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Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at Canterbury Cathedral, England last Christmas. (AP)_ Last update - 06:45 08/02/2008 Archbishop of Canterbury backs limited use of Shariah law in U.K. By The Associated Press Tags: Shariah, Judaism, Islam The archbishop of Canterbury on Thursday called for a limited application of Shariah in Britain - winning immediate praise from British Muslims. The unusual proposal from Britain's highest ranking Christian leader would, if adopted, allow British Muslims to choose to resolve marital and financial disputes under Shariah, or Islamic law, rather than through British courts. Archbishop Rowan Williams said in a radio interview with British Broadcasting Corp. that incorporating Islamic law could help improve Britain's flagging social cohesion. Advertisement Williams said making such a move seemed unavoidable. "Certain provisions of Shariah are already recognized in our society and under our law, so it's not as if we're bringing in an alien and rival system," said Williams, who gave a speech on the topic Thursday evening. Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman immediately rejected Williams' proposal. "The prime minister believes British law should apply in this country, based on British values," spokesman Michael Ellam said. The idea was also rejected by Sayeed Warsi, the shadow minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action. She said all British citizens had to be subject to the same laws developed by Parliament. Williams said he was not advocating that Britain allow some of the more extreme aspects of Shariah, which has been associated with harsh punishments meted out by Islamic courts in Saudi Arabia and some other countries and also has been used to undermine the rights of women. Nobody in their right mind would want to see that, he said, calling for a clear eye when discussing Islamic law. Mohammed Shafiq, director of the Ramadhan Foundation, said the use of Shariah would help lower tensions in British society. It would make Muslims more proud of being British, he said. It would give Muslims the sense that the British respect our faith. Shafiq said it was important that non-Muslims in Britain understand that Williams is not suggesting Shariah be adopted for resolving criminal charges, but only civil disputes. This sort of conflict resolution is common in Muslim countries and is also used in some parts of Canada, he said. Both Shafiq and Williams noted that Britain already allows Orthodox Jews to resolve disputes under traditional Jewish law. Rodney Barker, a political science professor at the London School of Economics, said Williams' decision to address such a controversial issue was not surprising. "He's not a cautious, conservative priest," Barker said. "He recognizes we live in a society where there is not one dominant religion. He doesn't say, 'I have the truth and the rest of you are wicked and deluded.'" "But there are dangers involved in letting one community apply one type of justice while another uses a different system," said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle East studies at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, who has written extensively about militant Islam. "It's a minefield," he said. "Where do you stop? Where do you set the limit? Britain is a nation of laws, once you say to a community that they can apply their own laws, you are establishing a dangerous precedent." He said the image of Shariah in the West has been badly distorted by the way it has been used by militants as justification for their goal of removing secular governments and establishing Islamic governments. "Unfortunately in the last 10 years the dominant narrative has been one of militancy," he said. "But I don't think you'll find a single Muslim, except for secular ones, who does not believe that the Shariah is sacred and that it encompasses all aspects of life." He said it would be impossible to apply all aspects of Shariah in a country like Britain. "It is extremely complex," Gerges said. "There is great disagreement among Muslim scholars about these laws that have come down in the last 1,400 years. But from a Muslim point of view, the application of some Shariah law is very desirable." Related articles: Muslim group to take part in U.K. Holocaust Memorial Day UN fund for films to promote West-Islam cultural harmony Bookmark to del.icio.us   Gore wins TAU prize Al Gore and Amos OZ are among the recipients of the 2008 Dan David Prize. Spring roll strike Asian eateries across Israel cut menu over plans to rid kitchens of foreign chefs.   1.   Wrong signal Rowan Williams 03:22  |  Mark B. 08/02/08   2.   Archbishop and Shariah 03:24  |  Brod 08/02/08   3.   Limited Use of Shariah Law? 03:25  |  JonathanG 08/02/08   4.   UKistan is emerging 03:40  |  Genuine Toseftat 08/02/08   5.   Shariah 03:47  |  T.R. Simon 08/02/08   6.   Shariah 03:52  |  ferrara 08/02/08   7.   slippery slope 03:53  |  joe smith 08/02/08   8.   This is... 04:09  |  Ryv 08/02/08   9.   totally insane 04:34  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 08/02/08   10.   Shariah law in U.K. 04:50  |  Ellis 08/02/08   11.   you`ve got to be kidding... 04:58  |  Dave from Chicago 08/02/08   12.   z Gerges gives a balanced assessment,since it can get out of 05:10  |  lakshmi 08/02/08   13.   Euros are the bigges weaklings/cowards 05:12  |  Mark 08/02/08   14.   Limited Use?They have All the right to use Shariah Law. 06:01  |  Jacob 08/02/08   15.   Jump On, And We`ll All Ride The Sled... 06:36  |  Leslie-Ann 08/02/08   16.   Makes sense - they are preparing for the future UK terror state 06:42  |  Avi 08/02/08   17.   Gerges is a noted apologist for Islamic militancy 06:47  |  McQueen 08/02/08   18.   First Bishop of Dhimmitude 06:56  |  fiona 08/02/08   19.   THERE GOES BRITISH DEMOCRACY 07:03  |  CHAIM YANKEL 08/02/08   20.   British laws for Britain 07:35  |  MF 08/02/08   21.   British Laws for Britain 07:40  |  MF 08/02/08   22.   This is nothing new 07:44  |  Charles B. Hall 08/02/08   23.   Of Course, He`s a Cleric 07:54  |  Mark of Lewiston 08/02/08   24.   Archbishop of Canterbury backs limited use of Shariah law in U.K 07:58  |  C. Car 08/02/08   25.   What a dim whit. End of Britain. Gee... 08:06  |  bat yam 08/02/08   26.   This is the religion that says the Queen is granted by God? Primi 08:17  |  Alain 08/02/08   27.   PEACE, FATHER 08:25  |  indrajaya 08/02/08   28.   Religious Quisling 08:30  |  MarkC 08/02/08   29.   WAS "COHESION" ever a problem in Britain before?? 08:30  |  PETER SM 08/02/08   30.   sharia 08:37  |  danny 08/02/08   31.   new religion begins" born again cretins " 08:56  |  v hardman 08/02/08   32.   the Archbishop is right 10:23  |  Euro-Jew 08/02/08   33.   The Man in the Frock and the European Court of Human Rights 10:47  |  Clickfool 08/02/08   34.   The Archbishop is the first one to suffer from Shariar law 11:45  |  Geoffery Donohue 08/02/08   35.   no wonder church of england is dead 18:07  |  frenz 08/02/08   36.   Send the Archbishop to Saudi-Arabia!! 18:12  |  Theodor 08/02/08   37.   Canterbury 19:00  |  P. J. Casey 08/02/08   38.   To Archbishop: http://memritv.org/Transcript.asp?P1=669 20:36  |  by Sheikh Ibrahim 08/02/08   39.   You are fired! 06:44  |  Cristo 09/02/08   40.   Ulterior motives? 06:35  |  SM 11/02/08   41.   Face The Truth & Reality 05:26  |  Ershad 13/02/08

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