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| Britain |
| Queen's Trinity Cross medal scrapped... because it's 'too Christian' |
| 2009-05-09 |
| Via JihadWatch A medal personally established by the Queen is being withdrawn after it was deemed offensive to Muslims and Hindus. The honour - known as The Trinity Cross of the Order of Trinity - has been ruled unlawful and too Christian. It has been awarded to 62 distinguished residents of the former colony of Trinidad and Tobago over more than 40 years, including cricketers Brian Lara and Garfield Sobers, novelist V.S. Naipaul and many diplomats and politicians. But groups representing the Caribbean islands' Muslim and Hindu communities - which account for around a third of their 1.3million-strong population - had argued that the words 'Trinity' and 'Cross' were 'overtly Christian'. They also said the use of a cross insignia was offensive. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #10 On the other hand, there is no such thing as "too Muslim." |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-05-09 14:23 |
| #9 THE PRIVY Council yesterday ruled that the choice of the name of the Trinity Cross back in 1969 by Queen Elizabeth II was unconstitutional, infringing on the rights of Hindus and Muslims alike in Trinidad and Tobago. The ruling was a symbolic victory for the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha who took the matter all the way to the Privy Council after losing in the local High Court in 2004, and then in Court of Appeal in 2007. On April 17, 2008, Cabinet agreed that the name of the Trinity Cross should be changed to the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and that the national awards should be re- designed so as to replace the Cross with a medal. Nonetheless this did not stop a panel of Law-Lords from making a ruling about the Trinity Cross during its 39-year history. They found that the name of the award violated the right to individual equality, equal treatment and freedom of religious belief. However, they made it clear that their ruling was prospective, and was not to effect the legality of the bestowing of the award in previous years. “The institution of the award of the Trinity Cross as the nation’s highest honour was an infringement of the enjoyment of the rights described in...the Constitution,” Lord Hope of Craighead said in a 20-page ruling. “It was an infringement of the rights and freedoms of members of the Hindu and Muslim communities in Trinidad and Tobago, and it was unconstitutional.” In delivering a separate agreeing judgement, Lord Mance argued that the Queen’s letters patent was an “executive act, capable of being declared unconstitutional”. In the local courts, the Maha Saba had failed because the letters patent were viewed as specially preserved law under the Constitution. “It’s a vindication of the 40 years of disquiet and unease silently suffered by the Muslim and Hindu communities whose legitimate grievance with the Trinity Cross was flippantly dismissed by successive governments. I dedicate this victory to the late Dr Wahid Ali and later Dharmacharya Pundit Krishna Maharaj,” said the Maha Saba’s attorney Anand Ramlogan yesterday. “The Government should now consider giving a posthumous award to him because he had symbolically declined the award.” |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-05-09 13:36 |
| #8 The next thing the Queen will withdraw is her flag festooned with crosses, in favor of the crescent & star. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2009-05-09 12:47 |
| #7 If they won't accept the medal, just give them a gift certificate. When I can't figure out what gift to give some ungrateful bastard around Christmas time, the gift certificate never fails. |
| Posted by: Destro_in_Panama 2009-05-09 11:58 |
| #6 Just change the bloody name to 'Cow jumps over the Moon medal' and let it go! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-05-09 09:14 |
| #5 Of course, the very name 'Trinidad' means Trinity. Can't appeal to Christopher Columbus though. |
| Posted by: john frum 2009-05-09 08:59 |
| #4 Mecca is too Muslim so please remove all vestiges of Islam. |
| Posted by: hammerhead 2009-05-09 07:27 |
| #3 If they feel slighted by the award they should just decline it and let the rest of the world get on with civilization. |
| Posted by: Fred 2009-05-09 05:47 |
| #2 Isn't the Queen head of the Anglican church? If they don't like the medal why no introdue alternatives for awardees who feel slighted by the award. If Someone felt I deserved an award I would feel Honoured and grateful regardless if it was offered by the head of another religion. That's who they are not you. |
| Posted by: Gladys 2009-05-09 05:20 |
| #1 So will they eliminate the Victoria Cross next? |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2009-05-09 00:51 |