Muslims demand resignation of bishop who says parts of Britain are no-go areas for non-Muslims

Muslim groups have demanded the resignation of the Bishop of Rochester after he claimed that Islamic radicals had turned parts of Britain into no-go areas for non-Muslims.

London, Jan.7 : Muslim groups have demanded the resignation of the Bishop of Rochester after he claimed that Islamic radicals had turned parts of Britain into "no-go" areas for non-Muslims.

The Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali wrote in The Sunday Telegraph that fundamentalism had made some communities hostile to Christians and those from other faiths. upporters say Bishop Nazir-Ali's comments have raised valid questions about multiculturalism in Britain

But Mohammed Shafiq, from the Ramadhan Foundation, said: "Mr Nazir-Ali is promoting hatred towards Muslims and should resign."

Ajmal Masroor, of the Islamic Society of Great Britain, said: "It's a distortion of reality. Our communities are far more integrated than they were 10 years ago.

"If the Church of England had an iota of fairness they would take serious action."

But senior figures from the Church of England have backed the Bishop of Rochester's remarks about faith and said Christians in predominantly Muslim areas could feel isolated and nervous about how to express their belief.

Bishop Goddard said Christians in northern towns such as Blackburn and Burnley, where 95 per cent of the Asian population is Muslim, could find life difficult.

"Bishop Michael has raised these issues as a start of a debate which has serious connotations.

Bishop Goddard said the increased wearing of the hijab in parts of Britain was a cultural rather than religious phenomenon.

Last night Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said the Bishop had highlighted a "deeply serious problem".

ANI