ministers.

We are currently looking into this issue.”

[VOA]

Methodist
Muslim
Methodist
Muslim

Oh well, I guess it could be an honest mistake...

[rbg81]

Bet they're still letting in every POS Muslim cleric and his 14 member family (including his multiple wives). But of course, we're talking the "Religion of Peace" here.

[Studley]

It seems we only let in half blind clerics with hooks for hands and whose preaching of hate and insurrection is rewarded by years of financial support at the tax payers expense.

[RichInOC]

Are these guys UMC? Might not have been a mistake.

:-D )))

[VOA]

Studley, if you're in the UK...
We've got plenty of immigration madness to go around here in the good old USA!

[lonedawg]

Those Methodists! You never know when one of them might fly an airplane into a building, you know how flaky they are.

[rzeznikj at stout]

As asinine as it sounds, the government does have a point.

The way I see it, the British government is effectively damned if they do, and equally damned if they don't.

Suppose the gov't lets the ministers in (even under any quiet arrangement). Other faiths, including Islam (and even radical Islam) will demand equal treatment. And since IIRC, the government operates on a quasi-socialist system, the government will be obliged to give it to them.

The fear is that untrained ministers enter the country. Untrained Islamic clerics will want the same thing--and they get it. More bombings result.

Frankly, I'm thinking this is the last thing the Home Office really wants to deal with. So by saying that no clergyman who hasn't been ordained/consecrated/etc. cannot enter the country for that purpose period makes sense.

Simply put, if you let one in, you're eventually going to have to let them all in.

And frankly, I'd be willing to guess this is the last thing the Home Office really wants to deal with.

In an ideal world, this law wouldn't be necessary. But with the law passed, and radical Muslims all over Western Europe--any untrained minister from any religion is going to cause a red flag.

[Gordongekko909]

They could be anywhere. O_O

[lonedawg]

It's a strange thing to me that if the when the KKK preaches violence they are justifiably prosecuted, but a radical Islam cleric preaching suicide bombing goes scott free.

[Studley]

I am from the UK but currently in US and looking emigrate and make a new start in life unfortunately like in the UK it doesn't seem to work, 6 months wait to get a work permit?

[hoosierham]

The KKK doesn't have the sponsorship of people who control huge oil fields.

[Gordongekko909]

Follow the process, dude. There are immigration lawyers whose job it is to walk you through the bureaucracy so you can get citizenship. Find one of them.

Welcome to Free Republic and the United States. ^_^

[lonedawg]

They also are not of the religion of piss err peace, could be Methodists I suppose!

[lonedawg]

On the other hand you can always go to Juarez then just skip across the desert till you hit the border, I've heard seven or eight have come across that way.Getting work is no problem once you're here you can even draw Social Security.Oh! also you can get free medical care, just go to any emergency room, Ain't America wonderful!!

[robowombat]

Well the appropriate response would be a simple law that says no practicing Muslim can set foot in the UK. Oh wait the Prince of Wales thinks the turban turners are just the greatest.

[rzeznikj at stout]

I agree with your assessment of the Prince of Wales...8^)

But that wouldn't work because of all the political correctness that now exists in British society. If PC weren't a problem--it'd definitely be the best option.

I personally think this law barring the Methodist ministers is rather stupid.

But the government has a point--and it appears their current route is the least of all evils and does the least harm to the credibility of the government and its relation with society.