Islamic Affairs Central Network (IACN)

Lord Carey's Remarks Show Myopic Vision and Religious Prejudice

26 March 2004

The Muslim Council of Britain rejects the comments made by Lord George Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, yesterday in Rome as unhelpful to the promotion of dialogue and understanding between the various faith communities.

"Lord Carey appears clearly to be quite frustrated by the fact the Muslims the world over continue to believe and try to live by the Words of God as revealed in the Qur'an to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). In his myopic vision of
the Middle East, Lord Carey seems also to show little understanding of the role played by Western powers in propping up many of the regimes all over the world," said Iqbal Sacranie, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain.

Mr Sacranie added "Furthermore, his biased view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict fails to recognise that it is the lengthy and brutal nature of Israel's US-backed occupation of Palestinian lands which is leading some Palestinians to engage in desperate actions. What kind of moral leadership does Lord Carey show when he asks us to condemn the occupied peoples but remains silent about the dehumanising behaviour of the occupiers?

He concluded: "We would suggest that rather than hectoring Muslims, Lord Carey's skills would be more usefully employed in halting the drift away from Christianity in Europe. The decline of the values and teachings of Jesus, peace be upon him, also concern us as Muslims."

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For further information please contact: The Muslim Council of Britain, Boardman House, 64 Broadway, Stratford, London E15 1NT,
Tel: 07860 375 725, 07956 353 738 or 0208 432 0585/6, Fax: 0208 432 0587 Email: media@mcb.org.uk Website: http://www.mcb.org.uk

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