LONDON, 22 December 2003 — The Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual head of the Church of England, has indicated he will criticize the detention without trial of terrorist suspects in Britain and the United States in his Christmas sermon.
Speaking to Britain’s Sunday Times, Rowan Williams said holding Muslims without granting them access to lawyers or the courts was harming the efforts of moderate Islamic leaders to promote religious tolerance.
“If we want to persuade moderate Muslims to sign up to toleration and pluralism of the right kind, anything that gives the impression that we are targeting Muslims is problematic, Williams, the nominal head of more than 70 million Anglicans throughout the world, said.
The Times also predicted Williams, who will be delivering his first Christmas sermon this year, would criticize French plans to ban Muslim headscarves in schools.
There are 14 Muslim men being held without trial in Britain. Some of them have been in detention for two years, and one of them is being held in a psychiatric institution.
Their plight has attracted criticism from Amnesty International and other human rights organizations, as well as some British politicians, but the government maintains it has no choice.
The men are non-British nationals unable to return to their home countries for fear of persecution there and can thus not be deported.
Nine British Muslims are among those in the US detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
