The UK in particular has failed to face up to the challenge posed by Muslim immigration: not only has it been quite happy to accept the retrenchment of the established church, but government policies have made fragmentation easier, encouraging immigrants to view themselves in terms of separate religious identities. Styling herself as Mrs Nasty to White's Mr Nice, she beamed an image of Molesworth onto the screen in front of us, saying "Any fule kno that Islam challenges the future character of Europe." Taylor's contention was that European civilisation emerged in opposition to Islam, and the values that have made it strong are Christian ones. Yes, the media exaggerate, but the concerns expressed are not baseless. He ended by saying that there were, however, real challenges, including the reactionary ideologies of some British Muslims.įor Jenny Taylor, his analysis told only half the story. He singled out as typical the Sunday Times story about the Metropolitan police "giving permission to Muslims to throw shoes", or the fact that, despite widespread concern about ghettoisation, there are only eight out of around 10,000 electoral wards that have a single ethnic group in the majority. He called his talk "Discerning fact from fear" and was able to cite case after case where the headline or commonplace belied the truth. But there was rich food for thought.īen White started out with an impressive presentation on negative stereotyping of Muslims in the media and wider society. And Nazir Ali's carefully chosen words undermined his reputation as stirrer-up of tension. There were some murmurings and a couple of sharp intakes of breath, but that is about as rowdy as it gets in Northwood: this is not Soas. The scene was set for controversy, but could this roomful of mild-mannered theology students be roused to anger? Would Nazir Ali provide some juicy quotes about the scourge of unchecked immigration? Chairing the event was Bishop Michael Nazir Ali, who has become well known for talking tough on immigration and Islam. He was joined on the platform by Ben White, familiar to readers of Comment is free as a writer on Israel-Palestine, and Jenny Taylor, a journalist and researcher on British Islam and its umbilical links to South Asia. There were prepared to listen, but they had serious concerns and wanted explanations too, particularly from the one Muslim speaker, academic Jabal Buaben. An overwhelmingly Christian audience wanted reassurance. But the mood at London School of Theology, (formerly London Bible College), was not entirely neutral. ![]() In fact, it went under an altogether coyer banner, "The numbers game: Britain's changing demographics and its implications for Christian-Muslim relations". T o deepest Metroland for a conference which might have been called "The Islamisation of Britain: How scared should we be?".
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