BBC NEWS | UK | Carey weighs into Sharia law row

Rowan Williams: Carey weighs into Sharia law row


Carey weighs into Sharia law row

Lord Carey said his successor was a "great leader"Pressure has mounted on the Archbishop of Canterbury after his comments about Islamic Sharia law were criticised by his predecessor.
Lord Carey said Dr Rowan Williams's suggested acceptance of some Muslim laws was "a view I cannot share".
But, writing in the News of the World, he said Dr Williams should not be forced to quit.
Dr Williams has insisted he was not advocating a parallel set of laws, but has faced calls for his resignation.
Supporters have described the reaction to his comments as "hysterical".
Dr Williams sparked a major row after saying, in a BBC Radio 4 interview last week, that the adoption of parts of the law was "unavoidable" in Britain.
Two General Synod members have urged him to quit and he was heckled while leaving a church service.
'Great leader'
The archbishop is said to be shocked by the reaction to his comments and said on his website he "certainly did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law".
But the criticism mounted as Lord Carey warned in an article for the News of the World: "He has in my opinion overstated the case for accommodating Islamic legal codes.

Dr Williams is said to be shocked by the response to his comments
"His conclusion that Britain will eventually have to concede some place in law for aspects of Sharia is a view I cannot share.
"There can be no exceptions to the laws of our land which have been so painfully honed by the struggle for democracy and human rights.
"His acceptance of some Muslim laws within British law would be disastrous for the nation."
But he said Dr Williams should not be forced to quit over his remarks, adding: "He is a great leader in the Anglican tradition and he has a very important role to play in the Church."
BBC News religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said it was "pretty inconceivable" that Dr Williams would resign.
'Thoughtful intervention'
Dr Williams did not refer to the issue while preaching at a memorial service on Saturday. He is thought likely to do so during his address to the General Synod in London on Monday.
In what was his first public appearance since the row erupted, he was greeted with a mixture of applause, boos and camera flash bulbs as he left the service in Great St Mary's Church, Cambridge.
Dr Williams was offered support by the Right Reverend George Cassidy, Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, who branded the reaction "hysterical" and said the archbishop was simply trying to take forward a serious public debate.
Meanwhile, the Very Reverend Colin Slee, Dean of Southwark Cathedral, said the archbishop's advisors were not up to the job.
He was also defended by the most senior woman priest in the Church of England, the Dean of Salisbury the Very Reverend June Osborne, who said: "Our society needs to be provoked into talking about these things."
And the Muslim Council of Britain welcomed his "thoughtful intervention" on the discussion of the place of Islam and Muslims in modern Britain.
But Col Edward Armitstead, a Synod member from the diocese of Bath and Wells, was among those calling for Dr Williams to step down. He told the Daily Telegraph: "I don't think he is the man for the job."
'Tragic mistake'
Alison Ruoff, a Synod member from London, said: "He's very able; a brilliant scholar as a man, but in terms of being a leader of the Christian community I think he's actually at the moment a disaster."
Brig William Dobbie, a former Synod member, described the archbishop as "a disaster, a tragic mistake".
SHARIA LAW
Sharia law is Islam's legal system
It is derived from the Koran and the life of the prophet Mohammed
Sharia rulings help Muslims understand how they should lead their lives
A formal legal ruling is called a fatwa
In the West, Sharia courts deal mainly with family and business issues
English law recognises religious courts as a means of arbitration
Q and A: Sharia law explained
Sharia law around the world
Sharia law is a legal and social code designed to help Muslims live their daily lives, but it has proved controversial in the West for the extreme nature of some of its punishments.
The statement on the archbishop's website said Dr Williams pointed out that "as a matter of fact, certain provisions of Sharia are already recognised in our society and under our law".
The statement said he was "exploring ways in which reasonable accommodation might be made within existing arrangements for religious conscience".
It also said his principal aim was "to tease out some of the broader issues around the rights of religious groups within a secular state".
Catholic leader Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor said he was "saddened" by the Archbishop's comments.
"I think he did raise a point of considerable interest and concern at the moment, namely, the rights of a religious groups within secular state.
"Everyone in Britain must obey the law and therefore the question of how one can be a loyal British citizen and a faithful member of a religious group is a very pertinent question," he told BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme.