Allowing religion to have political influence turns it into something “cruel and wicked”, the author Philip Pullman has argued, as he condemns the “terrible things” Islamic extremists have “done to young girls in the name of religion”.
Pullman, the author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, said society must resist allowing religion to “pry into places it doesn’t belong”, including politics.
Speaking of religious zealots of all denominations, he added power had now been given to a “group of men who have an unhealthy interest in other people’s sexuality”.
Pullman has previously been accused of blasphemy for his 2009 book “The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ”, with his Dark Materials trilogy being banned from some American schools.
In 2001, he reportedly told the Washington Post he was “trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief” with his work.
The author, a former teacher and honorary associate of the National Secular Society, has now turned his sights on religious extremism.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine, he warned the public must resist allowing religion to “pry into places it doesn’t belong”.
“Did you see that story in the paper about the teenage girl who was stoned to death because she was on Facebook?’” he said.
“Facebook! According to the Taliban, it’s the equivalent of committing adultery, so they took her outside and stoned her to death. Appalling!
“That’s what happens when religion gets its hands on the levers of power.
“As soon as it has any political influence, it does bad things, becomes cruel and wicked.”
When asked about the influence of religion in the UK, the author added the Church of England had “no power of that sort” but admitted he had “no idea” why there were bishops in the House of Lords.
“There’s no other religion with much power in this country except in the communities that cling to a rural, largely Pakistani, version of Islam,” he said.
“Isn’t that where much of the extremism comes from? The terrible things they do to young girls are done in the name of religion, but I don’t believe there’s anything in the Koran about genital mutilation.
“It’s a cultural thing that’s belonged to their societies for thousands of years.”
Pullman, who criticised zealots of all religions from “Arabian Salafists” to “extreme Orthodox Judaism”, added the effect was to “give power to a group of men who have an unhealthy interest in other people’s sexuality”.
“That’s religion prying into places it doesn’t belong,” he said. “We should resist it.”
Pullman could not be reached for comment.
According to information about Female Genital Mutilation issued by the UK government, the communities most at risk on British soil include Kenyan, Somali, Sudanese, Sierra Leonean, Egyptian, Nigerian and Eritrean.
It added FGM is also carried out by non-African communities, including Yemeni, Afghani, Kurdish, Indonesian and Pakistani.
The author’s latest book, ‘Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales’, is out now.