The BBC manage to report this with a straight face and deserve praise for their brass-necked cheek

The BBC report the words of the Archbishop of Canterbury but as this not an attack on the Conservative'ish government's policies the coverage is somewhat muted. This time Dr Rowan Williams is warning that 'the vacuum left by the end of autocratic regimes (in the Muslim Middle East) was being filled by extremists.' The BBC report is rather interesting as it does, albeit briefly, describe what Dr Williams says is going on:

'He claimed there had been more killings of Christians and burnings of churches in Egypt than people were aware of.

Life was unsustainable for Christians in northern Iraq, and tensions in Syria were nearing breaking point, he added.

...

"There is no doubt at all that it is a very anxious time for Christian communities. There have been extremist atrocities already, especially in Egypt," he said.

"It is a fairly consistent pattern over a number of months. Although at leadership level in the Muslim community in Egypt there is clear condemnation of this, it's evident that there are other forces at work which of course may not be native Egyptian," he added.

He suggested outside elements had entered Egypt from "more traditional sites of extremism", such as Saudi Arabia and northern Sudan, and did not rule out activity by al-Qaeda.

Dr Williams said violent extremism had made life unsustainable for Christians in northern Iraq, in a way that amounted to ethnic cleansing.

"The level of violence has been extreme," he said.

"More and more there is the talk of an 'enclave solution' to the problem in Iraq - that is a sort of safe territory for Christians, which Christians and their leaders don't particularly want, but many would think is the only practical outcome now."

He said even in Syria, where Christians and Muslims had long lived together peacefully, tensions were building to breaking point.

Even in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus Christ, Christians who had once been in the majority were now a "marginalised minority", he added.'

Just the sort of stories that have been reported on the web for ages, including on my blog, but that the BBC have minimised coverage of. Which is why I did like that early line in the BBC report:

'He claimed there had been more killings of Christians and burnings of churches in Egypt than people were aware of.'

Why are people not aware of these attacks on Christians and their churches? Because the BBC have seen fit not to report news that would reflect badly on the Islamic revolutionaries that they are so keen to support.