Lincoln’s Inn, one of England’s most prestigious legal institutions, has abandoned its centuries-old tradition of saying Christian grace before meals at ceremonial events, replacing it with a secular expression of “thanks.” The Inn’s decision to distance itself from the Anglican faith was announced last September. (Lincoln’s Inn is one of four English “Inns of Court,” professional associations to which English and Welsh barristers must belong before practicing law, akin to state bar associations in the United States.)
In light of the change, Christian grace will still be recited at the Inn’s lunch following its Sunday chapel service but will otherwise be omitted from ceremonies. By eliminating Christian elements from its events, officials at the Inn, founded by Christian lawyers in 1422, express a desire to accommodate people of other faiths, especially Islam.
Lincoln’s Inn’s Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Voss, said that the decision was made to “foster inclusivity,” “modernize,” and “create a more thoughtful environment” at the chapel, for which English poet and preacher John Donne laid the foundation stone in 1620.
Incredibly humbled but delighted to share that I was honoured by Lincoln's Inn to recite a few passages of the Holy Quran on Justice, Mercy and Compassion at the Chapel service for this year's Call to the Bar.
— Barrister Talha Ali (@legal_issue) March 16, 2023
The passages being recited are parts of surah An-Nisa and Al-Maidah. pic.twitter.com/oWEr6di2qA
The organization’s departure from the centuries-old tradition of saying Christian grace before celebratory meals comes after it introduced readings from the Qur’an in some of its chapel services, which previously included only readings from the Christian Bible. An Order of Service from the Inn’s official Anglican chapel, obtained by Focus on Western Islamism (FWI), reveals that Qur’an passages have been used in Call Day services, which celebrate student members being called to the Bar and receiving the title of Barrister, since at least November 2023. The document includes Qur’an passages 4:135 and Qur’an 8:8. In March 2023, a member of the Inn shared a video of himself reciting from the Qur’an during a service in the chapel, confirming the use of the Islamic scripture at a putatively Christian ceremony.
Muslims Apply Pressure
One former member told FWI that several members and students at the Inn had requested that clergy at the Inn’s chapel refer to God as “Allah” in its services, although this was apparently refused. The ex-member, who wished to remain anonymous, explained: “Obviously Arabic-speaking Christians do refer to God as ‘Allah,’ but asking for this term to be used in an English-speaking Protestant service makes no sense, and I would assume it was a request made by Muslim members rather than Christian ones.”
Why not use biblical readings instead?
“It is clear that the chapel’s inclusion of non-biblical readings and the request to refer to God as ‘Allah’ happens because members at the Inn are increasingly affluent students from Muslim-majority countries such as Pakistan and Malaysia, where attitudes toward free speech and faith are miles apart from the standard in Britain,” the member argued, adding: “The Qur’an passages used in the Call Day Service discussed justice, mercy, and compassion, concepts on which Christian theology has its own views, which the Church of England purports to believe in as absolute truth. Why not use biblical readings instead?”
“Having the Qur’an read in the Call Day services seems even more absurd when you consider that the vast majority of international students from Muslim-majority countries will not go on to practice law in this country,” the member said. “Call Day is the only time many of these students visit the Inn, so why should the service be changed to suit them?”
Fresco Fracas in the Offing?
The member also suggested the Inn was ripe for further religious controversy, sparked by the hardline Islamist views of some students, especially regarding the Inn’s semicircular fresco of historic lawgivers, which includes a pictorial depiction of Muhammad. “During lunch in the Great Hall, a guest and I overheard a member loudly complaining to another member and guests about how the depiction of Muhammad in view on the nearby wall was offensive and ought to be removed,” the member told FWI.
“At the moment, I think many students simply don’t realize that Muhammad is depicted in the mural, but it is easy to see how the image could become a more intense focus of contention,” the member said.
A spokesperson for the group told FWI that “As part of the Inn’s wider activities on Call Days for a student body of a wide variety of faiths and none, it has been our practice for a number of years to have an optional Christian service in chapel where there are readings for reflection on Justice, Mercy and Compassion from the three Abrahamic faiths.”
A spokesperson for Lincoln’s Inn declared that officials are “unaware of any request for clergy at the Inn to refer to God as ‘Allah’” and that the fresco is a “symbolic representation of the great lawgivers and legal traditions of world history.” The Inn’s spokesperson added that, “The figures in the fresco are not portraits and, in the case of Muhammad, this is emphasized by the position of the figure, partially turned away from the viewer so his full face is not visible.”
Officials claimed that they were unaware of any controversy relating to the fresco and stressed that Lincoln’s Inn “is committed to providing a welcoming, supportive, safe, and inclusive environment for all.”
Andrea Williams, chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre, which opposes the prayer change, told FWI, “At the heart of Lincoln’s Inn is a chapel that marks the role of the Christian faith in shaping law and justice in our nation. Saying grace before meals in the Inn is part of that rich and living tradition. It is no little thing to stop saying grace. It demonstrates what the Inn cares about. To abandon the Christian faith in this way after centuries of upholding it does not bode well for the future of Lincoln’s Inn.”
“To abandon the Christian grace before lunches at the Inn and now to have readings from the Qur’an at its call ceremonies reveals that the Inn is losing touch with its history,” Williams said. “It is Christianity that has shaped the law and our great institutions in this country. We abandon our Christian heritage at our peril. Removing the vestiges of Christianity and replacing them with Islamic ones is not a neutral act and will not end well.”
Reminiscent of Other Controversies
A similar row broke out in 2015 when the vicar of the Church of England’s Diocese of Southwark permitted a group of Muslims to hold their prayer service in his church. Days after the story was broken by The Telegraph, the vicar of St. John’s, Waterloo, Canon Giles Goddard, apologized for “the offence caused and any infringement of the Church of England’s framework and guidelines” after it emerged that “an act of worship from a non-Christian faith tradition is not permitted within a consecrated Church of England building.”
Controversies regarding Muslim worship in Christian buildings have routinely erupted in other European countries. In Spain’s Córdoba Cathedral there is a long-running campaign by Muslim groups keen to reclaim their perceived rights over the building, which served as a mosque during the medieval Islamic rule of the city.
Security guards have previously intervened in attempts at Muslim group prayer in the building. In April 2010, two Muslim tourists were arrested at the cathedral, after two security guards were seriously injured when the visitors, one of whom reportedly possessed a knife, refused to comply with the guards’ instructions to continue with their tour.
In any event, Lincoln’s Inn’s decision to downplay its Christian roots is unlikely to be the end of debate and confrontation at the institution.