On October 17 the PTS Chairman, The Rt Rev. Dominic Stockford, wrote as shown below to the Bishop of Oxford, The Rt Rev. Dr Steven Croft, with concern over the invitation to a Muslim imam to preach at a service of Holy Eucharist.
Dear Bishop Croft,
I am sure that you are aware that Canon Law B18.2 states that “the sermon in Anglican worship shall be preached by a minister, deaconess, reader or lay worker duly authorized in accordance with Canon Law. At the invitation of the minister having the cure of souls another person may preach with the permission of the bishop of the diocese given either in relation to the particular occasion or in accordance with diocesan directions.”
It is reported that a Muslim imam has been invited to preach at the Service of Holy Eucharist at the University Church of St Mary, Oxford, this Sunday morning next, at 10.30 am. Can you please confirm that you have given a non-Christian religious teacher permission to preach at this act of Christian worship, in contravention of the Canon Law of the Church of England? If you have given no such permission, can you please enlighten us as to the steps you are taking to prevent this blasphemy?
Yours sincerely,
Rt Rev Dominic F Stockford
Chairman
Protestant Truth Society
This elicited the following Statement in response:
Statement from the Diocese of Oxford published 17 October 2018
Monawar Hussain MBE DL will deliver the University Sermon following the Eucharist at St Mary’s this Sunday. He is most welcome. Founder of the Oxford Foundation and the Muslim Tutor at Eton College, Monawar is well known to many in Oxford and he joins a long list of those invited to preach the University Sermon by the Vice Chancellor. Monawar is not the first person from another faith community to be invited to preach the University Sermon, his presence on Sunday reflects the strong commitment of the Church, University and other faith communities to interfaith engagement.