Bishop receives death threats after 'no-go areas' comments

|PIC1|The Bishop of Rochester, Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, has turned to police for assistance after receiving death threats over claims he made that Islamic extremists were turning some areas of Britain into "no-go" areas for people of other faiths.

Bishop Nazir-Ali said that threats had been made to the safety of himself and his family in phone calls to the family home in Kent. Kent Police are treating the threats as serious.

The Rev Canon Tony Smith, chaplain to the bishop, confirmed that police had looked into the calls and that steps had been taken to ensure the bishop's safety.

"We are getting on with life," he added.

Some Muslim leaders called for the bishop's resignation after he wrote in the Sunday Telegraph last month, "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."

Following a Muslim backlash, the Pakistan-born bishop offered further clarification on his comments in a number of responses.

|QUOTE|In the most recent statement issued last Friday, Bishop Nazir-Ali said that the purpose of his article had been to "point out that the best way for welcoming and integrating newer arrivals in this country should have been a Christian vision of hospitality and not the secular policy of multiculturalism which has led to such disastrous consequences".

He said that in using the term "no-go areas", he had been referring to "the phenomenon that is referred to as 'parallel lives', 'separated' or 'self-contained' areas or communities, 'lack of cohesion' and in many other ways", and not the segregation previously seen in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

He added, "I made clear in the article that my comments were about the particular impact of Islamic extremism and were not about Muslims in general."

The bishop responded to the threats he had received by stressing that it was "critically important" that discussion on politics, religion and science "be encouraged and not diminished".

He also said he had received overwhelming support since the publication of his article.

"I was aware that what I had written would cause a debate on the issue but I have been surprised at its scale. If my overflowing postbag is anything to go by - and it has been overwhelmingly supportive - then it is clear that this is an issue that needs further discussion," he wrote.

He added, "I deeply regret any hurt and do not wish to cause offence to anyone, let alone by Muslim friends."