The ABC of Sharia Law

Another day, another controversy around the place of faith in Britain. Oh what a sorry mess we are making of this business of public faith! Sharia law is one of those phrases that conjures up immediate negative images, and because of that, is often a rallying point for polarising opinion. If we like to pride ourselves on our religious sensitivity and savvyness when it comes to world affairs, we might be deeply offended by the thought that you could equate "Muslim" with "terrorist". The word sharia, though, is buttoned up for most people: sharia = stonings for adultery, hands chopped off for stealing and instituionalised misogyny.

Rowan Williams, being a very intelligent man, knows that sharia law is far more complex than this. The vast bulk of Islamic laws that are invoked within Muslim communities (yes, present tense because it is a current reality here in Britain), concern family relationships (divorce and separation), and inheritance matters. The trouble is, the media and our beloved political establishment are either not intelligent enough to know this or, and God forbid this be the case, prefer to play to the simplistic public perception (sharia = stonings etc) for short term electoral expediency.

It helps to have a little bit of wider knowledge, including a little bit of historical knowledge. Did you know that the Jewish community have religious courts ruling on familial and inheritance matters that have credence in our legal system? Did you know that under British colonial rule in India, many Muslim regions operated a parallel sharia system to the English legal system?....And let's come closer to home: did you know that the Church of England has its own valid legal structures for enforcing discipline and disposing of property?

What makes Rowan Williams' comments so incendiary then? ...Fear and ignorance.

Ignorance we can do something about very easily and sadly our politicians don't seem to want to do much about that at the moment. What comes out in the press over the next few days will tell us whether our media wish to remain ignorant.

Fear takes more time to deal with, and fear is not to be minimised or scrubbed under the carpet. The very idea of sharia law in Britain doubtless suggests public floggings in northern towns. The very fact that Rowan Williams has broached the issue ought to be welcome because the conversation to be had is, "what aspects of shariah are incompatible with life in Britain today?" You can't have this conversation if you've not recognised that the reality for many Muslims is to want to adhere to Islamic proscriptions in their public dealings. By shutting off the conversation at source, you are effectively saying, "your faith should be entirely private". Is that what we want? I don't want a society where that is the case for my Christian faith and I should apply that freedom to my neighbour as much as myself. The tough call is the mutual challenge of which laws and practises should be denied in the pursuit of the common good. Thus, respect for the vulnerable, fully equal status for women, illegality of corporal punishment would be among my challenges to some Muslims that would want to bring an unadulterated sharia to Britain.

So, all in all, I'll thank the Lord for our Archbishop....and pray that we will seek truth and move from fear to love.

Comments

[ray]

well said. i was saddened to hear politician's from both sides trying to make capital out of these remarks.

[ginny]

Exactly. +++Rowan never says anything without considering carefully, so why would he lay himself open to criticism from the Global South primates? Naturally, the press has got it wrong again and gone off on the wrong tack. He's talking about regularizing something that's already being done? Of course. Admitting this is so, and speculating whether it's inevitable that it will become regularized is the crime he's committed.

[Bardon Dornal]

Yes, but...Muslims are not & don't seem to be willing to become integrated in the British society as Jews are/have been. The principal difference is that a) British Jews (at least vast majority of them) are a Western people (I wouldn't go into specifics), while British Muslims are Asiatics (don't mind to insult- it's just an observation), b) demographically, Jews & Muslims in Britain are worlds apart- there are no Jewish no-go areas & gangs. Furthermore, Indian Muslim women had been dealt a heavy blow when ca. 15-20 ys ago Indian Supreme Court ruled along similar lines, succumbing to the threats of impending explosion of Muslim (ie. Muslim men's) rage. Sorry, shariah is, nuts & bolts- an atavism. It's got to go from the world scene, completely, one way or another.

[Judy]

Thanks, Richard. I am not quite sure what my reaction is, but this is very helpful.
Judy

[Justin (3MinuteTheologian)]

Richard, found you via Cartoon Church, and I'm glad I have. A breath of calmness in the hysteria of the weekend's Two Minute's Hate.

[Lee Barnes]

Thanks Richard (our paths crossed over lunch at Trinity recently) - the media seem incapable of actually presenting the truth. A reporter on 5Live said that he had been wading through RW's lecture as it was very academic and hard to understand -it seemed like a get-out-clause of saying we are really trying to explain to you what he said! Once again our headline culture will win the day. One positive is that at the least it enables conversations (in some settings) to occur and de-demonizing of Islam to be able to take place.