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."
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number