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February 1, 2008
UK: Muslim Death Threats For Anglican Bishop
Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, the 58-year old Bishop of Rochester, made headlines following his statements on January 6 this year, that extremist Muslims had turned parts of Britain into "no-go" areas for non-Muslims. These comments were made in the Sunday Telegraph, in a piece he wrote. He also claimed that the plans, such as those by a mosque in Oxford, to electronically broadcast its calls to prayer were forcibly imposing Islam on areas.
He wrote:
""Alongside these developments, there has been a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism. One of the results of this has been to further alienate the young from the nation in which they were growing up and also to turn already separate communities into "no-go" areas where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability.Dr Nazir-Ali's comments about "no-go areas" for non-Muslims were widely reported in Britain and the United States. The words were condemned by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), with one member of the MCB, Inayat Bunglawala, writing that Dr Nazir-Ali was "stirring up racial hatred".Those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work there because of hostility to them. In many ways, this is but the other side of the coin to far-Right intimidation. Attempts have been made to impose an "Islamic" character on certain areas, for example, by insisting on artificial amplification for the Adhan, the call to prayer."
It is true that gang culture has created areas where it is unsafe for some to tread, and there are Muslim gangs whose violence forces blacks, Sikhs and non-Muslims to feel intimidated. Despite criticism from Muslim "representatives", the Bishop's comments were endorsed by Trevor Phillips, the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
Mr Phillips said on BBC Radio 4: "There are areas in which there is no contact or very little contact between different ethnic and cultural groups. Nobody is putting up walls and gates but we all know that in virtually every big city there are places where different kinds of people feel uncomfortable, whether that is Asians in so-called white areas or white people in so-called black areas."
"We know that white flight is accelerating. That schools - we know this from studies done by Bristol University - are becoming more segregated than the areas they sit in. So there is a phenomenon we have to deal with and I think that the Bishop of Rochester was right to raise this."
Now, news from the Times states that the Bishop of Rochester and his family are under police protection. This has happened as he has been subjected to death threats. These came in the form of phone calls, saying he would not "live long" if he continued to criticize Islam.
His father had converted out of Islam, and until age 20 Michael Nazir-Ali was brought up as a Catholic in Pakistan. He then converted to the Anglican faith. When he became ordinated as a bishop aged 35, he was the youngest to have done so. He is the only south Asian bishop in the Anglican church.
He said to the Times: "The irony is that I had similar threats when I was a bishop in Pakistan, but I never thought I would have them here. My point in saying what I did was that Britain had lost its Christian vision, which would have provided the resources to offer hospitality to others." He added: "Everyone agrees that multiculturalism has had disastrous consequences, and that segregation and extremism have arisen from this."
"I repeat what I said in an earlier comment, that I deeply regret any hurt and do not wish to cause offence to anyone, let alone my Muslim friends, but unless we diagnose the malaise from which we all suffer we shall not be able to discover the remedy."
He claimed to have received about 1,000 letters following his comments on January 6, with 95% of these being supportive.
However, the fact that his comments have led to death threats indicate that there are some Muslims who actively silence any opposition through fear and intimidation. If public figures are made to live in fear, how are those who live near the Muslim "no-go areas" such as parts of Tower Hamlets, Bradford, Birmingham, Walsall and other areas supposed to feel? After the murder of Theo van Gogh on November 2, 2004, a message was sent to the West. That message was a message that sought to intimidate and silence anyone who criticizes or even questions Islam. In many cases, it has been successful in its aims.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at February 1, 2008 8:50 PM
Comments
"Islam in a man is as dangerous as rabies in a dog!!".
Sir Winston Churchill.
If you repeat a catch phrase often enough - it does eventually stick in the minds of the public at large.
And who better to quote from?.
Posted by: Stone Rose ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.westernresistance.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at February 2, 2008 8:58 PM
Hi Stone Rose
I have noticed that quotation doing the rounds. But perhaps it is best to memorize it in its original form.
I wrote on Churchill's observations on Islam here in April last year:
http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/003684.html
Churchill wrote this in a two-volume book published by Longmans in 1899.
Entitled "The River War: An Account of the Reconquest of Sudan", Churchill wrote on page 248-250 of the second volume: ""How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property - either as a child, a wife, or a concubine - must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men."
"Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen: all know how to die. But the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytising faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science - the science against which it had vainly struggled - the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome."
In subsequent editions of "The River War", this memorable passage was entirely removed in abridgement.
It seems that even at the start of the 20th century, some form of "politically correct" sentiment was in fashion.
Regards
Adrian Morgan
Posted by: Giraldus Cambrensis at February 3, 2008 1:45 PM
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