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Islamic extremism creating 'no-go' areas for non-Muslims in Britain, says Bishop of Rochester
Last updated at 00:37am on 08.01.08Islamic extremists have turned parts of Britain into no-go areas for non-Muslims, a Church of England bishop claims.
The charge by the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali infuriated Islamic groups, who accused him yesterday of whipping up hatred against Muslims.
The bishop's remarks also triggered a wave of arguments among political leaders over the spread of religious separatism and the damage caused by the Left-wing doctrine of multiculturalism.
Dr Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester and a senior Anglican who has advised the Prince of Wales on Islam, said it had become hard for those who are not Muslims to live or work in some areas.
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Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali warns there are now 'no-go areas' in Britain for non-Muslims because of Islamic extremists
He warned against the acceptance in this country of Sharia laws based on the Koran and added that amplified calls to prayer from mosques are imposing an Islamic character on surrounding areas.
And he complained of the "multi-faith mish-mash" promoted by the Government and blamed it for undermining the influence of Christianity.
The bishop's attack on aggressive Islamic leaders brought condemnation from prominent Muslim groups. One called for the Church of England to take "serious action" against him.
But Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said the bishop had exposed "a deeply serious problem".
The bishop is one of the most senior clergymen in England, pictured here with the Queen
He added that Government confusion "risks encouraging radicalism and creating home-grown terrorism".
Dr Nazir-Ali, who grew up in Pakistan where he suffered harassment for his own Christian faith, warned of no-go areas in an article in the Sunday Telegraph.
He spoke of "a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism" and added:
"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."
The bishop added: "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 the other side of the coin of far-Right intimidation."
Dr Nazir-Ali said that using amplification for the call to prayer from mosques was an attempt to impose Islam on an area.
This, he said, raised the question of "whether non-Muslims wish to be told the creed of a particular faith five times a day on the loudspeaker.
"This is happening here even though some Muslim-majority communities are trying to reduce noise levels from multiple mosques announcing this call, one after the other, over quite a small geographical area."
The bishop said that the influence of Christianity was in decline because "the authorities want multi-faith provision", which meant chapels and chaplains in hospitals, prisons and universities were now under threat.
Secularism and the "multi-faith mish-mash" were pushing out Christianity - and Government attempts to encourage integration "lack the underpinning of a moral and spiritual vision".
The charges brought an angry response from the Muslim Council of Britain, the Islamic umbrella group which has come back into favour with the Government since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister.
Assistant Secretary-General Inayat Bunglawala said the Government had contributed to the rise of Islamic extremism and compared the Islamic call to prayer with church bells.
'He talks about the rise of "Islamic extremism" but fails to mention how some of the policies of our government and especially that of the United States in the Middle East over several decades now has clearly contributed to this phenomenon.
"He complains of the Islamic call to prayer but presumably is content for all of us to listen to the ringing of church bells. As Jesus himself advised, perhaps the good bishop may want to examine the beam in his own eye before pointing fingers at others."
Mohammed Shafiq, of the Muslim youth group the Ramadhan Foundation, accused Dr Nazir-Ali of attempting to "whip up hatred" against Muslims. The article would "remind people of the road to Nazism", he said.
A spokesman for the Communities and Local Government Department said: "The overwhelming majority of Muslims are peaceful, make a huge contribution to British life and find the views of a small minority of violent extremists completely abhorrent.
"Britain also has a proud tradition of different communities living together side by side."
• The Bishop's attack on Islamic extremism has cemented his place as one of the Church of England's pre-eminent defenders of traditional Christianity.
Michael Nazir-Ali's outspokenness has put him at the vanguard of opposition to hard-line Islamism and made him one of the highest-placed enemies of the gay rights movement.
Born into a Roman Catholic family, Michael Nazir-Ali converted to Anglicanism aged 20.
The 58-year-old father of two has set himself against feminism by criticising couples who decline to have children and he is among the clerics who speak most strongly against attempts to remove signs of Christianity from public life.
Reader views (27)
Well done Bishop .We need more people like you to speak up for our Christian faith. GOD BLESS YOU.
- Ron, Rochdale Lancs
I believe that the Bishop is correct, although he should state examples. France already has 751 'Zones Urbaines Sensibles' (ZUS) no go areas for government agencies, the majority of which are ruled by various flavours of Sharia Law.
I know nothing of Bishop Nazir-Ali, I am no Anglican, but we need more like him, he is doing what "Dietrich Von Hoffer" observed DIDN'T happen in 1930's Germany, he is representing the church standing in the face of the rise of fascism, because make no mistake Radical Islam and fascism are almost indistinguishable, and believes all other ideologies and their believers are inferior to it and as we have seen by the 10400+ terrorist attacks in the name of Allah since 11th September 2001 it is willing to impress it's ideas by force. All faiths including Moderate Muslims should be honest and identify the problem and confront it now before it's too late.
- Pablo, Wales
What a belated 'New Year Greetings' to the Muslim community (of the country)!
- Nadeem Asghar, London, UK.
The key document for Multicultural Britain is the Treaty of London, signed in 1641 by King Charles 1st, at the end of the 2nd Bishops War. It is a legacy to all of us from the Scottish Enlightenment.
We all know who the enemies of the British principle of multicuturalism are. Not only the people who want to open the door to suppression of one kind of Christian by another. But also those who want to ban Rugby League for being regionalist and compel Scots to support the English Cricket Team.
- Alan Griffiths, Forest Gate, London. UK
I'm inclined to think the real victims in all this are not our way of life, which as far as I can see remains largely unchanged, nor Christianity (despite the bishop's comments - and I say that as a Christian myself). It's the decent, law-abiding majority of British Muslims who are getting battered from all sides because of the behaviour of a minority. The message from 2001 that we had a terrorist problem, not a religious one, seems to have got lost over time. Multiculturalism clearly presents considerable challenges and is highly unpopular with many in this country. But let's not go to the opposite extreme and suggest we should adopt the religious intolerance of the regimes in Saudi Arabia or Iran. Our country is a great one because we don't stoop to things like that.
- Tim, Surrey, UK
This was once a Christian country, not any longer. Bishop Nazir-Ali sees Muslims attending Mosques in ever-increasing numbers as a threat and he shouldn't. About no-go areas the only truth in that comment is because most Muslims live in the poorest places in this country. If there are no-go areas that's because of poverty but not because the place is predominantly Muslim.
Dr Nazir-Ali has made similar attacks on the Muslim Community in the past. While feeling outraged at first I have learned to ignore him as he has nothing positive to say.
- Yunus, Walsall, UK
What the good Bishop Dr Nazir-Ali has pointed-out is merely the problem (say the symptoms)! What's the solution (say the treatment) we should know? Illnesses are usually imaginary!
- Nadeem Asghar, London, UK.
I applaud you Bishop. The Man of the Year!
- Dave English, London
Charlie - I can be specific. There have been incidences of tourists on the Jack the Ripper tour being harassed by large groups of muslim teenagers for being on 'their' territory - reported in the Evening Standard. Islam has a strong sense of the unity of religion, culture, politics and territory, and in consequence, some Muslims seem to believe that if most people in an area are Muslim, then the culture, law and even the ground itself are Islamic.
- Claire, East London
To Gary, last time I looked Aston, Darwen, Bolton, Bradford, Leicester and Wolverhampton were not 'no go' areas. Since the last 20 years, community integration has got much better and is moving in the right direction despite lurid headlines.
- Mumin Hashim, London
Well said Kim.
- Eric, Herts
I've got my eyes wide open, Gary Parker in Amersham. I've been all over East London at all hours and lived there most of my life but I've yet to come across a so-called 'no-go area'. Could you be more specific?
- Charlie, Soho
Try Chalvey on a Saturday night, or Aston, or Darwen, or suburbs of Bolton, Bradford, Leicester, Wolverhampton, huge swathes of East London - wake up Charlie in Soho!
- Gary Parker, Amersham
Casperslides, I'm an atheist. Does that mean you want me to move to an atheist country?
- Charlie, Soho
"He complains of the Islamic call to prayer but presumably is content for all of us to listen to the ringing of church bells."
Yes we all are! This is still a Christian country not a Muslim one. If you don't like it, go and live in a Muslim country.
- Casperslides, Bath, UK
Multi-culturalism is nothing more than a left-liberal utopian myth. It does not, has not and never will exist in reality in a country with demographics such as ours. It is a social engineering propaganda tool that has seriously disenfranchised the overwhelming majority of people in this country.
The leaders of many minority groups in the UK have had the good sense to see it for what it is, which is why Chinese, Hindu, Sikh and many other communities seldom make it into the news for the same reasons that Muslims do.
They have realised that it is in their best interest to integrate with society at large and practice their own cultural traditions without demanding that the rest of us join them, or stop practicing ours.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster
Would someone like to tell me where these so-called no-go areas are? The bishop's comments are based on nothing more than ignorance and paranoia. And Frank - so we all have to have the same culture as you, is that what you're suggesting?
- Charlie, Soho
Bravo Kim, we are all behind you. You have said what the many of us are thinking. Well done.
- Anon, London, UK
This country and the world in general would be a much happier place if the purveyors of religious fairy stories were consigned to history and were recognised as devisive and destructive.
- Secker, Stanmore UK.
The Bishop has the courage to say what most of us know... and fear. I could name numerous places I would consider 'no go' zones for people of colour... The situation will get worse and worse.
- Sanjay, Hounslow, UK
What a relief it is to hear a public figure say what the public are thinking instead of fluffing it all up and pretending everything is fine! Where I live in Sussex we have a very large population of Eastern Europeans. At times you do feel a stranger in your own country. For too long now we have had to keep quiet and let go of all our values in case we upset someone of a different background. I am frustrated, fed up and saddened by the whole situation and applaud the Bishop for speaking out. He is entitled to his opinion, or at least used to be until the PC brigade started censoring our opinions.
- Kim, Lancing, West Sussex
Assimilation and integration should be the key words bandied about. Not this 'multiculturism' thing that Nu Labour keeps shouting about. The word itself implies an 'us and them' aspect which is very divisive.
- Frank, Home Counties, England
Well said Rev Michael, the truth has to be told no matter how much some of the so called leaders try to ignore and rubbish it, it must be said.
- Brian, Wiltshire
The Bishop's well considered observations are welcome, not least because the usual knee jerk accusation of racism cannot be made on this occasion.
The Bishop is merely drawing attention to the consequences of this in some of our cities.
- Derek, London
The Bishop is only pulling into focus the truth as to what is really happening in certain areas of the UK - and by the way, at what hour on which day can we expect to hear church bells in Saudi Arabia - or Iran?
- Alan Eaves, Buckhurst Hill, Essex
He seems to have limited support in any mainstream political party with these statements.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Nick Clegg, said the bishop had not produced any evidence of "no-go areas" for non-Muslims, a notion he described as "an extraordinarily inflammatory way of putting it".
William Hague, the shadow foreign secretary, told Sky News's Sunday Live programme: "I'm not sure where these no-go areas are, I don't recognise that description."
- Martin, Guildford
Thank goodness the Bishop has had the courage to say this. No doubt he will get shot down in flames by the PC police and appeasers of terrorism. It is high time that we recognised that the promotion of 'ethnic' values, customs and religions to a level that gives them more prominenance and status than English or Christian values has been a disaster. This country does have ethnic ghettos as can be found in many cities within this country.
- Marc, Harrow, UK
