Bishop Warns Of ''No-Go'' Zones For Non-Muslims In Britain

Islamic extremists have created ''no-go'' areas across Britain where it is dangerous for non-Muslims to enter, one of the Church of England's most senior bishops warned today.

The Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, the Bishop of Rochester and the Church's only Asian bishop, said people of a different race or faith face physical attack if they live or work in communities dominated by a strict Muslim ideology.

The bishop, born in Pakistan, warned that attempts were being made to give Britain an increasingly Islamic character by introducing the call to prayer and wider use of 'sharia' law, a legal system based on the Quran.

He wrote in the Telegraph that it was becoming increasingly difficult for Christianity to be the nation's public religion in a multifaith, multicultural society.

Bishop Nazir-Ali, whose father converted from Islam to Catholicism, argued that multiculturalism has led to deep divisions in the society.

Ibrahim Mogra of the Muslim Council of Britain criticised the bishop, saying, ''It's irresponsible for a man of his position to make these comments. He should accept that Britain is a multicultural society in which we are free to follow our religion at the same time as being extremely proud to be British. We wouldn't allow 'no-go' areas to happen. I smell extreme intolerance when people criticise multiculturalism.''

***** It's quite surprising that a senior British bishop of the Church of England and an Asian one at that, should hold such strong views against multiculturalism. In the British context perhaps it has led to divisions in society but that is an issue which should be dealt with 'holistically' and not highlighted as an example of Muslim extremism or used as a pretext to berate proponents of a multicultural society.

One would tend to agree with Mr Ibrahim Mogra that the Bishop's diatribe smells of extreme intolerance. Multiculturalism is the only way to go in an increasingly borderless world.

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