The Christians are back, and this time they're... Muslim?

For as long as I remember, British politics has been silently but single-mindedly secular. No-one has even breathed that religion should influence elections, not the anti-PC brigade, not even the British National Party. And least of all the Church of England, which has been moving away from the whole god gig and focusing on their core competencies; real estate and tea parties.

So, when I turned up to vote yesterday I was amused to see the 'Christian Peoples Alliance' on the regional ballot. Way to miss the last 30 years guys. So who are they?

Well, their most prominent candidate is devout Muslim Abdul Dean.

Dean seems to be a big political hitter in his local area, courted by the Scottish Nationalists among others. The CPA appealed to him, he says, because they put 'values' above 'ideology'.

But what values? Pretty simple; first, 'the family'. For the CPA this means opposing adoption by gay and lesbian couples as well as civil unions, which give equal legal protection to same sex relationships. They're big on education too. But not the kind that provokes awakening minds and prepares people for a working life. Their priority is to prevent homosexuality from being mentioned in sex-education classes.

It seems the god squad don't care much what religion you are, providing you're hating on teh gays.

So Dean wants the Scots to turn back the clock.

"Scotland should not be ashamed of its Christian roots, as it has produced the open society which we all enjoy today, where people of all faiths or none enjoy liberty."

Maybe better history lessons should be an educational priority?

Britain suffered centuries of hatred, discrimination, torture and the most barbaric executions imaginable for its religious divides. The religious freedom Dean enjoys came mainly from the ideas and ideals of secular humanists. But, while he might applaud human rights when they benefit him, when they're applied to people he dislikes they become, in his words, 'secular fundamentalism'.

Is there a 'Clash of Civilizations' going on today? Oh yes. But it's not the one George Bush imagines.