SHARIA LAW IN
THE UK
FEBRUARY 7th 2008
In view of how little anyone,.many muslims included, understand about
Sharia Law, its history, meaning and application, it was recklessly
bold of the Archbishop of Canterbury to suggest that UK Law should take
it into account and approve its use amongst consenting Mulsim adults
and their families.
I would never knowingly agree with an editor of the Sun, but I would go
as far as to say that the laws of the UK apply to all citizens. No
ethnic minority society or family should be able to use Sharia Law to
impose any outcome on any individual that diminishes their rights under
UK law or EU law that the UK has signed up to. On the other hand no
individual is bound to claim all the rights they have under UK law,
even though they are bound by their obligations under UK law.
It is evident that certain social customs that are special to ethnic or
racial or religious groups may very well be valuable, cohesive and
socially admirable. They may include traditions applicable to marriage
and to financial arrangements. But they may also be restrictive and
limit the freedom that is available to every British citizen. In that
case they can never be characterized as LAW. They can be conventions
that are entered into voluntarily between persons of the same
persuasion, providing they in no way remove irrevocably the rights that
exist under UK law.
We come here to the whole business of the right of an individual to
waive their common law rights. For example I belive an individual
should be allowed to waive their right to claim against the provider of
a service if by so doing they allow that service to be provided at a
price they, the consumer, can afford. But any such procedure must take
place and be witnessed every time it is required, for the specific case
and instance, under conditions of UK and International law as it so
exists.
That being the case, I do not see how anything called Sharia Law
can
feature in the legislation that applies in the United Kingdom.
FEBRUARY 8th 2008
Well, I am amazed. It seems that a great many people seem to understand
exactly what I have said. I don't think the Archbish should resign - he
is a very excellent and intelligent man. But he probably doesn't read
the Sun or realise the awful truth on the other side of the
picture.where there are loonies in Peckham who think Islam will take
over the world by outbreeding and if necessary violent jihad to finish
the job. Then there are those who say the Christain world should
outbreed them back in revenge, forgetting that world population without
birth control (a control including unfortunately in some cases
abortion) is the biggest single reason we have exponential global
warming problems ahead, never mind what we know of now.
I have to add that at the root of this particular problem is
the failure of our adversarial system of justice to accommodate or
encourage community systems of conflict resolution. It is also at the
root of the current argument about bugging.
FEBRUARY 9th 2008
Another confusion in the political environment of 21st Century Britain
is in the realm of discrimination and anti-discrimination law. We do
not force doctors who are against abortion to perform abortions. The
logic here is that anti-discrimination laws are laws that forbid
certain actions, not laws that insist on certain actions. There are
doctors who will perform legal abortions, so they can do the job, just
as a surgeon rather than a surgically unqualified GP would perform an
appendectomy. Is that not the reasoning? No, it is not.
We are forcing Catholic adoption agencies to send children into the
care of practising homosexuals. We forbid our citizens to be
discriminating on grounds of behavioural preference and practice and
cultural tradition. Yet discrimination in behaviour, practice and
cultural tradition is the very fabric of each civilisation. The
coherence of these is what makes a society and a nation politically
manageable and responsible for its very identity, character and in the
final analysis survival, as its evolutional development must still be
coherent, resolving the dissonances that arise as it matures, just as
dissonance arises and is resolved in a coherent musical composition
So here is a matter that may be one of the reasons why Rowan Williams,
a protestant theologian of ecumenical bent and great learning, is
sympathetic towards those who wish to resist the overpowering
insistence of those who can never accept the inadequacy of our current
legal institutions to effectively manage the family and tribal
tribulations that from time to time afflict our immigrant communities
and their offspring.
We have to make up our minds. Personally I am in favour of
keeping these islands Christian and discriminating. Anyone is free to
come and join us, if there is room for them as a tourist or a place for
them in employment that is not taken by one already here, no matter
what their country of origin. Their colour is of no concern to me
whatsoever - they can be red, blue or green, black, white or yellow for
all I care and can inter-marry how they will. But they cannot possibly
have any crazy idiosyncrasies catered for in public in any way, no
matter that they may be customary where they came from. They must wear
any uniform uniform the organisation that employs them and the common
law decrees and abide by the conventions that our laws decree as the
minimum acceptable. Masked faces should be restricted to bank robbers
so we can recognise them. Those who think 'God' requires them to wear
anything are nuts and should be told they are. Ceremonial dress is fine
for ceremonies. Formal dress is fine for formal settings and occasions.
But anti-discrimination law should never force people to carry out
actions that they find abhorrent, particularly those that have been
accepted as abhorrent by civilised societies for many years.
Discrimination is the very means by which human life has risen from
barbarity. The world is a big place, and we gather together in groups
of the like-minded. Each group must agree on their common law and
language. English is the language to be spoken
here and learned
by anyone remaining here, including particularly anyone over 10 who was
born here, and that includes the Welsh. English reading, writing and
arithmetic is a requirement and minimum standards, which may be quite
simple, must be enforced or officially, rationally excused for those
incapable.
That is how it
is going to
be.
* * Now see the
entry for Feb 20th below
FEBRUARY 12th 2008
The Archbishop addressed the General Synod today, clarifying his
position. He defended his decision to raise the issues but apologised
for not speaking clearly enough to be understood by some
commentators. He was clearly unaware that editors such as Rebekah Wade
have as much understanding of what he was talking about as a
water-beetle does of the Pacific Ocean and need to have these things
fed to them very, very slowly. Once she understood, she would know that
she had better not bother her readers with it, requiring as it does a
few words of two or even more syllables and a knowledge and imagination
of the world outside their own personal environment.
All in all, although I would have
advised him not to have done it, he
was probably quite right to have spoken up.
Williams in synod Sharia address
|
Dr Williams said
law and religion needed to be debated
|
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says he does not regret
speaking about Sharia law, as it is right to air other religious
communities' concerns.
He told the Church of
England's general synod he felt some remarks had been taken out of
context, but he accepted he may have created misunderstanding.
He has faced calls to apologise for his comments, in which he
implied adopting aspects of Sharia law was unavoidable.
Earlier PM Gordon Brown praised Dr Williams's "great integrity".
|
I believe quite strongly that it
is not inappropriate for a pastor of
the Church of England to address issues about the perceived concerns of
other religious communities
Dr Rowan Williams |
Dr Williams told clergy and lay people at the synod - the Church's
governing body - he believed "some of what has been heard is a very
long way indeed from what was actually said".
"But I must of course take responsibility for any
unclarity in either that text or in the radio interview and for any
misleading choice of words that's helped to cause distress or
misunderstanding among the public at large, and especially among my
fellow Christians,'' he added.
He said: "I believe quite strongly that it is not
inappropriate for a pastor of the Church of England to address issues
about the perceived concerns of other religious communities, and to try
and bring them into better public focus."
Liberties and consciences
Part of the "burden and the privilege of being the Church" in the UK
meant, Dr Williams said, the clergy needed "some coherent voice on
behalf of all the faith communities living here".
"If we can attempt to speak for the liberties and
consciences of others in this country - as well as our own - we shall,
I believe, be doing something we as a church are called to do in
Christ's name: witnessing to his Lordship, not compromising it."
The relationship between law and religion was a subject on which
"Christians and people of other faiths ought to be doing some
reflecting together", he added.
Dr Williams sparked a major row after saying, in a BBC
Radio 4 interview last week, the adoption of parts of Sharia law was
"unavoidable" in Britain.
He has insisted he was not advocating a parallel set of laws, but
has faced calls for his resignation.
Conservative MP Robert Key, a synod member, said Dr Williams's
speech had been well received.
He said: "The archbishop had overwhelming support, not only for
having
opened up this very important discussion, which is part of the fabric
of our national life - we simply cannot avoid it - but he also clearly
had the majority of the synod right behind him.
"I suspect he will always have a tiny minority, and I
think it is tiny, who are opposed to him, but it was quite clear synod
wants to move on."
Community service
Dr Williams had been facing pressure from some Church of England
traditionalists who wanted him to apologise for his original comments.
Two synod members also called for Dr Williams to stand down
following his remarks.
His predecessor as the Church of England's leader, Lord Carey, said
on
Sunday the acceptance of some Muslim laws would be "disastrous" for
Britain.
But, writing in the News of the World, Lord Carey said his
successor should not be forced to quit.
Earlier the prime minister's spokesman said Mr Brown understood "the
difficulties" the archbishop was facing and paid tribute to Dr
Williams's "dedication to public and community service".
Mr Brown believed religious law should be subservient to UK law, he
added.
* * FEBRUARY 20th 2008 Well good for you, Jacqui Smith. (see my remarks of Feb 9th above in RED) *
*
Press
Assoc. - Wednesday, February 20 07:11 pm
Foreigners
living in Britain will be expected to go through a new expanded
citizenship process or leave the country, under new plans outlined by
ministers.
Home
Secretary Jacqui Smith said she wanted to end the situation where
foreign nationals "languish in limbo" by living in the country but not
adapting to the British way of life.
Even the ultra-wealthy - who can
currently avoid some of the conditions imposed on less well-off
immigrants - will be expected to apply for British nationality or
permanent residence.
"I would want to see a larger proportion
of those that are here moving to full British citizenship," said Ms
Smith.
"You
will not be able to languish in limbo. Once your period of temporary
residence comes to an end you will need to apply for the next stage or
leave."
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