More on Carey and Islam

Two very different takes on this and both worth pondering. My view, having read the speech and thought about the ripostes [including Andrew Brown's negative one in the Church Times -but then he is well known for not being a fan of Carey] I still think that there are a couple of well made made points in what Carey said that deserve more investigation/fuller response. Most of the reported reactions have been picking up out of context soundbites and eliding the careful modifiers in what Carey says. It is understandable that Mulsims in the West should be twitchy about people saying things about their faith -as a Christian in an apathetic and sometimes hostile-to-my-faith society, I find a lot that smacks of the same kind of defensiveness that I sometimes feel. But for all of us there are unpalatable facts and allowing Muslims to get away from their share isn't doing any of us any good. now or in th elonger term. There is a time for truth telling. The encouraging thing is that the recent Muslim Council of Britain missive to British ulema etc seems to be a sign that some of these things are, in fact, being taken seriously. It isn't always islamophobia -least of all from George Carey who is not some hardline bigot [despite some of what people like Andrew Brown seem to imply].