Blair talks of his spiritual side
By John McManus
BBC News
Tony Blair has spoken to the BBC about his first spiritual experience,
which occurred when he was a child.
The ex-prime minister said that praying for his atheist father when he
became seriously ill had "a tremendous impact" on him.
Elsewhere in the interview with Joan Bakewell, Mr Blair defended the
decision to invade Iraq, and insisted that faith schools are not
divisive.
He also said that he reads the Koran nearly every day.
In the interview, to be broadcast in the "Belief" programme on BBC Radio
3, Mr Blair reveals that when he was 10 years old his father had a
stroke.
Despite the seriousness of that illness, his mother wanted her son's
life to carry on as normal, so he continued to go to school, where he
ended up praying for his father with the headmaster.
"I said to him 'Before we pray, I should tell you that my father, he
doesn't believe in God.
"And I always remember the headmaster saying to me 'Well, that doesn't
matter because God believes in him'".
He described the experience as having a "tremendous impact" on him.
Terrorist responsibility
Mr Blair also spoke about the role of faith schools in the state sector.
During his time as prime minister, the academy schools programme was
launched.
He believes that expanding faith school provision helped to foster
inter-faith relations, adding that a question of equality was involved.
“ I certainly don't believe that there is a Christian conviction that is
superior one way or another on what the right thing to do is ”
Tony Blair
"You can't say to Christians and to Jews that you can have a faith
school but Muslims can't".
"I think they can help give a sense of values, they can ground a child,
they can instil a certain amount of discipline, in the right way, in a
child's mind, provided that they approach religion in a non-sectarian
way."
Blair's family on his mother's side were Irish Protestants, which he
suggested gave him a personal connection with Ireland.
His grandfather was a grand master of an Orange Order lodge, a fact that
he jokingly suggested may have helped in the Northern Ireland peace
process.
"Every so often some guy who would say he was a cousin of mine would
sort of wander up and say 'You don't know me, but we're related'".
On the issue of Iraq, Mr Blair insisted that Britain went to war for the
right reasons, and that a previous policy of appeasement towards Saddam
Hussein in the 1980s had led to the Iran-Iraq war and a million
casualties.
Everyday reflections
He denied thinking that his Christian beliefs meant that he considered
his decisions at the time of the invasion to be automatically the right
thing to do.
"I certainly don't believe that there is a Christian conviction that is
superior one way or another on what the right thing to do is."
He said the decision to invade Iraq was something he reflected on every
day.
Mr Blair added that his religious beliefs help him - accepting that
there is a God can be frightening but it is also a source of comfort.
He also spoke about the motivations of insurgents in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and rejected arguments that British foreign policy has
radicalised Muslims.
"I think actually these acts of terrorism are utterly evil, yes. And
when you think of the numbers of wholly innocent people that have
died... I say the responsibility lies with the people doing the
terrorism, 'cos there's no reason for them to do the terrorism."
Belief is broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 10 Friday April at 2300 BST.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.
Published: 2009/04/09 23:34:57 GMT
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