He’s at it again.  Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali the Bishop of Rochester, just can’t help himself and repeatedly throws petrol on the fire by goading British Muslims yet again.  Writing in the Sunday Telegraph he claims that there are “no-go areas in Britain for non-Muslims” because extremists are refusing to integrate.  This is stretching of the term “extremists” beyond the point of the word having any useful meaning.  He also fails to specifically name an area where this is the case.

Conflating a number of disparate issues, the Bishop continues his characteristically unhelpful tirade by attacking the “novel” idea of multiculturism resulting in an influx of "people of other faiths to these shores".  A view that would have elicited a knowing nod from the likes of Enoch Powell were he still alive today.  Many on the far-right are bound to seize on this right-wing Bishop’s comments as vindication for their own bigotry.

His fury at the government then continues by expressing fears that it is now more difficult for Christianity to be the “public faith in Britain” and that the government is taking steps to disestablish the Anglican church.  The Bishop of course makes the link between this perceived diminution of his church with the increasing number of Muslims in Britain and notes that if it were not for the saving grace of the black majority churches and the “recent arrival” of people from Eastern Europe – “the Christian cause in many of our cities would have looked a lost one.”  The Bishop skips the sticky problem (from his point of view) of the people from Eastern Europe being predominantly practicing Catholics.

Next on his hit list is the issue of sharia law.  Bizarrely he implies that sharia compliant finance products are the thin end of the wedge and that Muslims are increasingly imposing the idea of sharia when he laments “there is pressure already to relate aspects of the sharia to civil law in Britain.”   Why can’t the issue of Sharia compliance be treated as another consumer demand like that for ethical fund management or the rise of the “green pound”?  The addition of sharia compliant products and services should be viewed as offering people more choice not less and do you think the finance houses and banks are complaining?  Of course not because these products typically return higher margins which then result in benefits to Britain’s economy.  As long as the idea is of sharia being an additional choice instead of replacing actual domestic law this isn’t really an issue that should concern people but that doesn’t stop the Bishop from tossing the idea on to the fire.

On to integration and here the Bishop has a point albeit a very badly made one.  The issue of integration is real but it is also complex.  Immigrant communities have always coalesced the world over and Britain’s various Muslim communities are no different.  An additional but related problem is the phenomenon of “white flight” where the indigenous white population move away from an area en masse thus increasing the geographical divide between communities along racial lines.  White flight occurs in many countries.  Just look at the demographic data of US cities since the 1980’s for example and you will see white flight occurring there also.  The problem affecting some Muslim communities in Britain is the idea that separation some how insulates you from the ills prevalent in wider society.  The attitude is particularly noticeable in some of the English mill towns of the north with Blackburn and areas like Bradford being highly polarised along racial lines.  Without a hint of irony the Bishop notes that “those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work there because of hostility to them”.  David Davis, the shadow home secretary, jumped on the bandwagon by accusing Muslims of promoting a kind of "voluntary apartheid" by shutting themselves in closed societies and demanding “immunity from criticism”.

MPACUK has a record of raising the issue of integration problem of some Britain’s Muslim communities because the issue is critical to the long term benefit of all the communities in Britain.  Our leaders, particularly our mosque leaders, have for far too long swept this issue under the carpet.  This inability to act may come back to haunt them in the future.  The issue is a sensitive one and complicated by the interactions of central and local government.  Action should be taken on schooling, housing, language and social policy but it should also be aimed at the host community as well.

Lastly we have the issue of some communities where there is a Muslim majority, broadcasting the Azan (call to prayer) from loudspeakers outside mosques.  The issue should be addressed very seriously by Muslim communities and they should remember that being good citizens means listening to the concerns of your neighbours and dealing with them sensitively.  Muslims have managed to get to the mosque on time in the past without an amplified reminder and antagonising your non-Muslim neighbours is no recipe for communal harmony.  Local councils should take objections very seriously.

Bishop Nazir-Ali has a history of antagonism towards Muslims.  Out of step with his fellow members of the church he lauded the idea of a just war and backed the use of force to disarm Saddam Hussain.  The reality of a war that was predicated on a lie, was against international law and cost more than a million Iraqi lives are of little consequence to him.

Hypocritically, he argues that British Muslims should not benefit from exceptionalism but calls for increasing exceptionalism for Britain’s Christians.  Lamenting the fact that fewer people of Christian background openly practice the faith the Bishop would be wise to question whether any fault lies with the church itself.  Why do Britain’s Christians feel increasingly out of touch with their church in modern day Britain?  Instead of laying the blame at the feet of Britain’s Muslims the Bishop would be wise to weigh his words more carefully and consider the consequences before stirring up hatred.  In the past two weeks there have been at least two racially motivated murders of British Muslims.

The Bishop gives succour to Islamophobes and discredits the good name of his office.