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The Archbishop of Canterbury and his views on Sharia law

steve withington | 08.02.2008 09:07 | Sheffield

local artist Steve Withington aka Carlos Barcode gives his opinion on The Archbishop of Canterbury and his views on Sharia law

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Williams, today made an utterly outrageous call for an accommodation of Sharia law in the British legal system. I can't imagine what is going on in this woolly-minded godbothering liberal's mind.

The European Court of Human Rights has stated that Sharia Law is incompatible with democracy. It's pretty obvious to any right-minded person that a system of law that sets the age of sexual consent at nine years is just another backward and savage aspect of Islam.

It's an odd paradox that a man who presides over a church that accepts gay priests and bishops against the will of its members, also then seeks to promote Sharia law - famed for its intolerance!

Dr Williams, during the Radio 4 interview, even suggested that the idea of one law for everybody was flawed. Just how far up the backside of Islam is this fucking idiot willing to stick his toungue?

In Malaysia a system of Sharia law persists. It is not uncommon for people who convert from Islam to other religions, such as Buddhism, to be found guilty of apostasy and be sentenced to death.

steve withington

Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

is english law any better?

08.02.2008 11:00

thanks for the ranting bollox right wing article

but fact is that the archbishop is calling for acceptance of supplementary courts not an islamic state..

and any suggestion that the hegemony of english law spread by the british empire was not responsible for equal if not worse atrocities, than under sharia is living in a euro-american-christian supremacist dream world

point being democracy is the freedom to choose your constitution, whatever you see fit, not blind obedience to a state law that is clearly already religiously one sided.

wake up to your own imperialism

convict

How do you feel about alternative dispute resolution?

08.02.2008 11:08

I was intrigued by Williams' comments and about the possibilities for the Muslim community to use a system of laws of their choice. The courts already permit parties to a civil dispute to agree to settle that dispute outside the courts - this is known as alternative resolution, and I can see no problem with both parties agreeing to use a Sharia court. Difficulties would arise in a dispute between say a Muslim and a non-Muslim - would there be any pressure on the non-Muslim to agree to use the Sharia Court system on pain of being labelled a racist. And would there be pressure on Muslims to use the Sharia court in a case where they might feel that they would get a fairer hearing in the civil courts.

Sharia criminal law would be even more difficult to impliment. You could envisage a case where both the accused and the victim of a crime might agree to use the Sharia court, however in the UK criminal cases are not brought by the victim but by the crown (hence Regina vs defendant). I could even see a situation where a non Muslim, who is the victim of a crime by a Muslim choses to use the Sharia court in the hope that the sentence would be more severe than that awarded by the mags or Crown Court.

Williams really hasn't thought this through. I can imagine what the Daily Mail reading classes will have to say about it though.

Mike

Idiot Convict

08.02.2008 11:33

Convict, you're an idiot. Why don't you call for the removal of the bishops from the House of Lords and a fully secular state law?

Then again, you've probably never thought for yourself.

Richard

Already here for along time

08.02.2008 14:14

Jews and Muslims have been running their own legal courts in the UK for centuries.

They have been such a problem that no one has even noticed them outside those religious communities.

Cromwellian Witch Burner

Question

08.02.2008 15:28

Any more information about those religious legal systems ?

Their scope notably and why there is not one for anglicans, catholics, freemasons, etc...

Sounds like madness to me.

curious

curiousier and curiouser...

08.02.2008 16:50

Why not go ask some Jews or Muslims, they won't bite you and they'll no better than some aetheist whitey like me.

It's no more "madness" than living in any community and referring contentious matters to delegated arbitrators. It's exactly how our system is supposed to work... supposed to.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7233040.stm

I know Islamic ones exist too but they a relatively new to the UK and given the prevailing racism are less public than the Jewish ones.

You generally only get to hear of Islamic courts on the odd occasion that some Zealot does something crazy.

Strange though how the Daily Mail never described Lord Pickles as a "religious extremist"...

Funny also how no one has suggested that the Jewish courts have been a threat to "DUH British WAY OV LOIF"...

Cromwellian