Rushdie Haunted by his unholy Ghosts — Page 162
162 Mohamed Arshad Ahmedi ‘This visit was also devoted to one special task that the Prince is making more and more his own: building bridges between this country and the world of Islam. It is strange that our politicians seem so much less interested in this task than the man who is going to become Supreme Governor of the Church of England. ’ (The Daily Telegraph, 16 March 1995). Articles of this nature do leave a positive imprint on the mind of free-thinking readers. For example, in direct response to Noel Malcolm’s comments, Simon Cooke, a Conservative Party member from Bradford, West Yorkshire wrote a letter to the editor in which he welcomed Malcolm’s remarks and added his condemnation of racism within his political party. Though the letter is partly a clari- on-call for his party, the overriding theme is of tolerance and under- standing. Mr. Cooke urges that his ‘party’s leaders must condemn. . . racism and if necessary expel those who hold such views. ’ Mr. Cooke renews Prince Charles’ reasonings on working on the similarities of the different cultures rather than on the differences : ‘Most Muslims share the same concerns as the rest of us - poor education, family breakdown, rising levels of crime and violence and wasteful government. To gain support Conservatives should hold back from condemning Islam on the basis of a few extremists. ’ (The Daily Telegraph, 21 March 1995). Another avenue of bridging the gap has been explored by the Right Reverand Michael Nazir Ali, Britain’s first Asian Diocesan Bishop. Perhaps he has modified his views and has now called for the Holy Qur’an to be studied by the West which ‘would lead to an historical awareness of Islam,’ and ‘should lead also to an interest in the literary background to the Koran. ’ In his latest book, Mission and Dialogue (published 30 March 1995), he also exhorts Muslims and their theologians to rise to the challenge of modernity. Dr. Ali seems to be aware that ‘international society needs a dialogue of reconciliation today between Western and Islamic thinkers’ and that ‘such a development, if it were to promote a better under -standing