A leading churchman has clashed with the SNP and Conservatives after he claimed addressing concerns over Islam was more important than dealing with the economy, independence and the NHS.
The Rev David Robertson, the next moderator of the Free Church of Scotland, claimed most politicians were either “blind or too cowardly” to tackle what he called the election elephant in the room.
He said the fear of being associated with racism meant that most politicians were reluctant to discuss the fact that Islamic political theology presented real danger to freedom.
But a spokesman for the SNP said Mr Robertson’s comments were “unfortunate and plain wrong” and the Conservatives claimed most people were more worried about the economy than Islam.
Mr Robertson, 52, said: “The subject that dare not speak its name, that politicians avoid like the plague, is Islam.
“The narrative is that Islam is the same as Christianity, that Islamic State and others are just fundamentalists who are not really part of the ‘religion of peace’, and that Christians have their own Islamic State equivalents.
“All untrue but the main point is that mainstream Islam does not, and cannot, fit in with the worldview and doctrines of our liberal secularists.”
Mr Robertson, who leads St Peter’s Church in Dundee, claimed there was no such thing as secular Islam.
“The real danger to our freedoms come not from Christian but from Islamic political theology,” he said.
The minister said the kingdom of God did not come by the power of the sword but from forgiveness.
A SNP spokesman said: “Islam is one of the world’s great faiths, and these comments are extremely unfortunate and plain wrong.
“Scotland is a multi-faith and multi-racial nation, and all the richer for it.”
A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: “There’s no doubt extremism is a major challenge for the whole country, and the UK Government is going to great lengths to tackle it.
“However, most people in Scotland would see issues such as the economy as more crucial to the bread and butter of day-to-day living.”
Scottish Labour and Scottish Liberal Democrats refused to comment on Mr Robertson’s claims as did the UK and Scottish governments.