Network Rail warned over Ramadan message on King’s Cross board

[dutchman]

Company told it risks ‘generating resentment’ by posting a saying of Mohammed to mark the Islamic festival



Network Rail has been branded “misguided” after an Islamic message was displayed on the departure board at London King’s Cross station as part of a diversity initiative for Ramadan.

The religious saying caught passengers by surprise on Tuesday morning and triggered warnings that the state-owned railway station company risked “generating resentment”.

One of the screens on the King’s Cross departure board was taken up with a display of a quotation from the Prophet Mohammed together with Islamic prayer times.

Next to conventional information about delayed trains, the information screen showed times for “fajr” and “maghrib” – sunrise and sunset prayer times – together with a “hadith of the day”.

It said: “All the sons of Adam are sinners but the best of the sinners are those who repent often.”

Hadiths are sayings of the Prophet Mohammed, treated in Islam as second only to the Koran as a source of religious law and moral authority, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Stephen Evans, chief executive of the National Secular Society, said the display could trigger a race for other religions to have their articles of faith shown with similar prominence.

“At best it’s a well-meaning yet misguided and counterproductive attempt at inclusivity,” said Mr Evans.

“Such gestures reveal favouritism, generating resentment and the inevitable demands from other religious or identity groups for equal recognition.

“Religious messages like this undermine the principle of neutrality. Maintaining such neutrality in public spaces and services is the best way of nurturing a fair, harmonious or inclusive society that respects all individuals, regardless of their beliefs or backgrounds.”

A Network Rail spokesman said the publicly owned infrastructure company was marking the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which stretches from March 10 to April 9 in 2024.

“King’s Cross station is made up of a diverse and multicultural workforce and at times of religious significance, messages such as these are displayed to celebrate the station’s diversity and inclusivity,” they said.

“If significant disruption occurs on the network, the boards are changed to display relevant passenger information to help passengers complete their journeys.

“Throughout the year, messaging at the station also celebrates festivals from other religions including Easter, Christmas, Passover and Diwali to mark the beliefs of our colleagues and passengers.”

[dutchman]

When asked by The Telegraph for examples of departure board messages displayed to mark other religious festivals, the spokesman suggested none were available because staff had taken no pictures of them.

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