Islam and British law

The Archbishop of Canterbury in his speech last Thursday declared that some aspects of Sharia law in Britain are unavoidable.

Dr Rowan Williamson, the Archbishop of Canterbury, gave a lecture on the 7th of February 2008 at the Royal Courts of justice, untitled “Islam in English law”.

Dr Rowan Williamson is the spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans church and a scholar. He started his speech saying: “this series of lectures signals the existence of what is very widely felt to be a growing challenge; the presence of communities”, but he mainly focused on the Muslim community and concentrated during the speech on issues around Islamic law.

His speech sparked off a storm in both the Muslim community and the public opinion, rejecting the idea of adopting Sharia laws in Britain.

Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law based on the Koran, it described the words and actions of the Prophet Mohammad and his companions, and rulings of Islamic scholars. It covers issues including worship, commercial dealings, marriage and penal laws.

Last week after the mediatisation of the lecture, the main political including the Prime Minister distanced themselves from the comments on Islamic law By the Archbishop.

During his interview for the BBC, he said that the Sharia law was necessary for community cohesion and called for a "constructive accommodation" with Muslim practice in areas such as marital disputes.

British Muslims defending him pointed up that most of the Islamic world also rejected the ultra-orthodox model that he clearly ruled out.

Sharia law is understood and applied in such varied ways across the Muslim world that it is difficult to say exactly what it is and how it could fit into a European legal context, according to experts on Islam.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says he does not regret speaking about Sharia law, as it is right to air other religious communities' concerns.