You may recall that, a couple of weeks ago, former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey complained that Christians in Britain felt persecuted because of ‘aggressive secularism’.
In reality, there is no religious persecution in Britain – not unless your definition of ‘persecution’ includes having to live in a pluralist society and tolerate other points of view.
What Carey and others with a similar persecution complex, such as those complaining about ‘Islamophobia’, are actually trying to do is appropriate victim status for political advantage.
If these people want to understand what real persecution looks like, they should examine the situation in Bangladesh, where the authorities, at the prompting of Islamist parties, are arresting ‘atheist bloggers’. The Islamists are demanding the death penalty for bloggers who “insult religion”. One blogger known for his connection to anti-Islamist protests and for criticising religion has already paid with his life; he was murdered at home in a machete attack.
Carey and the UK’s Islamophobia lobby should consider themselves fortunate to live in a secular society, the only sort of society where everyone, irrespective of their religious views, can live without fear or favour.
Meanwhile, if you want to support the victims of persecution in Bangladesh, you can take action here.
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