Well done to the Bishop, someone telling the truth at last and you can`t play the race card with this one as he is of Pakistani origin.

Not a very contructive comment; one designed puerly for self-publicity rather than community cohesion. Of course, a young Asian <uslim can wlak wherever he wants in east Lancs without fear....

There are certainly parts of Blackburn that I wouldn't walk through - both "white" and "asian" areas.

Interesting to note that bishop Ali fails to mention the large tracts of white trash chav-land where Asian yoof is fearful of treading for fear of a beating or a stabbing at the hands of the spotty fake burberry wearing drug dealing oiks.

To me, the bishop serves only to further show the divisive influence of religion; left to their own devices people treat one another well. Chuck in an imaginary friend who thinks he should tell others how to conduct their life and it all goes to pot.



Sometimes bashing the bishop can be interesting instead of just satisfying.....

MARCUS,YOU ARE NOT THE BRIGHTEST...EVEN A MUSLIM SPOKESMAN AGREED WITH THE BISHOPS STATEMENT,ITS CORRECT MUSLIMS HAVE TO ACCEPT ITS A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY..MARCUS OR MALIK NO DOUBT..EVERY1 IS FED UP WITH THIS PRO MUSLIM ANTI CHRISTIAN STANCE...GET REAL ITS A CHRISTIAN COUNTRY

At last someone as woken up or at least are now telling the trueth.Well done Bishop, now lets waken up the other do gooders.This has been the situation for a good number of years and it is not getting any better. As for Marcus no comment.

What makes this Bishop think that if your white your a Christian? Im White but Im not Christian I am Pagan.

Well Id like to formaly invite Marcus to walk through Stoneyholme, maybe shaking hands with a few of the Asians who live there, Im sure I speak for many of the people of Burnley who will willingly visit him in hospital, typical of people like him who has never come across anti white racism to makesuch a stupid comment.
RACISM WORKS BOTH WAYS !!!!

I think Marcus had a good point, to be fair - religion causes many problems. It doesn't make any difference what religion it is, any religion that divides people into those who follow it and those who don't, causes problems.

Religion kills. If you were survey the motive for every murder in the history of humankind, religion would be the out and out winner.

The comments above are the reason i wanted to get away from Burnley.Burnley's motto is"where people count",that may be right,but not many of them spell,a racist,ill educated,minority(I hope)ruin what could be a great place,and I include the council in that statement.

Posted by: speakup shaun, Burnley on 8:04pm today
Well Id like to formaly invite Marcus to walk through Stoneyholme, maybe shaking hands with a few of the Asians who live there, Im sure I speak for many of the people of Burnley who will willingly visit him in hospital, typical of people like him who has never come across anti white racism to makesuch a stupid comment. RACISM WORKS BOTH WAYS !!!!
Well Id like to formaly invite Marcus to walk through Stoneyholme, maybe shaking hands with a few of the Asians who live there, Im sure I speak for many of the people of Burnley who will willingly visit him in hospital, typical of people like him who has never come across anti white racism to makesuch a stupid comment.
RACISM WORKS BOTH WAYS !!!!

Walked through Daneshouse Stoneyholme many a time and even at night Sean never had any problems. There are a lot of decent Asian People its wrong to say every one Asian is a problem. I agree there is a minority same as in the White Community.

There are several areas in Blackburn i would not want to walk through at night, however this has nothing to do with the religion of the people who live there it is because of a minority of scum bags who have nothing better to do in life but intimidate people. Colour or religion has nothing to do with the decline in these areas it is down to the scum element having no concept of social responsibility and until the government bring in tougher sentences and clamp down on this rouge element things will only get worse. Religion at its routes breeds segregation and comments like the ones from Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali do nothing but help widen this gap. The church of England is in constant decline in this country and one day so will be Islam, in the mean time the government needs to stop hiding behind such statements and wake up. A sledge hammer is need to crack this nut not throw away comments from people who are so far removed from the every day reality that they really should keep thier opinions to themselves.
By the way i am neither Muslim nor Christian and live in a mixed race area where i am quite happy to walk the streets so long as i keep clear of the p**s heads and druggies of all races.

For those who believe 'religion kills': if only it were that simple!
History tells a different story. The anti-religious fanatics of the French Revolution killed thousands in the name of a secularised 'reason'.
And we mustn't forget the bloodbaths carried out in the name of nationalism, culminating in the First World War itself.
Joseph Stalin, Mao Zhe-Dong and Pol Pot (to name just three) were hardly enamoured by religion yet their victims number over a hundred million.
Even the hero of the sweat-shirt logo, Che Guevara was directly responsible for hundreds of murders. And he was an avowedly self-proclaimed atheist.

quote

I thank the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali for having the strength and conviction to open up this debate. We are constantly bombarded in this so called "multicultural" society with inane empty comments, we are also told to be tolerant. Tolerance has a prerequisite of honesty, openness and self respect. This was a tolerant Christian society, which gave freedom of expression to Muslims to come and live amongst us. This freedom is not afforded to Christians who live and work in Muslim societies. Allow us Christians Freedom in our own Christian Society and Muslims must start respecting us. Is this not what the Bishop is saying? We did not have the choice as to whether Muslims came to live in our midst. They had the choice as to whether they came here to live or not. Please respect us in our Christian Country!

Althea Gear wrote:

quote

I thank the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali for having the strength and conviction to open up this debate. We are constantly bombarded in this so called "multicultural" society with inane empty comments, we are also told to be tolerant. Tolerance has a prerequisite of honesty, openness and self respect. This was a tolerant Christian society, which gave freedom of expression to Muslims to come and live amongst us. This freedom is not afforded to Christians who live and work in Muslim societies. Allow us Christians Freedom in our own Christian Society and Muslims must start respecting us. Is this not what the Bishop is saying? We did not have the choice as to whether Muslims came to live in our midst. They had the choice as to whether they came here to live or not. Please respect us in our Christian Country!

What you on about? Why dont you read up on history on the British Empire and teh immigration to this country. Asians came to this country because the British invaded India. And after the world war, when our economy was down and people started immigrating to Canada, Australia, Ameriac etc etc, the British Government wanted Labourers from teh Commonwealth to fill the millions of vacant jobs that British people did not want to do.

Secondly its not about us and you. We are all one, we ara all BRITISH.
Do you know what British means? I have a right to practise my religion in the same way a christian has a right.
A British Muslim is equal to a Christian British (White). They have the same rights and same position.
Your article seems to be contrary to that?

Bishop Nazir-Ali has a history of antagonism towards Muslims. Out of step with his fellow members of the church (Chruch of England were against the war and CoE even know he is a numptee) 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 and forgetting 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.

Anyone bother to read the article in the Sunday Telegraph before making comment here?
He has no idea what he is talking about and if you read the article you'll understand.
But I guess those who are just waiting for this wont bother and will just pounce on something like this.


1. The Bishop first attacked the “novel” idea of multiculturism, resulting in an influx of "people of other faiths to these shores".
A view that has given voice to the (down hill) BNP and would have elicited a knowing nod from the likes of Enoch Powell were he still alive today. Many on the far-right (Like those commenting here) are bound to seize on this right-wing Bishop’s comments as vindication for their own bigotry.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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, like here in 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”.

I'm sitting right now next to a group of church goers, and they completely agrees that Christianity in this country is less practised and is on a down ward slope not because of MUSLIMS but its because Christians are moving away from their religion.
And the threat to the Anglican Church is not coming from Muslims but from the Catholic Church!

The Bishop has a history of making Anti-Muslim comments and its not surprising he went to the most Right Wing broadsheet newspaper, the Telegraph.

If the Bishop is worried about Christianity then he should be looking at why Christians feel increasingly out of touch with their church in modern day Britain!

speakup shaun wrote:
Well Id like to formaly invite Marcus to walk through Stoneyholme, maybe shaking hands with a few of the Asians who live there, Im sure I speak for many of the people of Burnley who will willingly visit him in hospital, typical of people like him who has never come across anti white racism to makesuch a stupid comment. RACISM WORKS BOTH WAYS !!!!

Some of your remarks are absolutely correct Shaun / Andy - some maybe not so.
I wouldn't walk at night on my through Audley range having been threatened and called a "f'in white c***" and equally I wouldn't walk through Accy town centre on my own at night having been threatened and called a "f'in posh c***" . Maybe I should buy some shell suits and hoodies to blend in.
Equally importantly to note - some of my family live in the heavily Asian areas of Burnley. When it all kicked off one summer a few back, a big gang of Asian lads came round to my uncles shop to make sure no harm came to it; he is an accepted part of the Asian community.
When my Nan died, the local mosque sent an Iman and a couple of representatives to show respect for one of their neighbours.
For that I will always be grateful.
You are right, racism works both ways. As does tolerance and understanding.
But I firmly think the bishop is talking rubbish.

This is a Christian Country...... Ha, Dont make me laugh. This ceased to be a Christian country when we opened shops on a Sunday, in contravention of the Christian Sabbath.

The only reason the Bishops are speaking up now is because they have nowhere else to go. The Church of England is Bankrupt, sold off thousands of churches to keep the rest open. Lost all their funds in the stock market.

If the leaders of the church had stuck to the script instead of trying to be everv thing to everybody, they wouldnt be feeling the pinch both financially and theologically.

May God Protect us from them.

There quite a few "No Go" areas, and unfortunately for a lot of our "Christian Country", Church is one of them.

Hats off to the bishop what he says is what many people have thought for years... There are no go area's in Blackburn try walking up whalley range like i did a few months back was told to " f****** get out of our area" at least the Bishop has the guts to say what most of us feel Well done

Even the Police will tell you that Whalley range is a no go area if you are white. A Friends son and he's girl friend where beaten up on Barbara Castle Way by a gang of Asians. The police said it was their fault because they should know not to go into that area. An acquaintance was brought up in a house on Whalley range. He moved away 20 odd years ago to Scotland but last year he went to see what the are was like. He was standing outside the house where he spent his childhood when he was approached by a Asian and told in no uncertain term to leave the are or get a kicking, when he refused the Asian left but later came back with a gang of 10. in the mean time the bloke had the sense to ring the Police. They turned up just in time, they escorted him out of the area and told him if he went back they couldn't be responsible for his safety....So dont tell me the Bishop is a lier.

Brian I didnt know the Police advised people not to go in cetain areas of Blackyburn.
I doubt there is even one white person living in whalley range but audley range isnt so bad.whites and asians get along with they day to day lives.shop at the same shops and catch the same buses etc.

Asif. Tell that to the white kid that was attacked by a gang of Asians when he was playing football the other month at audley school....short memory?

It seems that most have missed the main but oblique point of Bishop Nasir's article in the Sunday Telegraph .

In short He was saying that adherence to a Christian vision by the nation would be the best way of ensuring a harmonious UK for all . The government's secular approach is giving rise to a "multifaith 'mish mash' " and because it "lacks the underpinning of a moral and spiritual vision" has very little with which to counter an ascendant "ideology of Islamic extremism". This ascendant extremist approach to Islam combined with current UK conditions is producing "further" alienated young muslims and changing some already separate community districts into no-go areas. Part of the strategy of this extremism is the Islamification of such neighbourhoods, reducing the scope for integration with the current majority.

It is clear from Bishop Nazir's comments in an interview with the BBC that he does not regard secularism as well equipped to counter these extremist trends and suggests that recapturing the nation’s historic Christian world view would provide a better counter such separatism.

He doesn't say the following but it doesn't take much thought to consider why Nasir's assertion might be the case - alienated muslims are more likely to respect a nation built in Christian principles (he lists prophetic passion for justice and compassion, teaching and example of Jesus Christ regarding humility, service and sacrifice) than a nation exhibiting its current excesses (see mention in comment from Muslim reader to earlier Telegraph article).

So in short Nasir is urging a return to Christian values as a strategy to rebuild a harmonious Britain, a Britain that would obviously include Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Atheists etc...

Why do people presume that any one white is a Christian? Im white British Pagan get real people all your beliefs are mainly Pagan hijacked by a few who rip you off. Christianity is a dying religion run by fat Cat Priests etc

Dear All,
I would just like to say that you have good and bad on both sides! Both asian and white people will have had bad experiences of each other, likewise GOOD ones!
However, Bishop Nazir's comments are both irresponsible and adding fuel to a very volatile race-relations debate in the UK, which I feel still exists. Esp. in the North of England where there is ignorance on both sides.
Christianity is not in the limelight and a declining religion-so what shall we do attack Islam AGAIN and those closest to Islam-The ASIAN community! Historically asians including my parents have lived peacefully side by side with white people-I am a British born citizen and here to stay! Wake Up everyone and listen to yourselves-Ignorance is rife-why is there a lack of understanding acceptance and not tackling the root cause of racism-this is only racism! Do we only believe the media and heresay now? Bishop Nazir is attacking the asian community and a minority issue of 'no go areas' where is your evidence and experience Bishop Nazir? Ask those who have lost their lives and been physically and verbally attacked growing up in the UK because of their colour. Then maybe you will know why asian youths have locked certain areas of their community as no go areas to show presence, preservation, power and protecting their way and community. I personally don't agree with, however, we should all start at looking the root of the problem before tackling the outcome-or statement of a Bishop trying to get noticed in the media via a disgraceful attempt of Christian dialogue. Peace to all! Stand by your neighbour and do not let ignorance and hate stand between you. Salaams...

The Bishop should tr ynad sort the mess the church is in before making sweeping statements. There are young boys being abused in churches up and down the country but the church keep turning a blind eye to it, to satisfy the sexual thirst of some bishops.