Army bishop praises Taliban's 'conviction to their faith'

[Are_grits_groceries]

The Rt Rev Stephen Venner, recently appointed Bishop of the Armed Forces, has angered much of his new flock with comments he made during an interview.

Bishop Venner initially suggested that it would be difficult to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict if the insurgents were portrayed too negatively and that the West has adopted an overly simplistic view of the Taliban.

He then went on to say: "The Taliban can perhaps be admired for their conviction to their faith and their sense of loyalty to each other."
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Secular and atheist individuals may be disturbed by the view implicit in Bishop Venner's statement, namely that devout conviction to a violent and oppressive form of faith is better than having no faith at all.

It is unlikely that moderate British muslims will appreciate the Bishop's respect for an extreme, violent and altogether unpleasant branch of their religion.
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http://www.dailyexpresso.co.uk/2009/12/army-bishop-praises-talibans-conviction.html

Stepped in it on all fronts.