"Multi-faith" Britain.

Just as the Church of England gives the impression of being dead, the corpse springs to life and attacks the government's anti-Christian, pro-Islamic philosophy. A report, for the House of Bishops, leaked to the Sunday Telegraph, accuses the government of side-lining the established church:

Instead, "preferential" treatment has been afforded to the Muslim community despite the fact that it makes up only three per cent of the population. Britain remains overwhelmingly a Christian country at heart and moves to label it as a multi-faith society suggest a hidden agenda, it says.

I am not sure about the last point. Nothing much has been hidden about this disestablishmentarian government's relentless anti-christianism (Blair's much publicised faith notwithstanding). Moreover, its specifically antichristian character can be seen in the parallel headlong rush to surrender to the demands of Islamic extremism.

The report lists a number of moves made by the Government since the London bombings in July last year to win favour with Muslim communities. These include "using public funds" to fly Muslim scholars to Britain, shelving legislation on forced marriage and encouraging financial arrangements to comply with Islamic requirements. These efforts have undermined its interfaith agenda and produced no "noticeable positive impact on community cohesion", the Church document says."
Indeed, one might argue that disaffection and separation is now greater than ever, with Muslim communities withdrawing further into a sense of victimhood, and other faith communities seriously concerned that the Government has given signals that appear to encourage the notion of a privileged relationship with sections of the Muslim community."

The Telegraph notes that,

The leaked report follows a week of tension in which a Muslim policeman was excused armed guard duty at the Israeli embassy in London, Asian and white youths clashed in Windsor, and Jack Straw suggested that Muslim women should not wear the full veil across the face in public.

That is the first reference I've seen in the national media to the Windsor riots, a story I came across previously only on Little Green Footballs.

One final point. The Telegraph refers to author of the report as "Mr Wilkinson, who was an archdeacon in Bradford during the riots of 2001". The Telegraph of all papers should know better and refer to the Reverend Wilkinson.

Tags: Christianity