Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali

It is not surprising if Michael Nazir-Ali has been, or will be, pilloried for speaking out about the place of Christian faith in a so-called multi-faith society. If Trevor Phillips warns about Britain sleep-walking its way towards apartheid, he is a wise man issuing a necessary note of alarm. If the wisest and most informed Bishop in the country speaks out, he is told to shut up and sit down. A prophet is not welcome in his own country.

Of course, my 'prophet' may be your 'alarmist'; your 'prophet' may be my 'heretic'. But prophets do not simply warn about the future; they expose the present. Jeremiah - and Jesus - was asking the people of his time to face what was staring them in the eye, but they could not - or would not - see. Or: prophets are allowed on certain themes; but not on others. That is where thought, fact and argument are required, not knee-jerk reactions.

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali knows Islam inside out, from life in Pakistan and the UK, from personal history and theological research. Of course, there are plenty of critics who have vested interests in viewpoints such as his not being expressed publicly. For instance, the request for permission to introduce the Islamic call to prayer in major cities in the UK expresses a literal claim on that territory for Islam, with strictly legal consequences in terms of Sharia' law.

Advent traditionally begins with the cry to 'Wake up!' Bishop Michael is sounding that cry again now in one specific area of life in Britain. What he is saying is neither surprising nor new: but where ostrich heads have been buried in the sands for years, it does sound shocking. But, as St Paul says, it is time to wake up from sleep. Merely speaking out does not constitute prophecy; but when a wise man, a serious theologian and a believing Christian speaks out, we should listen.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=SEJIOZRWAANTLQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/06/nislam206.xml (Why extremism has flourished)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=5SWCYNJWFOFLVQFIQMGSFGGAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/06/nislam106.xml (Bishops warns of no-go zones)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=SEJIOZRWAANTLQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/06/nislam306.xml (Oxford Muslims want call to prayer)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=SEJIOZRWAANTLQFIQMGSFFWAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2007/12/09/nmuslim109.xml (Muslim apostates threatened over Christianity)