Four days to save Inter Faith Network: Please ask friends to sign petition to Michael Gove

Dear all,

Thank you so much for signing the petition calling on Michael Gove to reverse his decision and provide the funding pledged to Inter Faith Network last summer.

The momentum is building and more than 1,000 of us have signed the petition!

However, IFN will close if it does not receive funding from the UK Government (or other sources) before Thursday 22 February, so we need to keep up the pressure.
 

Please would you forward this email and ask friends and family to sign it too?
https://www.change.org/p/urge-michael-gove-to-maintain-funding-for-the-interfaith-network-for-the-uk

If each of us could get four others to sign, we would reach 5,000+ signatures, and if each of us could get 10 others to sign, we would reach 10,000+ signatures, which would make a very big impact!

In November, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby hosted an Inter Faith Week event (an initiative of IFN) at Lambeth Palace, which was attended by King Charles III, Cardinal Vincent Nichols and 30 other faith leaders.

On Friday, the RC Bishop of Nottingham, Rt Revd Patrick McKinney (lead bishop on interreligious affairs for the Catholic Church in England & Wales) expressed his concerns with the UK Government's decision on a Religion Media Centre briefing.

Bishop McKinney said: "The government speaks so often of the importance of community cohesion. And I think the work of interreligious dialogue, the Inter Faith Network, plays a most important part in facilitating good community relationships and cohesion."

There is a very good article covering the news in this week's Church Times:
https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2024/16-february/news/uk/closure-looms-for-interfaith-charity-because-of-government-concerns-over-muslim-trustee

Please do share the petition with friends and family members by email, WhatsApp and/or on social media (Facebook/X) if you haven't already done so.

Finally, please send an email to Michael Gove and your local MP if you can. An example email can be found on the petition page:
https://www.change.org/p/urge-michael-gove-to-maintain-funding-for-the-interfaith-network-for-the-uk

Many thanks for your support and all the best for the week ahead!

John