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Britain is vulnerable to a "tempest of extremism" warns the Archbishop of Canterbury
Dr Rowan Williams says the recent election of a BNP councillor in Kent is "a straw in the wind"
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has warned that the recession could make Britain more vulnerable to a “tempest” of extremism and contribute to a rise of the British National Party.
Rising unemployment and falling house prices were among factors that could contribute to xenophobia and prejudice, he said.
Dr Williams, speaking at a seminar of Christian and Muslim scholars in London, warned that the recent election of a BNP councillor in Kent was a “straw in the wind”.
He said that people were feeling angry because of the financial crisis.
“The fact that the BNP can win a seat in Sevenoaks is a straw in the wind, and we have to watch the horizon very, very carefully for the tempest that might be behind that.”
Dr Williams was addressing the Christian-Muslim Forum at St Ethelburga's in the city, the small medieval church rebuilt as a centre for reconciliation and peace after it was almost completely destroyed by an IRA bomb.
He was speaking the week after the General Synod of the Church of England voted to ban clergy and lay staff from joining the British National Party or any other organisation that contradicts the doctrine that all races are equal.
Dr Williams, who also spoke in support of credit unions and criticised the “unequal sharing of risk” in some financial institutions which protect some at the expense of others, said society cannot afford to ignore the risk posed by extremism during the financial crisis.
He said: “I think we do ignore, at our peril, a very high risk which history should have taught us if it teaches us anything: a very high risk of financial stringency leading to political extremes – anger finding its expression in xenophobia, prejudice, rivalry, all the tactics that both sociologists and psychologists remark on as the displacement of unease and fear.”
Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham and Financial Secretary to the Treasury, also spoke at the Forum saying, “Faith communities represented in this forum represent generosity rather than greed, fairness, peacemaking, strength in family values — community values that underpin these things we want to achieve.”
Other speakers at the event included The Community Cohesion Minister, Sadiq Khan, Alex Cobham of Christian Aid and Faizal Manjoo of the Islamic Foundation.
Source
Dr Rowan Williams says the recent election of a BNP councillor in Kent is "a straw in the wind"
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has warned that the recession could make Britain more vulnerable to a “tempest” of extremism and contribute to a rise of the British National Party.
Rising unemployment and falling house prices were among factors that could contribute to xenophobia and prejudice, he said.
Dr Williams, speaking at a seminar of Christian and Muslim scholars in London, warned that the recent election of a BNP councillor in Kent was a “straw in the wind”.
He said that people were feeling angry because of the financial crisis.
“The fact that the BNP can win a seat in Sevenoaks is a straw in the wind, and we have to watch the horizon very, very carefully for the tempest that might be behind that.”
Dr Williams was addressing the Christian-Muslim Forum at St Ethelburga's in the city, the small medieval church rebuilt as a centre for reconciliation and peace after it was almost completely destroyed by an IRA bomb.
He was speaking the week after the General Synod of the Church of England voted to ban clergy and lay staff from joining the British National Party or any other organisation that contradicts the doctrine that all races are equal.
Dr Williams, who also spoke in support of credit unions and criticised the “unequal sharing of risk” in some financial institutions which protect some at the expense of others, said society cannot afford to ignore the risk posed by extremism during the financial crisis.
He said: “I think we do ignore, at our peril, a very high risk which history should have taught us if it teaches us anything: a very high risk of financial stringency leading to political extremes – anger finding its expression in xenophobia, prejudice, rivalry, all the tactics that both sociologists and psychologists remark on as the displacement of unease and fear.”
Stephen Timms, MP for East Ham and Financial Secretary to the Treasury, also spoke at the Forum saying, “Faith communities represented in this forum represent generosity rather than greed, fairness, peacemaking, strength in family values — community values that underpin these things we want to achieve.”
Other speakers at the event included The Community Cohesion Minister, Sadiq Khan, Alex Cobham of Christian Aid and Faizal Manjoo of the Islamic Foundation.
Source
