UK:Muslim groups reacted with fury yesterday after a senior Church of England bishop accused Islamic extremists of creating "no-go areas" for non-Muslims in Britain, writes Jack Doyle.
The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, said communities dominated by radical Islam give a hostile reception to Christians and those from other faiths.
Muslim groups angrily denied the claims, asking the bishop to give examples to prove his point. A spokesman for one demanded his resignation and another said the church should take "serious action" against him.
In the Sunday Telegraph, the bishop condemned the use of loudspeakers to spread the call to prayer and compared radical Muslim intimidation to far-right extremism.
"There has been a worldwide resurgence of the ideology of Islamic extremism. One of the results of this has been to further alienate the young from the nation in which they were growing up and also to turn already separate communities into 'no-go' areas where adherence to this ideology has become a mark of acceptability.
"Those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work there because of hostility to them. In many ways, this is but the other side of the coin to far-right intimidation.
"Attempts have been made to impose an 'Islamic' character on certain areas, for example, by insisting on artificial amplification for the Adhan, the call to prayer."
Mohammed Shafiq, a spokesman for the Ramadhan Foundation, a Muslim youth group, accused the bishop of attempting to "whip up hatred" against Muslims and called on him to resign.
Inayat Bunglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, accused the bishop of scaremongering about Islam. - (PA)