At Cathcart Old Parish Church, Glasgow today, the Lord Lyon presented a grant of arms to the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, Chairman Shabir Beg OBE. As the letters patent make clear, the Ahlul Bayt Society was created to "Advance the religion of Islam in accordance with the doctrines of the Shia Ithna-asheri Jafari faith, and promote religious and racial harmony, equality and diversity acoss Scotland."
Shabir has been a loyal supporter of the 350th Anniversary Lectures and Events and brought many friends with him. I congratulate the Society, but Shabir in particular for the determination to show how embedded their community is in Scottish public life. It is particularly significant in this anniversary year that this grant at a stroke widens the diversity of the Register and sets it on a more modern path.
The painter was Elle Colverson and the photographs are by Ross M. McEwen.
