Muslims irrate over archbishop comments

LEICESTER, England, March 26 (UPI) -- British Muslims are ripping comments by a former head of the Church of England that criticize Islamic practice and culture.

George Carey, who as a former archbishop of Canterbury was once the titular head of the world's 70 million Anglicans, said Islam was inflexible and authoritarian, and Islamic countries were backward and underachieving, the Times of London reported Friday.

Muslim leaders did not do enough to condemn the radical activists who had hijacked their religion, or the suicide bombers who murdered and maimed in its name, claiming to be religious martyrs, Carey said Thursday in his speech to a group in Rome.

Manzoor Moghal, chairman of the Federation of Muslim Organizations in Leicester, where more than 40,000 Muslims live, was livid.

"That is nonsense," he said. "We condemn suicide bombers; we go on radio, on television; we have made statements. What more can we do?

"We cannot be responsible for the criminal actions of others -- they are not under our control. The archbishop has got it wrong."

Rowan Williams, current archbishop of Canterbury, declined to respond publicly to Carey's statements about Islam.