Muslims in Britain should be able to live under Sharia law, says top judge
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Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice, strongly
backed Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his
suggestion earlier this year that aspects of Sharia law should be
adopted in Britain.
The archbishop's remarks sparked a national debate and led to calls
for his resignation.
Risking inflaming that controversy again, Lord Phillips has said that
Muslims in Britain should be able to use Sharia to decide financial
and marital disputes.
The judge did add that only the criminal courts should have the power
to decide when a crime has been committed and when to impose
punishment.
But his suggestion that different religious groups should run their
affairs according to different rules sparked warnings that community
cohesion could be undermined.
In a speech at the East London Muslim Centre in east London, Lord
Phillips said it was "not very radical" for Dr Williams to argue that
Sharia law can be used to help govern issues like family disputes and
the sale of financial products.
Lord Phillips said: "It is possible in this country for those who are
entering into a contractual agreement to agree that the agreement
shall be governed by law other than English law."
Therefore, he said, he could see no reason why Sharia law should not
be used to settle disputes in this country.
He said: "There is no reason why principles of Sharia law, or any
other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation or other
forms of alternative dispute resolution."
He added: "It must be recognized however that any sanctions for a
failure to comply with the agreed terms of the mediation would be
drawn from the laws of England and Wales."
Sharia law suffered from "widespread misunderstanding" in Britain,
Lord Phillips said.
"Part of the misconception about Sharia law is the belief that Sharia
is only about mandating sanctions such as flogging, stoning, the
cutting off of hands or death for those fail to comply with the law,"
he said.
"In some countries the courts interpret Sharia law as calling for
severe physical punishment. There can be no question of such courts
sitting in this country, or such sanctions being applied here."
The judge said Dr Williams had been misunderstood when it was reported
in February that he said British Muslims could be governed by Sharia
law.
Lord Phillips said that the archbishop was saying only that "it was
possible for individuals voluntarily to conduct their lives in
accordance with Sharia principles without this being in conflict with
the rights guaranteed by our law".
There is already scope in English law for some communities to use
their own religious codes to resolve disputes. Orthodox Jews can use
the Beth Din rabbinical courts to decide on matters including
divorce.
However some critics say that women marrying under Sharia law do not
have the same rights as in English law, and could lead to them being
treated as second class citizens as far as divorce settlements,
custody of children and inheritance go.
Muslim and Christian politicians expressed fears that at a time of
heightened tensions, encouraging Muslims to live by their own distinct
rules could make it harder for different communities to integrate.
Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Bar and a practising
Muslim, said that allowing Sharia law in parts of the UK would be
divisive.
He said: "This would create a two-tier society. It is highly
retrograde. It will segregate and alienate the Muslim community from
the rest of British society.
"The majority of British Muslims want to live only under British law
and they would reject anything that means they are treated
differently.
"What Lord Phillips and the archbishop are discussing is something
that is completely outside their area of understanding."
Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, said Lord Phillips'
suggestion was "totally unacceptable."
He said: "It is very unhelpful for community cohesion. This is the
sort of thing that builds up tensions in areas like mine, in places
like Bradford. Sharia law has got no place in any shape or form in
British law."
Andrew Selous, a Tory MP and chairman of the all-party Christians in
Parliament group, said calls like those made by Lord Phillips and the
archbishop were "worrying."
He said: "As far as people of all faiths are concerned, it is
important that we are all equal under one United Kingdom law. It will
lead to more community tensions rather than less."
Lord Ahmed, a Labour peer and practicing Muslim, said there was a "big
debate" among British Muslims about whether and how Sharia should
apply in the UK.
He said: "There is a risk that this would make it harder for
communities to integrate -- we all need to do more to integrate, and
mainstream society has to do more as well."
"We should have one law for everyone in the UK, but there may be very
rare occasions when exceptions have to be made, like for marriage,
divorce and food."
A Muslim lawyer said that raising the prospect of allowing people to
live under Sharia law in Britain would "alarm" people.
Mahmud Al Rashid, spokesman from the Association of Muslim Lawyers,
said: "There is massive misunderstanding about what Sharia is. It is
not a single law."
A spokesman for Dr Williams said: "We welcome the speech given by the
Lord Chief Justice as a positive and constructive contribution to this
important and ongoing debate."
Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the Archbishop of Westminster and
leader of Britain's Catholics, said that people should live under the
laws of the UK.
His spokesman said: "As the Cardinal has consistently said and indeed
said earlier this year, was that Britons should abide by and be
subject to the law of the land."
Downing Street said the Government's position on the issue of Sharia
law had been made clear at the time of the controversy over the
Archbishop's speech.
"We think that British law should be based on British values and
determined by the British Parliament," the Prime Minister's spokesman
said.
Baroness Warsi, the Conservative shadow minister for community
cohesion, backed the judge.
She said: “The Lord Chief Justice's speech is a very clear and
unifying speech for our communities in Britain.
”I specifically endorse the points made by Lord Phillips that with
equality of rights come responsibilities. It is absolutely essential
that everyone in this country is treated equally by the law but it is
important that everyone is equally subject to it, and that the same
laws apply equally to everyone.”
Ray Shafranski
news:520c4dea-5926-4b68...@k37g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2242340/Muslims-in-Britain-should-be-able-to-live-under-Sharia-law,-says-top-judge.html
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice, strongly
backed Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his
suggestion earlier this year that aspects of Sharia law should be
adopted in Britain.
The archbishop's remarks sparked a national debate and led to calls
for his resignation.
"The poor muslims should be allowed to set off their suicide bombs in
peace."
üDoug±Ç
Sharia law? Because it be being more betterer!
<simple_...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:520c4dea-5926-4b68...@k37g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
JS
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2242340/Muslims-in-Britain-should-be-able-to-live-under-Sharia-law,-says-top-judge.html
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice, strongly
backed Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his
suggestion earlier this year that aspects of Sharia law should be
adopted in Britain.
I told you thick bastards back in 97 what would happen, did anyone listen,
did they f**k
f. barnes
> <simple_langu...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>
> news:520c4dea-5926-4b68...@k37g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2242340/Muslims-in-Britain-sho...
>
> Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord Chief Justice, strongly
> backed Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, over his
> suggestion earlier this year that aspects of Sharia law should be
> adopted in Britain.
>
> I told you thick bastards back in 97 what would happen, did anyone listen,
> did they f**k
This is just getting their foot in the door. Can anyone be so naive
as to think that Muslims would be content with only this much Sharia
law? They will push and push and never stop, ever, until they gain
complete control. That is the nature of Islam. How can people be so
blind as to not see that?
üDoug±Ç
news:331e2009-2147-430f...@79g2000hsk.googlegroups.com...
************************
Is it blindness, or is it corruption? Who knows how many Saudi
petropounds or petrodollars are financing politicians' campaigns
these days? I know ABSCAM didn't have any problems fining
corrupt US politicians willing to accept bribe money from FBI agents
posing as Saudi Sheiks.
djornsk
> This is just getting their foot in the door. Can anyone be so naive
> as to think that Muslims would be content with only this much Sharia
> law? They will push and push and never stop, ever, until they gain
> complete control. That is the nature of Islam. How can people be so
> blind as to not see that?
What the Archbishop and judges see as a reasonable and desirable
accommodation appears fine once the misquotations and
misinterpretations are stripped away, but I am sorry to say people
fear that if given an inch Muslims might be predisposed to take the
lot.
j