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 A UK bishop urged Christians to learn coexistence from the Muslim minority in British cities where a rich diversity of immigrant communities that exceeds the number of Christian exist, the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday, July 12.
“This is a fantastic opportunity,” Rt Rev Nick Baines, the Bishop of Bradford told the General Synod, the Church of England’s national assembly, in York.
Rev Baines said some parishes in his diocese were 95% Muslim but that this should not be seen as “a problem”.
“It is a challenge, yes, but it’s an opportunity to rethink what it means to be a Christian community,” he said.
His comments followed warnings from the Church of England’s national assembly, the General Synod, that Britain's increasingly diverse society could undermine the position of the Church of England as the “established” faith of the nation.
Senior Anglicans have raised their concerns in meetings with government ministers and expect practical measures to safeguard Christian rights in response.
They also claimed that Anglicans have become “beleaguered” because Christians are so outnumbered by members of other faiths.
Yet, Rev Baines called on Christians to learn some of the lessons they have been giving Muslims about cultural integration and mutual coexistence.
“We often ask Muslims to learn what it is to be a Muslim as a minority culture,” he said.
“Maybe we could benefit from learning some of the same lessons in some of our cities.”
Britain is home to a sizable Muslim minority of nearly 2 million who have taken full brunt of anti-terror laws since the 7/7 attacks.
A recent report by UK government’s equality watchdog said that Muslims are better integrating into the British modern, multi-ethnic, multicultural community than many Christians.
Praising Muslim integration in the modern, multi-cultural British society, the report accused Christians, particularly evangelicals, of being more militant than Muslims in complaining about discrimination.
The report also cites examples of high-profile cases which have featured Christians claiming they have been discriminated against because of their beliefs.
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