Shari'a law in Britain... and the
Archbishop of
Canterbury
IN a lecture and radio interview on 7th February 2008, the Archbishop
of Canterbury Rowan Williams said that shari'a
law in Britain
is 'unavoidable' and agreed it would help build 'social
cohesion'.
Shari’a law is the law followed by Muslims that is based on the Qur’an and
the hadiths (traditions) of Mohammed and developed by Islamic schools
of law. It covers all aspects of life, including marriage and divorce,
finance and criminal law.
Rowan Williams said that he was talking about shari’a law in the area of
divorce, finance, etc - and not the criminal law.
The Archbishop initially gave a lecture, titled ‘Civil and Religious Law in
England: a
religious perspective’ at the Royal Courts of Justice in early February. He then
gave an interview on BBC Radio 4 World at One.
Click here for the transcripts
of both of these, plus his response called What did the Archbishop
actually say?
Rowan Williams maintains that he did not actually propose the establishment
of separate and parallel legal systems. He suggested that in order to build
social cohesion, some aspects of sharia - perhaps relating to marriage, divorce
and finance, could be acknowledged by British law. He said he had been
misinterpreted.
Many commentators, however, who have analysed the speech and interview have
expressed grave concern over his comments.
Some people have supported him, but many in the
UK and many
Anglicans worldwide have criticised his remarks. See section below on
'Responses'
We are extremely concerned about his suggestion. In a democratic country like
the UK - or
Australia - it
is important that all people live under one system of law. We cannot have two
(or more) systems of law for different groups of people or even different rules
within the law for different groups of people.
We have collated the original documents - the speech and lecture - as well as
a range of media articles and a number of opinion articles analysing his
remarks.
If you have time to read just ONE item I suggest
you read the assessment by Rev Patrick
Sookhdeo of Barnabas Fund.
The UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown refuted
the Archbishop's comments...
As have a range of other people
in the UK...
Of perhaps even more concern is the fact that the
Archbishop's speech was the first in a series of six lectures ....
"The
lecture, which was given before an audience of about 1000 people and which was
chaired by the Lord Chief Justice, was the first in a series of six
lectures and discussions which are being given by senior Muslim
and other lawyers and theologians at the Temple Church on the
general theme of 'Islam in English Law'. Click here for
source.
This report has several
sections:
1. Original
documents from the Archbishop
2. Responses
3. Opinion
articles
4. Media items
1. The original
documents!
An article on Rowan Williams' website gives
his side of the story:
'What did the Archbishop
actually say?'
This includes links to the
transcript of the LECTURE given to the Royal Courts of Justice in early February
and the BBC Interview:
Archbishop's Lecture -
Civil and Religious Law in England: a Religious
Perspective
Lecture, Royal Courts of
Justice, 7 Feb 2008.
BBC Interview - Radio 4 World
at One.
7 Feb 2008.
2. Responses:
Muslim
"Mohammed Shafiq, director of the Ramadhan Foundation,
welcomed the comments. "These comments further underline the attempts by both
our great faiths to build respect and tolerance. "Sharia law for civil matters
is something which has been introduced in some Western countries with much
success; I believe that Muslims would take huge comfort from the Government
allowing civil matters being resolved according to their faith."
"WA Muslims are pushing for sharia law to be incorporated into Australian
legislation, saying separate rules governing social issues such as divorce,
the rights of women and the legal recognition of multiple wives are needed for
the Islamic community...." West Australian, 9 Feb 2008.
In the Herald Sun today, there was a Muslim saying Yes to shari'a
law - and another, Yasser Soliman saying
'No'. BUT he says the legal system should deal better with diversity!: "It is a
sign of sophistication and maturity for a country to extend its legal system to
reflect an understanding of the diversity of its population. Australian judges
and magistrates are continually undergoing professional development in the areas
of cultural and religious awareness. This helps them to be more effective in
dealing with people from a variety of backgrounds. It would follow that it is
worth looking into training legal practitioners to specialise in civil legal
matters in diverse Australian communities, including Muslim ones. It would be a
specialised extension of the mainstream justice system. The outcomes would have
to meet all standards of law. It would not be a Sharia court -- it would be a
court designed to deal with people from a range of religious and ethnic
backgrounds."
Q: Is this just another way of
incorporating shari'a principles into the law???
A Muslim woman critical of the Archbishop's
shari'a proposals:
Yasmin
Alibhai-Brown: What he wishes on us is an
abomination
'Sharia is nothing but a human concoction of
medieval religious opinion".
Independent, Saturday, 9 February 2008
"What Rowan Williams wishes upon us is an abomination and I
write here as a modern Muslim woman. He lectures the nation on the benefits of
sharia law – made by bearded men, for men – and wants the alternative legal
system to be accommodated within our democracy in the spirit of inclusion and
cohesion...."
Responses: Anglican/Christian
Some supported the
Archbishop...
“Perth Anglican Archbishop Roger Herft gave in
principle support for calls from the Archbishop of Canterbury” for shari’a law.
[West Australian, 9/2/2008]
Archbishop given standing ovation at
Synod:
Anglican
Group Backs Leader
AP, By GREGORY KATZ – 12 Feb
2008.
"Fellow Anglicans greeted the archbishop of Canterbury with a
standing ovation Monday, despite his recent controversial statements about the
role of Islamic law in Britain. Rowan Williams twice asked members of the Church
of England's governing body, the General Synod, to stop clapping so he could
begin his talk about the furious response to his advocating the incorporation of
some elements of Shariah law into British society. ..."
Some opposed:
Sydney:
One law for all
Sydney Anglicans.
Fortunately the Bishop of
South Sydney, Robert Forsyth said “the Sydney Diocese rejects the Archbishop of
Canterbury’s suggestion integrating Sharia law with British legal systems would
deliver greater social cohesion. We do not agree with the Archbishop’s comments.
In the case of
Australia, we
are thankful for freedom of religion, but would oppose the idea of different
systems of law for different people groups"
Sharia
law row: Archbishop is in shock as he faces demands to quit and criticism from
Lord Carey
By STEVE DOUGHTY and MICHAEL SEAMARK, Daily Mail, 9th
February 2008
“The Archbishop of Canterbury was facing demands to quit last
night as the row over sharia law intensified.
Lord George Carey, Dr
Williams' predecessor, criticised his comments on sharia law and said that
accepting the Islamic code would be a disaster for Britain.
Other leading
bishops publicly contradicted Dr Rowan Williams's call for Islamic law to be
brought into the British legal system. …”
Christian leader speaks out...
Christian
leaders should not advocate Sharia law - Moscow Patriarchate
Geneva,
February 14, Interfax
"The values of other religions, just as secular ones,
should not be advocated by the heads of Christian Churches, said Bishop Hilarion
of Vienna and Austria, who represents the Russian Orthodox Church at European
international organizations.
"Our role is not to protect Sharia law, to
glorify an alternative style of behavior or to preach secular values. Our sacred
mission is to announce what Christ announced, to teach what his disciples
taught," Bishop Hilarion said at the opening of a session of the World Council
of Churches (WCC)'s Central Committee in Geneva.......Politically correct
Christianity will die. We have already been watching the process of liberal
Christianity’s gradual decline as newly introduced moral norms lead to splits,
discrepancies and confusion in several Christian communities,’ the bishop
said."
3. Opinion articles:
Barnabas
Fund Response to the Archbishop of Canterbury's recommendation to apply Islamic
law in the UK
Patrick
Sookhdeo. As usual, Patrick Sookhdeo is very
insightful in his analysis.
The
Archbishop's speech
Melanie Phillips, The Spectator,
Additional articles by Melanie Phillips:
The
Archbishop's speech
Dhimmi
— or just dim?
The
betrayal of the Anglican communion
A
holy fool?
Obduracy
at Canterbury
The
Rowan Williams Comments: When Christian Leaders Promote Dhimmitude
Bill Muehlenberg - CultureWatch.
Also More on
the Archbishop
Archbishop of
Canterbury: Because Britain Tolerates Pro-Life Activists, We Should Accept
Sharia Law
Lifesite, Hilary White.
Europe in the House
of War
Good article by Spengler in the Asia Times
Online.
One
Nation Under Multiple Gods - The British tabloids are right to bash the
archbishop of Canterbury
Slate, By Anne Applebaum - Monday, Feb. 11,
2008.
To Hell With the Archbishop of
Canterbury Rowan Williams' dangerous claptrap about "plural jurisdiction"
Slate. By Christopher Hitchens - Posted Monday, Feb. 11, 2008
Bondage
in the Name of Tolerance
Townhall, By Debra J. Saunders - Tuesday,
February 12, 2008
Archbishop,
with sharia it's all or nothing
Telegraph, By Charles Moore,
9/2/2008.
"Leaving Paris by Eurostar on Thursday evening, I was rung by a
television company. Would I comment on the Archbishop of Canterbury's remarks
about sharia law?
I couldn't, obviously, but by chance, as the call came, I
was reading a speech by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which was highly
relevant, and equally controversial.
It would be hard to think of two public
figures more dissimilar than Dr Rowan Williams and President Sarkozy...."
Fitzgerald:
Rowan Williams, Beth Din courts, and Shari'a
Hugh Fitzgerald, Dhimmi
Watch, 9 Feb 2008.
"The Archbishop of Canterbury is unrepentant. He thinks
that the Shari'a, or at least the family law part of Shari'a, or at least some
part of the family law part of Shari'a, would not contradict the laws and mores
of Great
Britain. He is quite wrong. And someone who
relies on Tariq Ramadan for his understanding of Islam, and of the intentions of
Muslims in Western Europe, has no business being
Archbishop of Canterbury or being much of anything else. . . ."
Williams
tries to defuse row over sharia law but refuses to apologise
By
Jonathan Brown, The Independent, Tuesday, 12 February 2008
"The Archbishop
of Canterbury has sought to defuse the bitter row over what he appeared to claim
was the unavoidable adoption of sharia law in the UK by conceding that his
controversial comments may have been unclear and "clumsily deployed". . . ."
4. Media:
Australia
rejects call for Islamic courts
SMH, February 9,
2008
"The Federal Government has ruled out the introduction of Islamic courts
in Australia following debate triggered by the global head of the Anglican
Church. . . This could help improve social cohesion, he said in a radio
interview in
Britain.
Australian Muslim leaders put a similar proposal to the Howard government in
April 2005, but it was rejected.
Yesterday the Attorney-General, Robert
McClelland, also ruled out introducing Islamic law, or sharia. "The Rudd
Government is not considering and will not consider the introduction of any part
of sharia law into the Australian legal system," he said. The Opposition Leader,
Brendan Nelson, said everyone who came to
Australia should
accept the existing laws...."
Sharia law in
UK is
'unavoidable'
BBC, Thursday, 7 February 2008 Author: Jenny Stokes | Modified: 18 February 2008 |
