MUSLIM leaders in Britain accused the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey of Clifton, of “bigotry” and “religious prejudice” after he accused Islamic societies of being authoritarian and committed to power and privilege.

They called on the present Archbishop, Rowan Williams, to condemn his predecessor’s views, expressed in a public lecture at the Gregorian University in Rome.

Lord Carey, seen for more than a decade as a friend and supporter of Muslims, aroused anger and disbelief by his speech, in which he said that Muslim societies were often led by people who rose to power “at the point of a gun”. He also criticised Muslim leaders who failed to unequivocally condemn suicide bombers.

His lecture threatened to cast a shadow over a three-day conference of Christian and Muslim scholars from across the world in Washington next week, which is being convened by Dr Williams. The archbishop declined to comment officially, but a source described the lecture as a “bolt from the blue”. Church of England leaders played down the remarks last night, emphasising that they were purely personal.

The Bishop of Southwark, Dr Tom Butler, who chairs a group working to promote greater understanding between people of all faiths, said: “Sometimes opinions will be expressed robustly in either direction. If this can be handled with maturity and mutual respect, understanding can be deepened and our dialogue can emerge strengthened.”

However, such comments did little to calm Britain’s Muslim leaders, who responded with barely contained anger and disappointment.

Iqbal Sacranie, the Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, said that Lord Carey’s comments were “unhelpful to dialogue”. He said: “In his myopic vision of the Middle East, Lord Carey seems also to show little understanding of the role played by Western powers in propping up many of the regimes all over the world.”

Syed Aziz Pasha, of the Union of Muslim Organisations, said the address was “very shocking”. He said: “He is not only bigoted, he is frustrated and a victim of Islamophobia.”

Zaki Badawi, the principal of the Muslim College in London, said: “This was just the wrong time to make such statements. I have great affection for him and consider him a personal friend. I cannot understand it. It showed a very narrow outlook and parts of his speech were nonsense and untrue. It is very unfortunate.”

Lord Ahmed, a Labour life peer, said: “I’m surprised that Lord Carey has been so insensitive. At a time when the Muslims and Islam are criticised and there’s a growing Islamophobia, Lord Carey’s remarks don’t help the situation for European Muslims.”

Lord Carey argued that it was not his intention to be critical. Cleary bemused by the reaction that his speech had provoked, he said that some of his closest friends were Muslims, and described how only last Saturday he was in Hebron where he had lunch with a former leader of Hamas.

He said of his Hamas friend: “He has repudiated violence. He said that although he was one of the founders of Hamas, he came out of it when it moved from being a political to a terrorist organisation.”

Lord Carey, speaking to The Times on his mobile phone while queueing with two grandsons for a ticket to enter the Sistine Chapel in Rome, is there as the McCarthy visiting professor at the Gregorian University. This was the university that the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, attended while training for the Roman Catholic priesthood at the English College.

Lord Carey, 69, who has been delivering a course of lectures entitled Unity and Mission, made his comments on Islam in a public lecture at the university under the title Christianity and Islam: Collision or convergence? His speech is the culmination of a lifetime’s fascination with Islam. His views on Islam are, in fact, not uncommon in the Church of England, in particular in the evangelical wing from which he himself emerged.

Joel Edwards, the general director of the Evangelical Alliance, said: “Islam, like every other faith, must stand up to public scrutiny, and where it is found wanting it must be heard to say sorry as passionately as it defends itself. Christian skirmishes in Northern Ireland are evil but so is terror inspired by Islam. I know that Muslim leaders have said sorry, but they also have to check whether they have been heard to say so.”

But it is unusual for a church leader of Lord Carey’s prominence to make remarks so open to interpretation as critical, particularly at a time of such sensitivity between the faiths.

His interest in the religion began in the 1950s, when sent to Iraq while doing his National Service. As a result, he said, he “found it understandable why so many people of my generation, looking at such societies superficially, considered Islam to be a backward-looking faith, associated with backward societies, with massive problems of illiteracy and corruption”.

During his 11 years at Lambeth Palace he spent many months travelling to the outposts of the Anglican Communion, repeatedly visiting countries such as Nigeria, Sudan, Egypt and Israel and speaking up for Christian minorities.

One of his most significant achievements, towards the end of his term of office, was a commitment from Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders from Israel to the Alexandria declaration, a document which pledges all sides to a non- violent search for peace. The declaration states: “Therefore we, the members of the Alexandria permanent committee condemn all and any derogatory remarks directed to the faith, tenets and/or central figures of any of our faiths. Such remarks undermine our efforts and commitments to advance peace between our communities and, in their very character, do harm both to the faith defamed and the very religion in whose name they are made.”

Lord Carey also initiated the Building Bridges seminars, the third of which is the meeting in Washington DC on Monday when Christian and Muslim scholars will study the different approaches to prophecy, conflict and society in the Bible and the Koran. Dr Williams will deliver a keynote address on Monday afternoon.

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