*Sharia law in UK is 'unavoidable'* Thursday, 7 February 2008, 16:55 GMT http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7232661.stm
My late father used to say: "*I wish that the Prophet Mohammad could have had the correct version of the Bible in his hands, and equally I wish that Martin Luther could have **read the holy Koran"* Raja Chemayel. [image: Dr Rowan Williams] [image: Dr Rowan Williams] Dr Rowan Williams addressed the General Synod in Westminster [image: A mosque] <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7239786.stm> *"The Archbishop of Canterbury says the adoption of certain aspects of Sharia law in the UK "seems unavoidable".* * * Dr Rowan Williams told Radio 4's World at One that the UK has to "face up to the fact" that some of its citizens do not relate to the British legal system. Dr Williams argues that adopting parts of Islamic Sharia law would help maintain social cohesion. For example, Muslims could choose to have marital disputes or financial matters dealt with in a Sharia court. He says Muslims should not have to choose between "the stark alternatives of cultural loyalty or state loyalty". *'Sensational reporting'* In an exclusive interview with BBC correspondent Christopher Landau, ahead of a lecture to lawyers in London on Monday, Dr Williams argues this relies on Sharia law being better understood. At the moment, he says "sensational reporting of opinion polls" clouds the issue. *An approach to law which simply said - there's one law for everybody - I think that's a bit of a danger* Dr Rowan Williams Archbishop of Canterbury *Religious courts in the UK*<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7233040.stm> He stresses that "nobody in their right mind would want to see in this country the kind of inhumanity that's sometimes been associated with the practice of the law in some Islamic states; the extreme punishments, the attitudes to women as well". But Dr Williams said an approach to law which simply said "there's one law for everybody and that's all there is to be said, and anything else that commands your loyalty or allegiance is completely irrelevant in the processes of the courts - I think that's a bit of a danger". "There's a place for finding what would be a constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law, as we already do with some other aspects of religious law." *'Other loyalties'* Dr Williams added: "What we don't want either, is I think, a stand-off, where the law squares up to people's religious consciences." *Send us your comments*<http://newsforums.bbc.co.uk/nol/thread.jspa?forumID=4246> "We don't either want a situation where, because there's no way of legally monitoring what communities do... people do what they like in private in such a way that that becomes another way of intensifying oppression inside a community." The issue of whether Catholic adoption agencies would be forced to accept gay parents under equality laws showed the potential for legal confusion, he said. "That principle that there is only one law for everybody is an important pillar of our social identity as a western democracy," he said. "But I think it is a misunderstanding to suppose that means people don't have other affiliations, other loyalties which shape and dictate how they behave in society and that the law needs to take some account of that." *'Custom and community'* Dr Williams noted that Orthodox Jewish courts already operated, and that the law accommodated the anti-abortion views of some Christians. "The whole idea that there are perfectly proper ways the law of the land pays respect to custom and community, that's already there," he said. People may legally devise their own way to settle a dispute in front of an agreed third party as long as both sides agree to the process. Muslim Sharia courts and the Jewish Beth Din which already exist in the UK come into this category. The country's main Beth Din at Finchley in north London oversees a wide range of cases including divorce settlements, contractual rows between traders and tenancy disputes. Dr Williams's comments are likely to fuel the debate over multiculturalism in the UK. Last month, the Bishop of Rochester, the Right Reverend Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, said some places in the UK were no-go areas for non-Muslims. Dr Williams said it was "not at all the case that we have absolute social exclusion". ** [image: Dr Rowan Williams] *Dr Williams says Muslims should have a choice in legal disputes* *+++++++++++* ** *Archbishop: **Taking Responsibility, No Apology* *By Radwa Khorshid - Emdad Rahman - IOL Staff* http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1201957836300&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout [image: Image] Dr. Rowan addressed his speech in response to the huge debate that has been stealing the attention of the UK and Millions of Muslims all over the world. Whilst some leading Church figures have strictly criticized Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, one of which was the Synod member Alison Ruoff, who called on Dr Williams to resign, Dr. Rowan refused to retract his views. At the opening of the General Synod in London yesterday, Dr. Rowan addressed his speech in response to the huge debate that has been stealing the attention of the UK and Millions of Muslims all over the world. He declared that: "Some of what has been heard is a very long way indeed from what was actually said in the Royal Courts of Justice last Thursday. But I must of course take responsibility for any unclarity in either that text or in the radio interview, and for any misleading choice of words that has helped to cause distress or misunderstanding among the public at large and especially among my fellow Christians." (Click here to read the speech in full <http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/1583>) In his recent Lecture at the Royal Courts of Justice, on Thursday, February 7, 2008, he Archbishop of Canterbury, explained his vision about accommodating the Shari`ah law within the British law from a highly legal perspective saying that: He then invited the UK "to think a little harder about the role and rule of law in a plural society of overlapping identities." But in fact not all Britain's Muslims, estimated at about two million, want to run their civil matters in accordance with Shariah. While some see it as a step toward integrating British Muslims into the British community, others see it as a big obstacle in itself. *Related Links:* What Did the Archbishop Actually Say?<http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1201957776723&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout> * * Accommodating Shari`ah within British Law (Share)<http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1201957720571&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout> * * British Muslims and Security Panic<http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1196786533441&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout> * * An English Muslim: "Why Do I Have to Integrate?"<http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1162385891005&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout> * * Hijacking of British Islam: Myth or Reality?<http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1193049516687&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout> * * Muslims Allowed Alcohol Opt-Out Clause<http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1190886428244&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout> * * Assertiveness Courses vs. Islamic Extremism<http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1199279455110&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout> * * 'British' and 'Muslim'?<http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1162385922252&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout> * * British Muslims: Rethinking Concepts and Realities<http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1162385922692&pagename=Zone-English-Euro_Muslims%2FEMELayout> * * *Shariah & Humanity*<http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/ShariahAndHumanity/Articles/2005-04/16.shtml> - *What is the Shariah?<http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/ShariahAndHumanity/Articles/2005-04/01.shtml> * - *The UnChanging in a Changing World<http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/ShariahAndHumanity/Articles/2005-04/02.shtml> * - *Gradualism in Applying the Shariah<http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/ShariahAndHumanity/Articles/2005-04/16.shtml> * - *Shariah & Punishments<http://www.islamonline.net/English/In_Depth/ShariahAndHumanity/Articles/2005-08/01.shtml> * ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------- Original Message -------------------- *From:* raja chemayel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> *To:* [EMAIL PROTECTED] *Sent:* Wednesday, 13 February, 2008 12:36 PM *Subject:* *A salute to the Bishop of Canderburry* <http://images.google.cz/imgres?imgurl=http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/images/photos/RW_etc/in_use/rwD.jpg&imgrefurl=http://forums.ffgurus.net/showthread.php%3Ft%3D22560&h=190&w=150&sz=11&hl=cs&start=17&tbnid=kKpihEFIYGXSAM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=81&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbishop%2Bcanterburry%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Dcs%26sa%3DG> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7232661.stm The Bishop of the Canterbury, the highest authority in the Anglican Churches and somehow the counter-part to the Catholic Pope, has made news lately. He has proposed *to offer an open-ear to the Sharia laws *whereby some parts of it may be integrated into the British Law. I welcome this proposal and congratulate the Anglican Church for having such an honest and open-minded Arch-Bishop. Being myself a Christian-Arab , and more precisely a Protestant-Christian-Arab , I am lucky to be able to understand the huge and numerous similarities between Islam and Christianity. My late father used to say: "*I wish that the Prophet Mohammad **could have had the correct version **of the Bible in his hands, **and **equally I wish that Martin Luther could have **read the holy Koran" * But my case is irrelevant here, what I welcome and salute is the open-mind of that Arch-Bishop who admitted that parts of the Sharia could be compatible *and non-contradicting *and practically applicable to the modern-day-Brittan. You will surely can guess *who* has complaint against those Bishop's remarks and what reaction has come from the *controlled* media. As a Christian who speaks Arabic as his mother tongue, I have no problem at all in understanding the Sharia, from the social point of view and also from the practical and legal sides. How many of my readers do know that in Sharia Law, for example, if and when a Husband cannot satisfy his wife's sexual-needs for a period longer than seven weeks..... the wife is then entitled to ask for an official divorce?? And how many of my Muslim friends do know that here in the (Christian) Netherlands, *marital-adultery* is *not* a reason for demanding of a divorce....?? Meaning that if a Dutchman comes home to find his wife in bed with the whole national-football-team (11 persons) it will not be a valid reason for asking to divorce her..... Law and Justice are subject to many interpretations and even Justice is named after a person (Justinianus) although Justice is more important than any Law because the later is man-written. *But the Sharia is not man-written *and who ever has written the Sharia never died ! and cannot die !! . Back to the Arch-Bishop and to his recent proposal, I would like to add that I prefer to see Christian values being protect by Islam, than any other third religion or any atheist entity or system ....... Democracy or a non-democracy. Secularism is nice but when it comes to human-values and religions one ought to be extra careful and more vigilant. Secularism is good to write a law about the speed of my car on the highway, but for human and humane matters* we need God *and any God-written-laws and not any man-made-rules.... I congratulate Great Britain for this Great Arch-Bishop because GB needs such great-open-minds, after that shameful catastrophe and filth called : Tony Blair.... Raja Chemayel *13.02.08*
