Peter Akinola has written a letter. Andrew Brown has an observation:
His answer seems to me quite clear: British Muslims must suffer as Iraqi or Pakistani Christians do. Otherwise it’s not fair and “Religious tolerance [becomes] a one sided principle that favours one particular religion and inimical to the other. [But] What is good for the goose is good for the gander. It is only if we all embrace the divine injunction: ‘do unto others, as you want them do unto you’ that we can truly and in all sincerity preach peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance.”
If I have followed his reasoning, he is claiming that since “we all” – i.e. “you Muslims” – have not embraced this divine injunction, they must themselves be treated as they treat others, and Christians can no longer preach peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance.
This is the logic of ethnic cleansing and civil war and it is coming from a man who is taken very seriously by millions of otherwise respectable Christians.
Check out Brown’s new belief blog starting at the introductory post. Welcome to the religious blogosphere, Andrew.
Related Episcopal Cafe posts: Mark Harris responds to Akinola