The Pakistani-born Bishop of Rochester in the Church of England, Michael Nazir-Ali, who holds dual Pakistani and British citizenship, has said Islamic extremism has turned some communities into no-go areas for people of a different faith or race.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Nazir-Ali, said those of a different faith or race may find it difficult to live or work in some areas due to “hostility. People of a different race or faith face physical attack in some Muslim areas.”

Will he now be accused of racial hatred and charged under the Race Relations Act, we wonder? Or will he be allowed to say that because he is a Pakistani?

Nazir-Ali went on to say that there had been a worldwide resurgence of Islamic extremism, leading to young people growing up alienated from the country they live in. It had also turned “already separate communities into ‘no-go’ areas”.

He said there had been attempts to “impose an ‘Islamic’ character on certain areas”, for example, by amplifying the call to prayer from mosques.

Apart from issues about noise levels, Dr Nazir-Ali said it also raised questions about “whether non-Muslims wish to be told the creed of a particular faith five times a day on the loudspeaker”.

He said the role of chaplains in such places as hospitals, prisons and educational establishments was in jeopardy “either because of financial cuts or because the authorities want ‘multifaith’ provision, without regard to the distinctively Christian character of the nation’s laws, values, customs and culture”.