Brown attacks Blair: Politicians justify decisions in God’s name

LONDON - Former British Prime Minister Gorden Brown has launched an attack on his predecessor Tony Blair saying that many lawmakers try to justify their political decisions by insisting that “God has sanctioned or ordained a course of action”.

Blair had earlier claimed that while being a Prime Minister, many political of his decisions, including invading Iraq, were motivated by his Christian faith and claimed he would ultimately be judged by God for taking Britain to war.

However, speaking at Lambeth Palace to a group of leading clergy, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, Brown said: “We know here in the West that what may begin as a benign attempt by a politician to explain their religious motivation too often ends with the spectacle of them hinting that God has sanctioned or ordained a course of action,” The Telegraph reports.

“Whether in foreign affairs - perhaps hinting at a justification for weapons or a war - or in domestic affairs - perhaps justifying intrusive laws in deeply personal matters best resolved in the privacy of conscience and family. To claim or imply divine sanction for a political cause is wrong not just because it is politically unacceptable: it is wrong to me because it is religiously unacceptable too. We cannot claim that God is on our side: the most we can do is hope that we are on God’s side,” he added.

In an interview in 2006, when Blair was earlier asked about his decision of invading Iraq, the then Prime Minister had said: “Well, I think if you have faith about these things, then you realise that judgment is made by other people … and if you believe in God, it’s made by God as well.”

A senior cleric who attended Brown’s talk, said that though it was based on a wide range of topics related to faith and politics, the underlining message was an attack on Blair. (ANI)