According to the head of the British government's Equality and Human Rights Commission, Muslims are integrating into British society better than many Christians.
Commission chairman Trevor Phillips (pictured) accused Christians, particularly evangelicals, of being more militant than Muslims and more likely to complain about discrimination, arguing that many of the claims are motivated by a desire for greater political influence.
Mr Phillips, who is a Salvationist from a strong Christian background, says that fundamentalist Christians are holding increasing sway over the mainstream churches because of the influence of African and Caribbean immigrants with "intolerant" views.
In contrast, Muslims are less vociferous because they are trying to integrate into British "liberal democracy", he said.
"I think there's an awful lot of noise about the Church being persecuted but there is a more real issue that the conventional churches face that the people who are really driving their revival and success believe in an old time religion which in my view is incompatible with a modern, multi-ethnic, multicultural society," Phillips said.
"Muslim communities in this country are doing their damnedest to try to come to terms with their neighbours to try to integrate and they're doing their best to try to develop an idea of Islam that is compatible with living in a modern liberal democracy.
"The most likely victim of actual religious discrimination in British society is a Muslim but the person who is most likely to feel slighted because of their religion is an evangelical Christian."
However the chairman of the expressed concern that people of all faiths are "under siege" from atheists whom he accused of attempting to "drive religion underground".
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph ahead of a landmark report on religious discrimination in Britain, he said the Commission wants to protect Christians and Muslims from discrimination, admitting his body had not been seen to stand up for the people discriminated against because of their faith in the past.
source : http://abna.ir
