In his comments, delivered as part of a lecture in Rome, Dr Carey 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 gun and are retained in power by massive investment in security forces.
'Although we owe much to Islam...it is sad to relate that no great invention has come for many hundred years from Muslim countries. 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.
'Sadly, apart from a few courageous examples, very few Muslim leaders condemn clearly and unconditionally the evil of suicide bombers who kill innocent people.'
The Muslim Council of Britain, described by the Guardian as "moderate", is certainly unhappy.
'I am saddened' by Dr Carey's comments said Iqbal Sacranie, secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain. 'He should be well aware that mainstream Muslim organisations have consistently condemned terrorist attacks, but their statements are often ignored by the media. Dr Carey is trampling on a very sensitive area by referring to the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet.'
A very moderate, antiterrorist outfit indeed.
They did not merely condemn Israel's killing of Sheikh Yassin, the Hamas "spiritual leader", they wrote this:
The Muslim Council of Britain condemns in the strongest terms Israel's criminal assassination of Shaykh Ahmad Isma'il Yasin, the renowned Islamic scholar and founder of the leading Palestinian Resistance Movement - Hamas.
Or as a smaller point, when Moshin Khan, a Moslem in the British Royal Air Force reserve, went AWOL claiming that being a Moslem prevented him from fighting except in self-defense, the Council was there to defend him.
The Muslim Council of Britain issued a press release condemning the attacks of Sept 11th within 3 hours of them occurring and within 48 hours we had organised a well-attended press conference where all the main Muslim leaders from around the UK signed a statement saying that the attacks were morally indefensible and demanded that the perpetrators be brought to justice.
(Although after the Madrid bombings, it the Council denounced any suggestion that Muslims might be involved. What I cannot find is any support from the Council for actually doing anything about terrorism. It opposed the invasion not only of Iraq, but of Afghanistan. I cannot find anything it actually proposes be done.
Maybe I'm wrong here. Maybe the Council is not a front for radical Islam. Maybe they are just Kerry supporters.
