|TOP|The head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has called for Muslim countries to put in place a system that will improve and protect the rights of Christians and other religious minorities.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor was speaking to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, when he told that Christians should have the same freedoms that Muslims are offered in western countries such as Britain.

The Catholic leader said that the image of Islam was being damaged when reports spread about the rights of religious minorities being denied in the major Islamic nations.

|AD|In particular, the cardinal called for British Muslims to take the lead in speaking out against the current situation, and to publicise the issue.

The Archbishop of Westminster said, “Where Christians are being denied their rights, or are subject to Sharia law, that is not a matter on which Muslims in Britain should remain silent.

“Where religious rights of minorities are disrespected in the name of Islam, the face of Islam is tarnished elsewhere in the world,” he explained, according to the BBC.

In depth dialogue between Christians and Muslims was vital, told Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, but he also added that it necessitated Christians being able to worship freely in the likes of Riyadh or Kabul, just as Muslims could do in Britain.

He said, “Our mutual understanding is crucial for world peace and human progress, not least in this era when globalisation and mass migration have placed Christians and Muslims ever closer to each others, as neighbours in the same European towns and cities.”