A charity called Manchester Community Centre recently posted a job on the government's Find A Job website. The job title for this post was: "Sharia Law administrator". The successful candidate would need to have a diploma or degree in Sharia Law, as well as familiarity with UK law, and would work with individuals and families as well as providing assistance to Manchester Sharia Council. When attention was drawn to the advert, it was deleted, and a press statement was issued by Didsbury Mosque (the mosque connected with the initiative and based in a former church building). The mosque said that they aren't trying to run a parallel legal system...but this article delves a bit deeper into the story, including the fact that the Charity Commission previously had to warn the mosque not to suggest the sharia council's decisions were legally binding. Are there some in our nation who think that they are? (fb)

Two online influencers have been arrested after driving around Manchester filming themselves shooting at orthodox Jews with a water pistol. They have claimed it was just an innocent joke, and that they've played similar "pranks" on other people - but their video had traditional Jewish music playing over the top, they've done other videos pranking orthodox Jews before, and some of their large audience has left antisemitic comments in response (including comparing the water to antiseptic, and suggesting a gas prank next time). ----- This comes as the Community Security Trust released data on antisemitic incidents reported to them in the first half of 2025. They noted that there was a noticeable surge in reported incidents on two occasions - after Bob Vylan's "death to the IDF" chant at Glastonbury on live TV in June, and after Israel announced an expansion of military operations in Gaza in May. But hatred of the Jews is always there in some people's hearts, whether or not there's an incident that brings it to the surface. May God change hearts in our nation, beginning in the church! (fb)