Post by concerned on Feb 9, 2008 10:02:53 GMT -5
Has anyone been following the recent events in England in regards to the comment of the Archbishop of Canterberry's concept that Sharia law( Islamic law codes) may become part of civil law codes. It does bring up the question that members of the Islamic faith and the Jewish faith have a specific religious code of law that is part of its culture. Can they co-exist with our concept of civil courts?
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/09/nsharia209.xml
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/09/nsharia509.xml
Dr Rowan Williams insisted he "certainly did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law".
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was said to be in a state of shock
In a statement on his website, the Archbishop said he made no proposals for sharia but was simply "exploring ways in which reasonable accommodation might be made within existing arrangements for religious conscience".
He said his aim was to tease out some of the broader issues around the rights of religious groups within a secular state, using "sharia as an example".
His statement comes after he faced calls for his resignation from members of the General Synod, the Church of England's "parliament".
Angry members of the Synod claimed he was undermining the Christian faith after Dr Williams said the introduction of Muslim laws into the UK was "unavoidable".
Senior bishops and politicians have also challenged the Archbishop's view that aspects of Islamic law could be incorporated into British legal systems.
Sharia is translated as "law", but its infallible doctrine of duties governs the religious, political, social, domestic and private life of those who profess Islam. It also affects non-Muslims in Islamic territories.
Like Judaism, Islam is a thoroughly legalistic religion and, though there are no priests, there are clergy in the sense of men who know the law and make judgments. They belong to four main schools of law, the most rigorous being the Hanbali, which inspired the law in Saudi Arabia and among the Taliban. A religious scholar who gives opinions is called a mufti; his legal opinion is called a fatwa. The latter word is familiar now in a way it used not to be before Salman Rushdie was condemned to death for writing The Satanic Verses.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/09/nsharia209.xml
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/09/nsharia509.xml
Dr Rowan Williams insisted he "certainly did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law".
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, was said to be in a state of shock
In a statement on his website, the Archbishop said he made no proposals for sharia but was simply "exploring ways in which reasonable accommodation might be made within existing arrangements for religious conscience".
He said his aim was to tease out some of the broader issues around the rights of religious groups within a secular state, using "sharia as an example".
His statement comes after he faced calls for his resignation from members of the General Synod, the Church of England's "parliament".
Angry members of the Synod claimed he was undermining the Christian faith after Dr Williams said the introduction of Muslim laws into the UK was "unavoidable".
Senior bishops and politicians have also challenged the Archbishop's view that aspects of Islamic law could be incorporated into British legal systems.
Sharia is translated as "law", but its infallible doctrine of duties governs the religious, political, social, domestic and private life of those who profess Islam. It also affects non-Muslims in Islamic territories.
Like Judaism, Islam is a thoroughly legalistic religion and, though there are no priests, there are clergy in the sense of men who know the law and make judgments. They belong to four main schools of law, the most rigorous being the Hanbali, which inspired the law in Saudi Arabia and among the Taliban. A religious scholar who gives opinions is called a mufti; his legal opinion is called a fatwa. The latter word is familiar now in a way it used not to be before Salman Rushdie was condemned to death for writing The Satanic Verses.
