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Archbishop of Canterbury defiant over speech supporting use of Islamic law

The Archbishop of Canterbury on Friday defended his remarks about Shariah law and clarified his position amid mounting criticism, saying he was not proposing Islamic law in Britain, nor was he recommending its introduction as a parallel legal system.

Rowan Williams, the most senior figure in the Church of England, has faced a barrage of criticism since making the remarks on Thursday, first in a BBC interview and then in a speech at the Royal Courts of Justice, that the adoption of Shariah law in Britain seemed "unavoidable."

According to Lambeth Palace, Williams "sought carefully to explore the limits of a unitary and secular legal system in the presence of an increasingly plural [including religiously plural] society and to see how such a unitary system might be able to accommodate religious claims."

Williams' lecture was "well-researched" and involved consultation with legal experts, especially people with knowledge and experience of Jewish and Islamic legal systems, Lambeth officials said

"We've had more supportive calls, asking for clarification and the full text of his lecture at the Royal Courts of Justice. The pattern has been more measured than you would expect. Before that people were very concerned and some were angry. People were just going on the headlines," a spokesman for the archbishop said.

The row has angered more conservative elements within the Anglican communion who are already unhappy with his leadership.

The first public support for Williams's comments came from the Bishop of Southwark, the Right Reverend Tom Butler, on Friday. He said Williams was entitled to raise the issue but argued that it had been done clumsily.

"What has been explosive is that his examples have referred to Shariah law, which is an emotive concept in our society. He is saying these Shariah councils in some places already exist informally," Butler said. "It might be better to formalize them under British law, to make sure they do correspond to British law. But there are real practical difficulties. It will take a great deal more thought and work before I think it is a good idea."

Stephen Lowe, the Bishop of Hulme, condemned the "kneejerk" response to the remarks as a "shame on our nation."

Former home minister David Blunkett, however, said formalizing Shariah law "would be wrong democratically and philosophically but it would be catastrophic in terms of social cohesion."

Member of Parliament Khalid Mahmood said the remarks were "very misguided."
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