Archbishop of Canterbury praises Britain's Muslims

The Archbishop of Canterbury has praised Muslims for stimulating debate about religion in Britain.

Dr Rowan Williams said that Islamic people had helped promote the discussion of faith in a society that had become "rather unfriendly" for religious people.

His comments to a Muslim newspaper come a year after he faced calls to resign after saying it was inevitable that Sharia law would be introduced into Britain.

The clerical head of the Church of England has also sparked controversy in the past by saying that some parts of Christianity are offensive to Muslims.

In an interview with the Muslim News published on Friday, he said: "I think Islam has made a very significant contribution to getting a debate about religion into public life.

"And I think it's very right that we should have these debates and discussions between Muslims and Christians and others in public.

"If we are not allowed as religious people to talk and argue about these issues in public then I think society has become a rather unfriendly place for religious people, and that's not helpful change."

He also blamed the public for voting in successive governments that "pushed for growth" without always addressing poverty.

On Wednesday the archbishop warned that religious belief would not halt the environmental damaged caused by global warming, saying that God would not guarantee a "happy ending".

In a lecture at York Minster he said: "I think that to suggest that God might intervene to protect us from the corporate folly of our practices is as unchristian and unbiblical as to suggest that he protects us from the results of our individual folly or sin."

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