UK Bishop Blasts Muslim 'No-Go' Zones

A high-ranking UK bishop has sparked a row by criticizing immigration laws and claiming that Islamic extremists threaten Christians in "no-go" areas across Britain. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, the Church of England's only Asian bishop, wrote a Telegraph editorial that blames the "novel philosophy of multiculturalism" for threatening Britain's Christian heritage.

Lawmakers and Muslim reps have slammed the bishop's argument—one calling it "a gross caricature of reality"—but it coincides with a new poll in which one third of Church leaders say immigration is diluting Britain's Christian society. Almost two-thirds fear Downing Street will end the Church of England's special treatment, especially after UK PM Gordon Brown recently stopped government involvement in appointing bishops. (More Michael Nazir Ali stories.)