The 99 Beautiful Names

Hmmph! Not satisfied with the public display of napkins and the ridiculous championing of the book launch for Archer's Gospel of Judas, Westminster Cathedral have done it again. This time they plan to host a concert by Taverner. They do a lot of concerts, and while I personally think Cathedrals shouldn't be used for such secular pursuits, I suppose it is a way of raising some much-needed cash.

However, the work to be premiered is Taverner's The Beautiful Names (of Allah). The work is being performed at the request of HRH Prince (I-want-to-be-defender-of-faiths) Charles. It also includes the playing of Tibetan Temple gongs (or something of that ilk.) Fr Tim raised the issue a couple of weeks ago.

The Cathedral Administrator, Mgr. Langham, is quoted as saying that it's a secular concert, not an act of worship.

Oh really? I'm sorry, but a recitation of the 99 Names of God may not be considered to be an act of worship by Mgr. Langham, but I'd really like to know what Muslims think about this. Just writing about their Prophet in the wrong way gets them pretty steamed, as does printing cartoon pictures. Don't misunderstand me - I do not believe it's ok to insult someone's faith or their holy leaders. But what I am trying to say is that I think your average Muslim would consider this recitation of the Holy Names to be an act of worship.

Similarly, if you started to sing "Tower of Ivory, House of Gold, Morning Star, Health of the Sick" or similar, then, no matter what musical accompaniment or where you sang it, I would immediately associate this with Our Lady and the Litany of Loreto.

I don't care if people try to muddy the waters by stating that Christians and Muslims are both People of the Book and so worship the same God. We do not. Muslims specifically rejected the Bible, and their Book is the Qur'an. Muslims revere Jesus as the Prophet Isa, but not as the Son of God, not as the Second Person of the Trinity. They consider that to be blasphemy.

Now, either God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit (the Christian view) or He is not (the Muslim view.) Either Jesus is the Son of God or He is not. You get the general idea: Christians worship Jesus Christ as the Second Person of the Trinity. God from God. Indivisible. So you can't separate Him off and say that, oh well, apart from that little point, we still worship the same God. That little point is the basis of our Faith: Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, died on the Cross to save and redeem us.

The fiasco over the "Gospel of Judas" was bad enough. That was just a book launch. This recitation of the Beautiful Names of Allah has crossed the line: Westminster Cathedral is a Roman Catholic place of worship - and it houses the remains of several Cardinals, a saint and the Real Presence of Our Blessed Lord himself. I doubt that you would be able to have a recitation of Handel's Messiah (however secular the performance) in a Mosque. Muslims have a more sensitive appreciation of what a place of worship should be used for.

Oh, and I believe that Tibetan Temple gongs are used to "summon" the deity. I dread to think what might be being summoned. It's certainly not the Holy Trinity, nor the Holy Angels, nor the Communion of Saints. I leave you to work it through to its logical conclusion.

I am delighted to read, on Catholic Action UK, that there are plans for a protest outside the Cathedral at the time of the performance. I think recitations of the Rosary, and of the Litanies of the Holy Name of Jesus and of Loreto are definitely called for. The concert starts at 7:30pm on Tuesday 19th June.

UPDATE: Fr. Tim is trying to see who else is going to be around for the protest. Watch this space for further details.