limited application of Islamic law in
proposal but the government rejected it.
The unusual suggestion from
would, if adopted, allow British Muslims to choose to resolve marital
and financial disputes under Islamic law, known as Shariah, rather
than through British courts.
Archbishop Rowan Williams said in a radio interview with British
Broadcasting Corp. that incorporating Islamic law could help improve
"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
night.
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," said Michael Ellam.
The idea was also rejected by Sayeed Warsi, an opposition spokeswoman
for social affairs. She said all British citizens had to be subject to
the same laws developed by Parliament.
Williams said he was not advocating that
of Shariah, which has been associated with harsh punishments meted out
by Islamic courts in
been used to undermine the rights of women.
"Nobody in their right mind" would want to see that, he said. He
called 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
that Williams is not suggesting Shariah be adopted for resolving
criminal charges, but only civil disputes.
Shafiq and Williams noted that
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. "
say to a community that they can apply their own laws, you are
establishing a dangerous precedent."
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