A Ramadan-inspired Islamic message from Mohammed has been taken down from a display at London King’s Cross railway station after backlash from the public.
This week, a quote attributed to the Muslim prophet Mohammed was featured on the digital departures board at King’s Cross station in Central London during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, running from March 10th to April 9th.
The Hadith — a report of words believed to have been uttered by Mohammed — said: “The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) [Peace Be Upon Him] said: All the sons of Adam are sinners but the best of the sinners are those who repent often.”
The message sparked outrage on social media, with British users questioning why such a message was being featured by a publicly-owned display.
Initially, Network Rail, the government body which operates the station, attempted to defend the message, saying that “King’s Cross station is made up of a diverse and multi-cultural workforce and at times of religious significance, messages such as these are displayed to celebrate the station’s diversity and inclusivity.”
Network Rail went on to claim that displays are used to celebrate holidays of other religions as well, including Christmas, Diwali, Easter, and Passover to “mark the beliefs of our colleagues and passengers.”
However, on Thursday, the government-owned body admitted that it was wrong to have displayed a message from Mohammed on its main train departure board rather than a generic “Ramadan celebratory message”.
A Network Rail spokesperson told the BBC: “We celebrate all the big religious festivals from Christmas to Ramadan at King’s Cross to reflect our diverse passenger and employee base.
“Our main departure board should be reserved for train information and our general Ramadan celebratory messages weren’t used for some reason, which we’re looking into.”
The decision to remove the message from Mohammed came after considerable backlash from the public.
“Aren’t we supposed to be a Christian country?” questioned Brexit leader Nigel Farage.
“If it had been Psalm 139 put up there Sadiq Khan would immediately start gobbling like a turkey about racism and white supremacy,” wrote Reclaim Party leader Laurence Fox.
The controversy comes as London and other major British cities have been dominated in recent months by pro-Palestinian demonstrations, often featuring anti-Israel and antisemitic messages.
On Multiple occasions, London train stations were “occupied” by pro-Palestinian protesters. The wide-ranging demonstrations have seen some warn that the British capital now has “no-go zones” for Jewish people.
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