The research evidence that has emerged from the work of the University of Leicester has reshaped our view of our history and of the legacy of King Richard III.
Source/Credit: Author
By Ather Mirza | March 27, 2015
It has been my privilege to be an integral part of the story of King Richard III. As Director of News at the University of Leicester, it was my role to bring to the world’s attention the remarkable discovery made by our archaeologists and to recount the powerful narratives that have emerged thereafter as our scientists identified the remains of the King.
The research evidence that has emerged from the work of the University of Leicester has reshaped our view of our history and of the legacy of King Richard III.
Despite the maelstrom of activity under intense public scrutiny that has marked this momentous discovery, there has also been time for quiet personal reflection. As I bore witness to the remains, I reflected upon the mortal condition and fate that belies us all. It was a visceral experience.
Here lay a king who had been vilified throughout history, lost under a car park, the Friary in which he had been buried long since demolished. Even the Catholic faith that prevailed when he was king is no longer the country’s established Church.
But, as they say, time is a great healer. In a striking public coming together of people from all backgrounds of religion and belief, Richard is now being honoured in death and been accorded a dignified reinterment that befits a monarch. It is a time for reconciliation.
My faith too has been vilified since its inception. The beliefs of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community challenge orthodoxy and we too are deemed to be heretical and face hatred and discrimination. But the certainty that faith offers us, and that is borne out by history and exemplified in the story of Richard, is that trials and tribulations will pass and perceptions will change.
Only eternal verities will prevail.
At his reinterment, we accorded Richard III the respect denied him at his death, and I hold fast to the belief that the time for hatred and prejudice will give way to days of reconciliation and trust. The honour and dignity we have accorded King Richard III are important touchstones in all of our lives.
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Ather Mirza, Director of News at the University of Leicester, is a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Leicester
-- An Ahmadi Muslim reflection on King Richard III and his legacy
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