Archbishop of Canterbury Ready for Islamic Law
Originally published March 18, 2008
While the Archbishop’s statement is indeed frightening, especially considering his position as the head of the Church of England, official acceptance of shari’ah is in fact already looming. Many shari’ah courts already operate informally, and the British government has made several legal concessions on the issue, including modifying regulations on stamp duties to allow for shari’ah-compliant mortgages and allowing polygamous households to claim additional government benefits. If not for the Archbishop’s naïve view that sanctioning Islamic law would improve “social cohesion,” this entire situation would be a clear case of shooting the messenger. That was indeed the case just two months ago, when the Anglican Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, received death threats and went under police protection after warning that some parts of Britain had become “no-go areas” for non-Muslims. Regarding Archbishop Williams’ remarks, Nazir-Ali, who holds joint British-Pakistani citizenship, contended that introducing shari’ah alongside English law would be “impossible” without severely undermining the latter. He pointed out that shari’ah would be “in tension” with some aspects of modern British society, particularly regarding women’s rights.
Jonathan, do you have a brain? Can you read English? If so, re-read the Archbishop’s speech. Read how he says that the comments he makes about Islamic sacred law apply equally to Jewish sacred law.
If you want to attack the Archbishop of Canterbury, be prepared to be labelled as an anti-Semite. Your deliberate attempt to mis construe and distort sharia means you are effectively doing the same to Jewish sacred law.
The difference between shari’ah and Orthodox Jewish law is that the Orthodox Jews are not attempting to impose their views on Britain. They have their own courts, but recognize the supreme authority of British law. They, for example, do not drive cars or even turn on lights on Saturdays, but they do not demand that all of Britain adhere to this belief. Muslims who favor the implementation of shari’ah, however, generally believe that their views should trump British law in the name of religious freedom and tolerance. British law should be changed to allow polygamy and shari’ah finance, for example, and thus adapt to Muslim customs, rather than the other way around.
In addition, honor killings, polygamy and the like simply do not exist in Judaism.
Please explain how I have deliberately attempted to misconstrue and distort shari’ah. I don’t see anywhere I have done that.