Carey: Bad dhimmi!
Former Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey is under fire from Muslim groups for remarks he made during a lecture in Rome. From the Telegraph via Smh.com.au, with thanks to Susan and Fanabba:
The former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey has made a trenchant attack on Islamic culture, saying it is authoritarian, inflexible and under-achieving.
In a speech that will upset sensitive relations between the faiths, he denounced moderate Muslims for failing unequivocally to condemn the “evil” of suicide bombers.
Why will this upset “sensitive relations between the faiths”? Carey isn’t covering up unequivocal condemnations of suicide bombing by moderate Muslims. In Onward Muslim Soldiers I point out that moderates have repeatedly insisted that Islam forbids suicide, which is beside the point: radical justifications for suicide bombing don’t consider that it comes under the heading of suicide at all. Rather, it is covered by verses of the Qur’an such as this one: “When ye meet the Unbelievers (in fight), smite at their necks. . . . But those who are slain in the Way of Allah, He will never let their deeds be lost. Soon will He guide them and improve their condition, and admit them to the Garden which He has announced for them” (Sura 47:4-6). The moderate response to this idea has been wholly inadequate.
He attacked the “glaring absence” of democracy in Muslim countries, suggested they had contributed little of major significance to world culture for centuries and criticised the Islamic faith.
Well, these are harsh things to say, but where exactly are they inaccurate? I discuss the decline of Islamic culture and the difficulty democracy has had in the Islamic world in Islam Unveiled, and show how these tendencies are encouraged by a particular approach to the Qur’an. These may not be pleasant topics, but Carey certainly isn’t making these things up.
Dr Carey’s criticism, during a lecture in Rome, is the most forthright by a senior church leader in recent times.
He acknowledged that most Muslims were peaceful people who should not be demonised. But he said outrages such as the September 11 attacks and the Madrid bombings raised difficult questions.
What’s unreasonable about that?
Contrasting Western democracy with Islamic societies, he said: “Throughout the Middle East and North Africa we find authoritarian regimes with deeply entrenched leadership, some of which rose to power at the point of a gun and are retained in power by massive investment in security forces.”
“Whether they are military dictatorships or traditional sovereignties, each ruler seems committed to retaining power and privilege.”
Dr Carey said he was not convinced by arguments that Islam and democracy were incompatible, citing the example of Turkey. He urged Europeans and Americans to resist claims that Islamic states were morally, spiritually and culturally superior.
Carey has thus issued a challenge to the culture of dhimmitude that is fast spreading across Europe and is already being seen in America. Cultural myths, such as that Muslim Andalucia was a beacon of tolerance (which I explode in Onward Muslim Soldiers) are taken for granted everywhere, and are being used as political tools. Carey is unusually perceptive to take note of this.
“Although we owe much to Islam handing on to the West many of the treasures of Greek thought, the beginnings of calculus, Aristotelian thought during the period known in the West as the Dark Ages, it is sad to relate that no great invention has come for many hundred years from Muslim countries,” he said.
“This is a puzzle, because Muslim peoples are not bereft of brilliant minds. They have much to contribute to the human family, and we look forward to the close co-operation that might make this possible.
“Yes, the West has still much to be proud of, and we should say so strongly. We should also encourage Muslims living in the West to be proud of it and say so to their brothers and sisters living elsewhere.”
Dr Carey said moderate Muslims must “resist strongly” the taking over of Islam by radical activist elements, and “express strongly . . . their abhorrence of violence done in the name of Allah”.
I don’t see how any reasonable person could take issue with that last paragraph.
Christians, who shared many admirable moral values with Muslims, such as respect for the family, must speak out against the persecution they often encountered in Muslim countries.
“During my time as archbishop, this was my constant refrain – that the welcome we have given to Muslims in the West, with the accompanying freedom to worship freely and build their mosques, should be reciprocated in Muslim lands,” he said.
A perfectly reasonable thing to call for.
But here is the predictable response. From icWales: Ex-Archbishop accused of prejudice.
Muslims in Britain have attacked a former Archbishop of Canterbury, accusing him of “recycling” religious prejudice after he criticised Islamic culture.
Lord Carey accused Islamic societies of being authoritarian and committed to power and privilege – often led by people who rose to power “at the point of a gun”.
He also criticised the Islamic faith, saying Muslim theological scholarship had declined over the last 500 years, “leading to strong resistance to modernity”.
Lord Carey made his comments during a lecture in Rome, on the eve of a seminar between Christians and Muslims in New York.
“Throughout the Middle East and North Africa we find authoritarian regimes with deeply entrenched leadership, some of which rose to power at the point of a gun and are retained in power by massive investment in security forces,” it was reported by the Daily Telegraph.
“Whether they are military dictatorships or traditional sovereignties, each ruler seems committed to retaining power and privilege.”
Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, was swift to dismiss the former archbishop’s words.
He said: “Frankly, one is dismayed by Lord Carey’s comments.
“One is surprised to find Lord Carey recycling the same old religious prejudice in the 21st Century.”
Once again: what did Carey say that was untrue? I haven’t seen all of his remarks, but I can document everything in this report. Why is any negative observation about the Islamic world immediately classified as prejudice? Iqbal Sacranie would do his community a far greater service by showing a willingness to engage in self-criticism and dialogue with outsiders. That is, after all, what he and his colleagues repeatedly demand from the West.