The police raid of a UK Quaker meeting house has backfired, not surprisingly

Like generations of Quaker children, I grew up with stories of when our faith was persecuted. Under the Quaker Act of 1662, Quaker meetings were raided for no better reason than people gathering there, and the children kept the meetings when their parents were jailed.

According to a panel of the Quaker Tapestry, one of London’s meeting houses was pulled down altogether. But people still gathered to meet in its ruins.

In comparison to those days, Quakers in Britain today are not persecuted. Our forebears stood with others to promote causes of religious freedom and their logical extensions, freedom of speech and the right to protest. The cultural memory of our story informs solidarity with others.

All of this helps explain why the recent police raid on the Westminster Quaker Meeting House has shaken the U.K. Quaker community so strongly.

On March 27, more than 20 uniformed police, some equipped with tasers, forced their way into the Westminster Meeting House. They reportedly broke open the front door without warning and searched the whole building, arresting six women attending a welcome meeting for the nonviolent protest group Youth Demand in a room its organizers had rented.

The violent injustices we suffered in centuries past, look hauntingly similar to recent events. This time, the arrestees weren’t Quakers, and it wasn’t during worship. In some ways though, that is besides the point. What person taking the command “love your neighbor” seriously would only express solidarity with themselves?

Quakers hold all of life to be precious, all places to be holy, every meal a communion, every word a potential for prayer and every journey an opportunity for pilgrimage. Taking action for peace and justice can certainly be a form of ministry. To us, the right to protest is part of the freedom of religion.

As part of a commitment to simplicity, Quakers tend to meet in relatively plain, calm buildings. This has the added benefit that they serve as places of sanctuary, used by other groups. I am told on the day of the raid, an art class and psychotherapy session were also disrupted.

In Britain — and I imagine this is the case elsewhere too — Quaker meetings only rent out rooms to groups that are committed to nonviolence. It is a basic democratic principle that people should be able to meet to exchange ideas about how to challenge present day injustices.

There aren’t a great many things a Quaker might describe as sacrilege. Carrying a weapon though, especially on Quaker premises, is one of them. Bashing in a door without ringing the bell to handcuff young people talking about addressing injustice is certainly another. The police will no doubt be challenged for this action, as journalists and members of parliament from across the spectrum have been doing. Whatever the outcome of that though, the authorities have overlooked one important historical fact. This kind of oppression doesn’t work.

When early Quakers were persecuted, their numbers multiplied. In recent days, many more people than usual have been at Quaker meeting with many making meaningful solidarity visits. On April 3, 400 people gathered in silence outside the London police headquarters.

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And prior to last week, I — like many others — had never heard of Youth Demand. All of a sudden they have become well known in Britain and internationally, with many more signing up to their cause. Trying to suppress nonviolence with violence, as usual, has backfired.

The Quaker Act of 1662 eventually had to be replaced, especially when it became clear it was unimplementable. In recent years we have seen two new laws in Britain — the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 and the Public Order Act 2023 — which have criminalized many forms of protest and allow police to halt actions deemed too disruptive. These too need repealing.

The spirit of human freedom cannot be denied. Although these words were written hundreds of years ago, the words on the Quaker Tapestry still apply: “They might as well think to hinder the sun from shining or the tide from flowing.”