RISING anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and fear of foreigners must be challenged, a prominent churchman has told worshippers as he warned that many religious people do not feel safe in Scotland.
In his Easter Sermon, leading Episcopalian The Very Rev Kelvin Holdsworth said ecumenical work carried out by his church in recent months had thrown up rising concerns within Scotland's Jewish and Islamic communities.
The Provost of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Glasgow warned politicians in May's poll to avoid raising community tensions during their campaign.
Mr Holdsworth, who has previously issued strong social commentary in previous Easter and Christmas sermons, also criticised benefit sanctions and austerity measures during his Easter service.
He said: "We have known some cruel things in recent times. A cruel massacre in Kenya. A cruel plane crash in Switzerland last week. And the cruelties of rising anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and fear of foreigners being brought into play at election time.
"One thing that Christians need to say clearly at Easter is that if Jewish people don't feel safe in our society, as Jewish people in Scotland apparently don't feel safe, then all people of goodwill need to commit themselves to build a world where every community feels secure.
"And the election itself takes place against a background where cruel benefit sanctions have been sold to people as a positive good and austerity measures risk dismantling the safety nets that have taken decades to build."
Speaking before the service, Mr Holdsworth said it was "shocking" people felt threatened because of their ethnic origin or religion, adding: "Through interfaith contacts at St Mary's Cathedral we have been aware for months of rising concerns from both Jewish and Islamic communities in Scotland. It is clear that many Scots do not feel as safe as they have a right to feel."
A LibDem candidate in the 2005 General Election, he said all politicians needed to commit themselves and their supporters "to ensuring that none of their words or actions during this election campaign raise community tensions".
The Archbishop of Canterbury used his Easter Sunday sermon to speak of the 150 Kenyans killed three days ago.
Islamic extremists attacked Garissa university in Kenya on Thursday in an attack that killed 148 people. Somalia's al-Shabab Islamic militants claimed responsibility.
The religious leader described the dead as martyrs and said Christians must resist without violence the persecution they suffer to support persecuted communities, with love and goodness and generosity.
And he said: "To witness is to be a martyr. I am told by the Coptic Bishop in England that the Coptic Christians murdered in Libya last month died proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord. They are martyrs, a word that means both one that dies for their faith and one that witnesses to faith.
"There have been so many martyrs in the last year. On Maundy Thursday, three days ago, around 150 Kenyans were killed because of being Christian. They are witnesses, unwilling, unjustly, wickedly, and they are martyrs in both senses of the word."
He added: "These martyrs too are caught up in the resurrection: their cruel deaths, the brutality of their persecution, their persecution is overcome by Christ himself at their side because they share his suffering, at their side because he rose from the dead. Because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead the cruel are overcome, evil is defeated, martyrs conquer."
In his Easter message published earlier, the head of the Church of Scotland urged Christians to become "ever more passionate" in their efforts to help the world's poorest.
Right Reverend John Chalmers said: " Because I believe in this life in all its fullness I want everyone else to experience it and to share it.
"So it makes me rage when I see social exclusion, it makes me angry that we don't put enough effort into peace-making and it fills me with indignation when I see a mother who can't feed her child.
"This year I've seen what war does to people and I've seen the way in which the poor are left endlessly poor.
"I therefore have two great hopes at Easter. The first, that the poorest of the poor will enjoy the new life of the Kingdom ahead of people like me and the second, that inspired by our Easter faith Christians across the world will become ever more passionate in their efforts to see that the least and the last get a chance to enjoy life before death."
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