Muslim-only day at Alton Towers

[Bean Spiller]

When I first heard about this I thought it had to be some kind of April Fool joke or a weird hoax.

But it seems that it's true.

Gobsmacked.

[Bean Spiller]

I particularly love the quote by the organiser: "We’re trying to integrate Muslims into the wider community."

Hmmm. Now let me see. Perhaps that could be achieved by actually integrating with the wider community, instead of organising an event from which the wider community is excluded.

As for Alton Towers claiming that this is a simple case of hiring out the park to an event organiser - is that why they're presumably going to great length to change the menus in the (many) food outlets in the park? And installing prayer rooms? So that's all the work of the event organiser and has nothing to do with Alton Towers? I think not.

[Pete]

So that's all the work of the event organiser and has nothing to do with Alton Towers? I think not.

If some organisation was throwing loads of cash at me I'd certainly do a few small things to help make their day how they wanted it

[Bean Spiller]

So that's all the work of the event organiser and has nothing to do with Alton Towers? I think not.

If some organisation was throwing loads of cash at me I'd certainly do a few small things to help make their day how they wanted it

Exactly. Which means Alton Towers are complicit in the whole affair. And that contradicts their statement “we make no distinction regarding sexuality, religious, ethnic or lifestyle choices” - I'd say gearing up the theme park for a Muslim-only day was making a bloody big distinction.

What I can't understand is why that can't permanently cater for Muslims by selling Halal food and having prayer rooms available, thus making the park a welcoming place for Muslims and non-Muslims all year round? Why have this one day of apartheid-like segregation?

[Mich]

What I can't understand is why that can't permanently cater for Muslims by selling Halal food and having prayer rooms available, thus making the park a welcoming place for Muslims and non-Muslims all year round? Why have this one day of apartheid-like segregation?

I'd be very suprised if they didn't have a fair number of Halal food outlets anyway, it is hardly suprising that for a day when only Halal food will be consumed, they want all of the operating outlets to stock Halal food.

This is no different from when they hire it out to any organisation for the day. When BT have hired it in the past, i'm sure Alton Towers would have been happy to employ only half the number of customer service staff, and hold everybody in a long queue - anything to make the big company paying you lots of money happy and feel at home - so hopefully they'll return.

[James Hatts]

What's the fuss about? Christian groups can and do do exactly the same thing.

[Chris]

What I can't understand is why that can't permanently cater for Muslims by selling Halal food and having prayer rooms available, thus making the park a welcoming place for Muslims and non-Muslims all year round? Why have this one day of apartheid-like segregation?

It's not just Halal food and prayer rooms. It's also the environment of the park, such as alcohol, smoking and music (I can probably understand why they don't like smoking or alcohol ... but music?? ). In any case, I'd ban smoking completely for all visitors but that's beside the point.

You just have to love the sensationalism that is employed by the writer of that article in the Sun - it's like all hell has blwon over because a Muslim organisation has booked the park out.

[johnnyboy]

I'm all for different cultures and, as an atheist, I am well known for defending Muslims against the unwarranted slurs against them.

However, this sends out all the wrong signals.

In the way that do-gooders do ethnic and relgious minorities no good most of the time, sometimes they don't help themselves either.