Sharia in UK comment ignites ‘multiculti’ row

Archbishop suggested Sharia be used by UK Muslims for marriage, divorce, finance

LONDON: The Archbishop of Canterbury waded into the multicultural debate by advocating the adoption of aspects of Islamic sharia laws, coming under heavy fire from across the political spectrum. Rowan Williams, the most senior figure in the Church of England, suggested that giving Islamic law official status in the UK would help to achieve social cohesion and mean that Muslims would no longer have to choose between two systems.

Speaking at the Royal Courts of Justice Williams had stressed that he did not endorse the “kind of inhumanity” that was associated with sharia law in some Islamic states. He was referring not to criminal law, but only sharia law that refers to matters pertaining to marriage, divorce and finance.

There are nearly 1.6 million Muslims in Britain, representing 2.7 per cent of the total population. Sharia courts do exist in some communities, but they have no legal standing and their decisions are not binding. “Each month we deal with 20 cases, and they are mostly about inheritance, marriage and divorce disputes,” said Dr Suhaib Hasan of the Islamic Sharia Council.

Muslims themselves see the comments as dangerous as they will simply help to stoke racial tension. “Let us be very clear here Muslims are not asking for it, but it will look as if we don’t want to integrate and that is not true,” said Halima Husain of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee.