I am not religious, I don't attend church and I don't claim to understand the intricacies of the scriptures of any religion.
I am, however, convinced that Rowan Williams’ position as Archbishop of Canterbury and the most senior of the British High Officers of State, is untenable following his remarks about the introduction of Sharia law in the United Kingdom.
It is a "bit of a danger", the Archbishop argued, for the United Kingdom to follow an "approach to law which says that there's one law for everybody". The introduction of Sharia law, he stated, is "unavoidable".
Minette Marin, writing in The Times this morning, puts it best:
“The danger, surely, is rather the archbishop and those who think like him, who seem unwilling to hold fast that which is good. What is good and best and essential about our society [is that it] isn’t merely a matter of “social identity” [but] the principle of equality before the law. That principle and its practice have made this country the outstandingly just and tolerant state it is; it is one of the last remaining forces for unity as well… Our law expresses and maintains the best virtues of our society. Anybody who does not accept it does not belong here”
I have no quarrel with those who support the principle of Sharia law (indeed it is unclear, given that its interpretation appears to vary from state to state, what exactly the system entails), only a belief that in the United Kingdom our many and varied cultural and religious communities must live under the one common law that has served the country so well for hundreds of years. As Baroness Warsi correctly points out, existing abritaration mechanisms already exist under British law in order to take into account individual religious beliefs and cultural practices.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, in advocating the introduction of distinct legal systems for individual religious groups that can only lead to division, distrust and divisive rhetoric from both the left and right of the political spectrum, has abdicated his responsibility to "speak authoritatively for the faith and witness of the Church".
He must step down, if not to safeguard the survival of his own church but to defend the future of the United Kingdom as the liberal, secular state I sincerely believe he hopes for.
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