Bishop threatened
Bishop of Rochester, Dr Nazir-Ali, has been warned that he will not ‘live long’ and will be ‘sorted out’ if he continues to criticise Islam, following his claim that parts of Britain had become ‘no-go’ areas for non-Muslims.
Police have launched inquiries into phone calls made to his home and put him and his family under protection, says a report in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper. Surveillance cameras around the building have been improved and the bishop’s mail is being screened by the Post Office.
‘The irony is that I had similar threats when I was a bishop in Pakistan, but I never thought I would have them here’, the bishop said. Meanwhile, Muslim leaders are to meet him in an emergency summit to challenge him over his claims. Senior members of the Muslim Council of Britain have written to Dr Rowan Williams expressing serious concerns at the remarks by Dr Nazir-Ali.
Relations between the two faiths became strained after the bishop argued that there had been attempts to ‘impose an Islamic’ character on certain areas, for example by amplifying the call to prayer from mosques.
