Archbishop says Sharia law in this country is unavoidable

[spokette]

Really?

Well if it does happen (heaven help us if it does), guess who will lose out because it certainly won't be the men.

There are over 50 muslim countries in the world so if someone wants to observe sharia law, I'm sure one of them will accommodate their lifestyle choice.

My parents came from Jamaica in the 1960s and even though they retained their culture, they observed British law.

My personal opinion is that Sharia law is incompatible in a country where laws are in place to protect and uphold the rights of women because it is usually women who receive a raw deal.

There was a documentary shown a few years ago which followed a female lawyer in an African country (cannot remember which one - might have been Nigeria) who adjudicated over cases where women seeked redress in civil courts whilst their husbands went to the Sharia courts. It made me thankful to live in this country.

Also remember the case of the Muslim woman in Nigeria who was sentenced to death for having an affair with a married man which resulted in a child? He was given a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again.

If you live in a country that upholds sharia law sadly you have to abide by it, however this country is not a Muslim country and sharia law has no place here.

If people living in this country do not like the laws we have then the answer is simple.... MOVE

I am so depressed by this. I really like Rowan Williams, but how can he not have known what the media response would be?

As Policy says, it is a storm in a teacup, and what he actually said - in context - is not that controversial. But we can all imagine what the front pages of The Sun, Daily Mail, and probably all the rest are going to look like tomorrow.

Presumably he thought his comments would spark a reasoned and productive debate, but I can't imagine why.

There should be only one legal system in this country, and it should have absolutely nothing to do with Sharia bigotry. I can not give any credit to a system that has one set of rules for people with a penis and another set for those with ovaries.

What a great idea. Next time a honor killer is caught, he will just ask to be judged in a shariat court and be home for dinner.

shouldn't that be 'testicles and ovaries'?

as an aside, do you know that Testify, and testicles have the same root (no pun intended) origin?

we don't have it in the UK Kerry mum, or as you have found out re schooling, Eire

The queen is the Defender of the Faith.

there are Bishops sitting in the house of Lords.

Teaching RE is a requirement for state schools.

there are state funded faith schools in the UK (which was an unexpected delight to a catholic american friend of mine)

Well, unit the repeal the Human Rights Act I dont see how this will ever be the case....!!

'until' even

No, separation of church and state is an invention that those sensible Americans put in their constitution, after they gained independence from our cobbled-together-over-centuries mish mash of church, state and democracy.

Viva Magna Carta!

well, as a british muslim, i hope it never happens.

People are getting really riled for no reason.
Does anyone honestly think this country will be run under Sharia law?
Looks like there was a bit of a gap in anti-Muslim news again.

Issy, but he explicitly states, "But there are ways of looking at marital disputes, for example, which provide an alternative to the divorce courts as we understand them."

I will get a Kalashnikov and start a revolution should this ever get close!

and what would happen if one partner wanted to go via sharia law, and the other UK law?

This isn't a fantasy Jahan. There are Muslim pressure groups pushing for this. I'd prefer not to be so blase about the rights we as women nave fought so hard for.

Yeah, guess who would get the vote there MB

I am sure the majority of Muslim women here agree with you Pukka, secretly probably

My initial reactions was "WTF?" but from what was on R4 news at 6 it has been badly misreported (now there's a surprise).

This piece is interesting

"A number of parallel legal universes have been quietly evolving among minority communities. As well as Somali customary law, Islamic and Jewish laws are being applied and enforced in parts of the UK.

Islamic and Jewish law remains confined to civil matters. But the BBC's Law in Action programme has learned that the Somali court hears criminal cases too."

"While religious leaders in the UK's Jewish and Muslim communities have not sought to enforce their own versions of criminal law, they have steadily built up their capacity to deal with civil matters within their own religious codes. What's more, they are doing it with the help of English law."

We haven't had a big row about the Jewish & Somali courts, have we?

If I'd head about it I would have WW!

FFS, what are the government playing at here?? Somali (most Somali's are Sunni Muslims), Jewish or Islamic - they are all a step too far!

he's a muppet.
the archbishop that is.

"Traditional forms of mediation can disadvantage vulnerable groups, such as women, within a community"

Cassandra Balchin, Women Living Under Muslim Laws

I really hope Western feminists begin to get off the f*!king fence on this.