Let’s heed the tough but reasonable challenge issued by Bishop Murphy

THE former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, came in for criticism recently over comments he made about Muslim culture.

He lamented the fact that very few Muslim leaders condemned “the evil of suicide bombers who kill innocent people”. He also criticised the decline in Muslim theological scholarship over the last 500 years. This, he said, had led to “strong resistance to modernity” throughout the Islamic world.

The Muslim Council of Great Britain accused Dr Carey of “recycling religious prejudice”. But within a few days they wrote to mosques across the country urging them to help police fight terrorism. They asked imams and community leaders to be alert for possible illegal activities and to report potential terrorists. Maybe the archbishop’s words had had their desired effect.