London, UK, May 29th 2008 – The Bishop of Rochester Michael Nazir-Ali has warned that "radical Islamism” threatens to fill a moral vacuum in British Society. In a widely publicised article for Standpoint magazine, he argued that the "social and sexual" revolution of the 1960’s had caused "the moral and spiritual vacuum in which we find ourselves". He criticized the church for not having done enough to resist this and went on to warn that “… we are now confronted by another equally serious ideology, that of radical Islamism, which also claims to be comprehensive in scope. What resources do we have to face yet another ideological battle?”
Taji Mustafa media representative of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain said, “Many people have rightly identified a crisis in the western world. The moral and spiritual vacuum is the result of the adoption of secular liberal capitalist values that have led to a society driven by consumerism and individualism, which has led to a breakdown in family life, a rising culture of disrespect, worsening antisocial behaviour and violent crime, the exploitation of women and a widening gap between rich and poor. The notions of basic human decency have become eroded. Furthermore, Secular Europe is once again repeating its historic mistreatment of minorities.”
“The West has sensed the revival of Islam across the world. It senses that the Muslim world is seeking liberation from Western control through the establishment of the Khilafah (Caliphate) and tries in vain to use as many tools as possible in its efforts to stem the growing support for Islam. Nazir-Ali and others like him are nothing more than opportunists who would use this hostile ‘war on terror’ atmosphere to promote their cause, playing to people’s worst prejudices with his cocktail of ’empire’, ‘Britishness’ and anti-Muslim prejudice. He and others are in no position to attack Islam when they have singularly failed to offer solutions to protect the innocent in society from crime and exploitation.”
“The Muslim community in Britain must use Islamic values as a guide of decency and morality to protect itself, as much as possible, from this moral vacuum. The alternative is to simply suffer the fate of other communities with teenage pregnancy, anti-social behavior and lack of respect for parents, or indeed anyone.”
“Viewed from the Muslim world, the crisis in the west is one of the many reasons why Muslims want to re-establish the Khilafah (Caliphate) in their societies, rather than adopt a secular system or liberal values, so that they live by Islam’s detailed solutions which address all facets of human life, including politics, economics and morality.”
“Hizb ut-Tahrir will continue to encourage the Muslim community in Britain to work with it to engage with non-Muslims, so that attempts such as the Bishop’s, to use the fear of the unknown, are ultimately unsuccessful and so it becomes clear to all who the real preachers of hate are.”
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