Archbishop of Sharia - really, I'm right.
The C of E and PM Brown are circling the wagons around the Archbishop of Sharia.
The POS received a standing ovation when he entered the Synod. Then he started trotting out the old, I was taken out of context, it was blown out of proportion by the TABLOID PRESS assertions to try and weasel out of the tight box be now finds himself in.
That wasn't working so his spokesman claimed that "his academic lecture was too complex for laymen to understand."
Then he just admitted he was right all along...
One little problem - a paper (which I thought I had found on the C of E website but the pdf shredded my adobe reader...) written by the CofE warning its followers on the danger of Islamic law. Oopsie.
The Archbishop of Canterbury has attempted to restore his battered credibility today by claiming his comments on sharia law had been taken out of context.
Dr Rowan Williams claimed that his remarks had been misinterpreted and denied it was "inappropriate" for him to address the issues.
Dr Williams said he "took responsibility" for any "unclarity" and "misleading" choice of words that have caused distress or misunderstanding over comments he made on sharia law.
He received a standing ovation as he entered the Church of England's General Synod in London and even Gordon Brown paid tribute today to the "great integrity" and "dedication" of Dr Williams.
Mr Brown's spokesman said the Prime Minister understood the "difficulty" currently facing Dr Williams. The two men had a "close" relationship and stay in close touch, he said.
The spokesman added: "The Prime Minister believes the Archbishop of Canterbury is a man of great integrity and dedication to public and community service and he understands the difficulty he is facing at the moment.
But questions over his future continue to be raised and several senior Anglicans have joined politicians in denouncing his claim last week that the adoption of elements of Islamic law was "unavoidable".
Two members of the General Synod have called for Dr Williams to quit, and the previous Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, as well as the current leader of the Anglican church in South America, have attacked his comments.
Dr Williams's supporters fear that a synod member may call for an emergency vote on his resignation, although, given his reception, that seemed unlikely.
The issue became even more damaging for him yesterday with the disclosure of a Church of England document warning its followers of the dangers of sharia law.
It says that Islam does not allow Muslim women to marry non-Muslims, that the wife of a Muslim is required to uphold Islam, and that women must be careful because "Islam allows Muslim men to marry more than one wife".
Christina Rees, a member of the Archbishop's Council, said that Dr Williams had been right to speak out but added: "The archbishop's aides should have prepared clear and specific examples of the types of things the archbishop had in mind.
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"It would have helped if we could have had a clear picture of what situations he was thinking about.
"Unfortunately, with so much misunderstanding about what the archbishop said, there will be Muslim women who will now be feeling even more vulnerable.
"They must understand that he would never want to make matters worse for women, especially women who face discrimination and violence in their homes and communities."
Dr Williams's conservative critics within the worldwide Anglican Communion were scathing yesterday.
South American Anglican primate, the Most Reverend Gregory Venables, told BBC Radio 4: "It would just add to a general sense that confidence in the leadership of the Anglican Church has plummeted."
The leader of Roman Catholics in England, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, wrote in the Sunday Telegraph: "When people come into this country they have to obey the laws of the land.
"There are aspects of sharia that are practised that we certainly would not want in this country. The laws of this country do not allow forced marriages or polygamy."
Lord Carey, a former Archbishop of Canterbury and long-standing critic of Islam, said: "His [Dr Williams's] acceptance of some Muslim laws within British law would be disastrous for the nation."
But he added: "This is not a matter upon which Dr Williams should resign.
"I understand he is horrified by what has happened."
Geoff Hoon, Gordon Brown's Chief Whip, said: "I'm not sure it was wise of the Archbishop of Canterbury to comment on these rather complicated legal matters."
He said the Government wanted to bring in new forms of arbitration but that "there cannot be any kind of debate about the single authority of our civil legal system".
Tory former chancellor Kenneth Clarke said Dr Williams was "one of the most unworldly men I have ever met".
He added: "This is a secular country and we have one law which applies to every citizen all the way down from the monarch to the merest sort of tramp. It is applied quite impartially to everybody regardless of their own personal religious beliefs.
"We cannot have a parallel system of law."
Three quarters of the worshippers at Canterbury Cathedral yesterday who were asked about the archbishop's views on sharia said he should quit.
Valerie Brand, 57, said: "The archbishop was wrong to say what he did. British law should stay as British law. This is a Christian country at the end of the day. The archbishop has a lot of explaining to do."
Dolores Joshi, 50, said: "This is a Christian country. Introducing aspects of Christian law would never be entertained in a Muslim country. The consequences of using parts of their law here could be disastrous.
"I'm very disappointed in the archbishop. If he knows the word of God, why is he entertaining Islamic law? I think he should resign. He has let us down big time."
Gerald Sterne, 63, said: "The archbishop must step down immediately. He is no longer representing Christians."
Defending Islamic law, Suhaib Hasan, general secretary of the sharia council in Leyton, East London, said: "Once a thief's hand is cut off nobody is going to steal.
"Once an adulterer is stoned, nobody will commit this crime at all. If people can have mistresses in this country and have homosexual relationships then why can't a Muslim have a second wife?"
The court, made up of four middle-aged Pakistani judges, handles 50 cases a month, mainly involving civil and personal matters.
The CofE paper on Islamic law was published last October and is available on the church's website. It said most Islamic jurists think that it is not acceptable for Muslim women to marry non-Muslims and the man should convert first.
The Church of England has launched a major spin operation to try to defuse the row over Rowan Williams's views on sharia law.
Lambeth Palace suggested the archbishop's remarks had been taken out of context and that his academic lecture was too complex for laymen to understand.
These arguments could not, however, explain why he agreed to appear on BBC radio several hours before the lecture, answering questions about sharia law.
In Thursday's radio interview and lecture, Dr Williams used the phrase "seems unavoidable" to describe allowing sharia law a place alongside the law of the land.
The text of the lecture was released to the media.
In a statement issued on Friday, Lambeth Palace insisted the archbishop had made no proposals for sharia and "did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law".
Yet, explaining Dr Williams's lecture, Tom Butler, Bishop of Southwark, said: "He suggested, for example, that members of the Muslim community might be permitted to follow rulings of the sharia applying to areas of family law."
Rallying to the archbishop's defence, Giles Fraser, Vicar of Putney in London and a Guardian writer, said the media reporting was over the top.
He added: "They have been a pack of dogs having a go without even trying to understand what he said."
Lambeth Palace has made no complaint to media watchdogs over coverage of the affair.
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