Whatever your views about Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, he is hard to ignore. After his announcement this weekend that he is to retire early, the Church of England will be the poorer for it. The inference is that he felt stifled and decided that he could do more worthwhile work elsewhere, mostly outside Britain. Sadly, he is probably right.

Born in Karachi to parents who converted to Christianity from Islam, the first non-white diocesan bishop in Britain emerged as an outspoken critic of multiculturalism. Nobody, given his background and race, was better placed to do so. More than his Anglican colleagues, he knew about fighting for your faith. His criticisms were well made. Immigrants, he said, needed to do more to integrate into British life. He warned last year that Islamic extremism had turned “already separate communities into ‘no-go’ areas”. For this he received death threats and required police protection.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops

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