The Archbishop's latest good idea
02-07-2008, 07:17 PM
I've been trying to post this on the UK News forum, where I think it would have been more appropriate, but I'm told I don't have the appropriate permission, so apologies if this comes across as even more problematic on this forum.
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“The Archbishop of Canterbury has called for the UK to adopt Sharia for Muslims.
Dr Rowan Williams suggested today that it “seems unavoidable” that elements of Islamic law be accepted into the British legal system.
The head of the Church of England believes that officially sanctioning Sharia will improve community relations and aid integration.” ... etc
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment...&HBX_OU=50
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I’ve been listening to the news today with some incredulity. The Archbishop of Canterbury has done it again. Today he decides to reveal that he believes we have to accept that Sharia law will be part of life for some people in this country and he feels it ought to be given some measure of official status.
I thought we lived in a democracy, a place where we get to vote in the people who make the law. That Dr Williams feels it is appropriate to offer his support to those who wish to live by a parallel system of law, one that does not recognise the current status of women (or, more significantly for us, glbt folk for that matter) seems extraordinary.
His reasoning seemed to go something like, many Muslims feel excluded enough in UK society already so why make matters worse … ? Well, worse for whom? How about those in Middle Eastern states who are obliged to live by these ancient codes? The more extreme manifestations of this system of law seems to have managed to trump up charges against too many men for the wholly specious crime of being gay. Similarly, if a married woman happens to fall in love with someone else …
There may be some examples of the application of wisdom in Sharia law, but I cannot see anything in his argument in favour of officially recognising a parallel legal system, particularly one that is unchangeable, because it is supposed to be “the word of God” and we are supposed to accept that god never changes his mind (let’s put to one side for the moment the existence of a supreme being!!!)? I heard Dr Williams state that he envisions that people would have some matter of choice as to which laws might be called upon to further a civil suit. In some of the more “ghettoed” communities I wonder what sort of choice people would really have? One has only to read Ed Hussain’s brave account of his time as an Islamist to realise the amount of bullying to which this will lay people wide open.
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“The Archbishop of Canterbury has called for the UK to adopt Sharia for Muslims.
Dr Rowan Williams suggested today that it “seems unavoidable” that elements of Islamic law be accepted into the British legal system.
The head of the Church of England believes that officially sanctioning Sharia will improve community relations and aid integration.” ... etc
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment...&HBX_OU=50
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I’ve been listening to the news today with some incredulity. The Archbishop of Canterbury has done it again. Today he decides to reveal that he believes we have to accept that Sharia law will be part of life for some people in this country and he feels it ought to be given some measure of official status.
I thought we lived in a democracy, a place where we get to vote in the people who make the law. That Dr Williams feels it is appropriate to offer his support to those who wish to live by a parallel system of law, one that does not recognise the current status of women (or, more significantly for us, glbt folk for that matter) seems extraordinary.
His reasoning seemed to go something like, many Muslims feel excluded enough in UK society already so why make matters worse … ? Well, worse for whom? How about those in Middle Eastern states who are obliged to live by these ancient codes? The more extreme manifestations of this system of law seems to have managed to trump up charges against too many men for the wholly specious crime of being gay. Similarly, if a married woman happens to fall in love with someone else …
There may be some examples of the application of wisdom in Sharia law, but I cannot see anything in his argument in favour of officially recognising a parallel legal system, particularly one that is unchangeable, because it is supposed to be “the word of God” and we are supposed to accept that god never changes his mind (let’s put to one side for the moment the existence of a supreme being!!!)? I heard Dr Williams state that he envisions that people would have some matter of choice as to which laws might be called upon to further a civil suit. In some of the more “ghettoed” communities I wonder what sort of choice people would really have? One has only to read Ed Hussain’s brave account of his time as an Islamist to realise the amount of bullying to which this will lay people wide open.
![[-]](https://gayspeak.com/images/duende_v3_local/collapse.png)
