British chief rabbi calls on Muslims to separate religion from power

Britain’s chief rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks, has said that Muslims needed to learn to separate religion from power. In a lecture in London to a Christian think tank, Sacks said: “One of the great advantages of being Jewish, is you know how to sing in a minor key. We have had 26 centuries of experience, ever since the Babylonian exile, of living as a minority in the midst of a culture that does not share our views.”

He added: “I have no doubt that Islam will work its way through to the essential situation that Judaism arrived at and Christianity, namely the substantive separation of religion from power. But there’s no quick way of getting there. It’s quite a difficult and painful process.

“Only Muslims can do it. I do see some wonderful Muslims in this country and elsewhere going through that process. Some of the Muslim thinkers today are some of the most courageous thinkers I have come across and it is very striking how many of them are women.”

Sacks blamed Europe's falling birth rate on a culture of "consumerism and instant gratification". He said the continent was "dying" and accused its citizens of not being prepared for parenthood's "sacrifices".