I have just finished Antonia Fraser's The Gunpowder Plot and see interesting present day parallels. The conspirator's were a small minority of a minority religion in this country who believed that killing their persecutors together with their RC co-religionists was a justifiable political act. The majority population could argue that the terrorists' religion supported such actions, though the majority of that faith denied it.
It took a long time, centuries, for the majority population to be convinced that this minority faith could be a loyal part of this country and so freed from civil disadvantages. AFAIK RCs have only one remaining civil disadvantage, royal succesion is denied them! The roal family must still profess the "reformed religion of the Church of England".
I think it requires a big effort from British Muslims to convince some of us, the majority population, that they are to be trusted as loyal subjects of Her Majesty, comitted to democracy. Bush and Blair may tell us Islam is a religion of peace, but as we study it we find otherwise.
OTH we do find our Muslim friends to be peacable people. But only in proportion to their political secularisation do we find them peacable. Islam knows no separation of religion and politics.
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