DUBAI: A British aristocrat with a criminal record dating back 30 years has revealed how he claimed to have converted to Islam while in jail so he could get more food.
Jamie Spencer-Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough said he made the claim shortly after Ramadan, telling them he had changed faith, The Independent revealed.
With a history of drug addiction and more than 20 convictions dating back three decades – including one for punching a police officer – the Duke had also had a very public battle with his father, John Spencer-Churchill, who failed to prevent his troubled son from inheriting his $9.8 million estate.
Spencer-Churchill made the revelation about his Muslim claims at a recent event in London billed as a series of “talks by exceptional people with extraordinary lives.”
He told the event’s host interviewer, Sir David Tang: “I changed religion when I went to jail. I became a Muslim because you got more food. It wasn’t the time of Ramadan. I luckily hit it just right – just afterwards.”
A UK government report revealed that many inmates believe that converting to Islam in jail will lead to them eating better, it is a claim denied by the Ministry of Justice.
The ministry also played down claims that inmates known as “convenience Muslims” were granted more time out of their cells – a suggestion that was revealed in the 2010 publication “Muslim Prisoner’ Experiences.”
According to The Independent, all prisoners can opt for a halal meal option, whatever religion they follow.
He served a string of sentences more than three decades ago and finally kicked his drug addiction 10 years ago.
“I don’t know whether it was age or something in my brain, or my wife… But it was around that time when I just felt ‘enough is enough,’” he was quoted in the Mail on Sunday as saying.
British aristocrat ‘converted to Islam’ while in jail for better food
British aristocrat ‘converted to Islam’ while in jail for better food
Lunar New Year bowing service in China stokes controversy
- Customers could hire proxies to bow and show respect for family members
- Odd jobs app UU Paotui withdraws service after online outrage and mockery
BEIJING: A Chinese odd jobs mobile app has canceled a service that let users hire proxies to bow to their elderly relatives during Lunar New Year family visits, sparking scrutiny of China’s “hire-anyone-for-anything” service sector. Promotional images of the now-deleted service depicted an orange uniform-clad delivery worker on their knees bowing, forehead nearly on the floor, in front of a smiling elderly couple. Online responses ranged from outrage to mockery.
“Filial piety should not be commoditized,” one Weibo user said, referring to the culture of respect for and deference to older family members.
Visiting loved ones and offering good wishes are an important part of the traditional Lunar New Year holiday, although bowing is not widely practiced today.
“After careful consideration, we have voluntarily removed the services that caused controversy,” said odd jobs app UU Paotui, based in central China’s Henan, in a Wednesday WeChat post.
As of Friday, the app still offered a New Year greeter service — with immediate dispatch options — but the 999 yuan ($144.77), two-hour bowing-for-hire package was no longer visible.
Buyers of the now-deleted bowing package could hire gig workers to buy and send gifts, “perform traditional etiquette,” and offer “one minute of auspicious blessings” to loved ones, among other services. The services were meant to help people living far from their families and those with mobility issues maintain traditional customs, UU Paotui said, adding it would offer triple compensation to customers who had already booked.
People who have moved away for work typically return home to visit their families for the most important festival on the Chinese calendar, creating a travel rush commonly referred to as the world’s largest annual human migration. In a nod to the increasingly virtual nature of social life in China, UU Paotui suggested replacing the in-person visits with an app could help avoid awkward social interactions.
“If you don’t want to have social anxiety during the new year, the experience has to be online!” said a Monday Weibo post announcing the service.
Time-poor consumers boost proxy services
Proxy services are not uncommon in China, where labor costs are relatively low and convenience is at a premium for urban consumers.
Outside the holiday period, UU Paotui users can hire someone through the app to accompany them to hospital, feed their pets, or wait in queues at restaurants and other busy locations.
A Wednesday commentary in the People’s Daily, the Communist Party newspaper, called the bowing service “very awkward” and urged closer scrutiny of the proxy service industry.
“Real innovation should meet needs while also safeguarding values,” it said, pointing out that paying a proxy to cover work shifts, for example, could come with legal risks. The controversy comes amid increasing concern for China’s often overworked delivery workers, who can sometimes be seen sprinting through shopping malls and residential compounds to deliver an order on time.
President Xi Jinping met delivery workers on Wednesday to wish them a happy new year and acknowledge their hard work.
“The city couldn’t function without workers like you,” he said.
