Anglican bishop defends Islamic prayers in London's Trafalgar Square: 'Nothing sinister'

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Wednesday, March 25, 2026

An Anglican bishop in the United Kingdom defended recent mass Islamic prayers in London’s Trafalgar Square, calling them "nothing sinister" and akin to public Christian prayers of lamentation.

Arun Arora, who has served as bishop of Kirkstall in the Diocese of Leeds since 2022, penned an op-ed for The Telegraph last Friday dismissing concerns that the public Muslim prayers, in which London Mayor Sadiq Khan participated, were a symbolic act of conquest in a formerly Christian country.

"When you think about the unedifying political furor about the open iftar [celebration to break Ramadan fast] held in Trafalgar Square, try to bear in mind that every year on Remembrance Day — a stone’s throw from Trafalgar Square — the bishop of London leads a public Christian act of lamentation in the open air," Arora wrote.

Arora went on to liken Islamic prayer in the heart of the British capital to events where he has prayed in solidarity with other religions and branches of Christianity that have historically been at odds.

"In Leeds, where I have the honor of leading the service alongside the Roman Catholic dean of Leeds, I am accompanied by leaders from other faiths: Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim. We join together in this public, open-air, unmistakably Christian service," he said, repudiating any accusation that such an act prompted complaints of cultural domination.

Nick Timothy, a member of Parliament and shadow lord chancellor, prompted fierce debate last week when he rebuked the display in an X post.

"Too many are too polite to say this. But mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination. The adhan — which declares there is no god but allah and Muhammad is his messenger — is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination," said Timothy.

Too many are too polite to say this.

But mass ritual prayer in public places is an act of domination.

The adhan - which declares there is no god but allah and Muhammad is his messenger - is, when called in a public place, a declaration of domination.

Perform these rituals in… pic.twitter.com/PIfJAgb7Zk

— Nick Timothy MP (@NJ_Timothy) March 17, 2026

Timothy asserted that the Muslim call to prayer implicitly denies the divinity of Jesus Christ by rejecting the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, which he said should not be permitted in British Christian churches, some of which have hosted the adhan.

On March 17, traditionalist Anglican Bishop Ceirion H. Dewar posted an open letter to King Charles III, warning that the Christian heritage of the U.K. is being "deliberately eroded" and faces growing hostility.

"The issue before us is not nostalgia. It is civilization. Remove Christianity from the story of Britain and you do not create a neutral society — you create a moral vacuum. And history teaches us that moral vacuums are never left empty for long," Dewar wrote in the letter, which has received thousands of signatures.

Earlier this week, Prince William drew criticism for speaking of his "quiet faith" and "commitment to the Church of England" during an interview with The Times, despite rarely attending services.

"His feeling is, 'I might not be at church every day but I believe in it, I want to support it and this is an important aspect of my role and the next role and I will take it very seriously, in my own way,'" said a spokesperson for the prince, who is slated to attend the formal installation of Dame Sarah Mullally as the first female archbishop of Canterbury at Canterbury Cathedral this week.

Gavin Ashenden, who served as chaplain to Queen Elizabeth II from 2008 to 2017 before leaving the Church of England for Roman Catholicism, said he found William’s comments "a bit insulting."

Ashenden, who has claimed Anglicanism in the U.K. has become apostate, departed his role after publicly protesting that St. Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow, marked the Feast of the Epiphany in 2017 by reciting verses from the Quran that denied the divinity of Christ, according to The Telegraph.

'Frankly, it's insulting.'

Former Chaplain to the late Queen, @gavinashenden, says he finds Prince William's confirmation of 'quiet faith' as 'strategic and political'. pic.twitter.com/O2zZmQfTLC

— LBC (@LBC) March 22, 2026

"The thing is, Christianity and one's religious faith, it's a matter of intense integrity, really," Ashenden said during an interview this week with GB News about Prince William. "People die for it in places. They give their lives for it. The standards are very high. You forgive your enemies, you love your enemies. You're engaged in a crusade against evil. It's a big thing."

Ashenden cited a biographer of Prince William, who he said described the heir to the throne as "not particularly religious and beset by doubts about whether he should head up a church he doesn't attend much."

"He's a really sweet man with sort of vacant ideas about God," Ashenden said of William, adding that he sees the prince's comments as "strategic" and "political."

"If you're a passionate Christian, frankly, it's insulting," he said.

The uproar over the rising tide of Islam in the U.K. comes as Anglicanism is fracturing globally over issues of sexuality and gender. Last week, former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams expressed doubts that the Anglican Communion will survive.