London’s public spaces are being festooned with ‘Happy Ramadan’ lights through Holy Week and Easter weekend, the most important holiday period for Christians.
Ramadan, a period of fasting in Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Islamic faith, moves in line with the moon each year. This year, it overlaps with Holy Week and Eastertide and appears to be taking precedence over them, despite the United Kingdom’s status as a constitutionally Christian country.
London’s Ramadan displays, now in their second year, adorn the key locations in the West End, including Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square, and Oxford Street. Khan, of the left-wing Labour Party, personally switched on the lights earlier this month.
The choice of decoration, funded by the Aziz Foundation set up by billionaire property magnate Asif Aziz, has drawn criticism from some Conservatives.
“The thing I would question is this: there has been a Ramadan celebration in the window of Westminster city hall. But I just wonder if the Easter one is going up very soon? Easter is one of the most important Christian festivals of the year but what are [the Labour-run municipal government] doing to celebrate it?” he asked.
“I am not aware they are. I suspect the window display is not going to change.”
Some have also noted the Ramadan decorations are going up at a time when London is gripped by anti-Israel protests every weekend, with some featuring open calls for jihad.
show lessGood Friday ✝️ in Sadiq Khan's London. pic.twitter.com/pEj4Ft8f00
— Jack Montgomery (@JackBMontgomery) March 29, 2024