The Madness of the Archbishop of Canterbury

Where is Henry II when you need him? The mad Archbishop of Canterbury has called for enactment of parts of Sharia law in Britain.





A few weeks ago, the head of the Anglican Church in Britain, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Cantebury, went off the deep end, decrying American imperealism to a Muslim audience. Now we know that was just a warm up for his main act of insanity. The Archbishop has today come out in support of allowing Sharia law in Britain. Now, admittedly, he has only followed the lead of the socialist Labour government who took the first step down the road towards recognizing Sharia law last week. The government decided to allow welfare payments to spouses in a polygamous marriage. The primary beneficiaries of that law are Muslims who are allowed, under Sharia law, to have up to four wives. This today from the Archbishop of Canterbury:

Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has sparked a political storm by calling for aspects of Sharia law to be adopted in Britain.

Dr Williams said it "seems inevitable" that elements of Islamic law, such as divorce proceedings, would be incorporated into British law.

Inevitable? Is the spirit of Britain and their belief in their own laws, customs and traditions so rotted that the march of Islam over their lands is a foregone conclusion?

That this is coming from the senior religious figure in the Anglican Church is an obscentity. It is irrational multiculturalism on steroids.

"Nobody in their right mind would want to see in this country the kind of inhumanity that has sometimes been associated with the practice of the law in some Islamic states," he told the BBC's World at One programme.

"But there are ways of looking at marital disputes, for example, which provide an alternative to the divorce courts as we understand them."

To note the obvious, one, this promotes separatism and tribalism rather than integration. Two, this is a step precisely towards the inhumanity the Archbisop sees in Islamic states. Three, Sharia family law includes such goodies as stoning for adultery - something for which the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) has already publicly called. Four, the Centre For Social Cohesion just released a lengthy report on forced marriage and honor violence - and found a part of the problem relating to these scourges was how Muslims were operating Sharia law courts unofficially in Britain. So why on earth would the Archbishop make such an idiotic suggestion?

Dr. Williams said the UK had to "face up to the fact" that some citizens do not relate to the British legal system, and argued that officially sanctioning Sharia law would improve community relations.

Wow. Does this stunning idiot understand that the only way to improve community relations with those Muslims who dissaprove of British law is for everyone to convert to Islam? Does he understand that the squeaky wheels are those who want to see Sharia law imposed on all of Britain?

What really is amazing is that, not only does reality zip by the archbishop's head without so much as a pit stop, but the Archbishop is equally as clueless as to the damage he is doing to Muslims who want to live under British law, not the Sharia law of rural Pakistan. And if the Archbishop wants to see community relations in action, he need only look to see how Christians and Jews are treated in those places that apply Sharia law.

But the insanity was not quite over for the Archbishop. He also had to work in a bit of moral relativism with his multiculturalism.

The Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, said last month that non-Muslims faced a hostile reception in places dominated by the ideology of Islamic radicals. He has since faced death threats.

Dr Williams said the use of the phrase "no go areas" had sparked controversy because it reminded people of Northern Ireland.

"I don't think that was at all what was intended; I think it was meant to point to the silo problem, the sense of communities not communicating with each other," he said.

"Many Muslims would say that they feel bits of British society are no-go areas for them."

You have to laugh at this one. I think that we can safely assume that the death threats that Bishop Nazir-Ali is receiving are not from anyone named Paddy O'Toole who is pissed that the Bishop is dredging up thoughts of Northern Ireland. There are, as Bishop Nazir-Ali has pointed out, areas where a non-Muslim faces physical violence if they enter. Its those places with street signs in Arabic, not Celtic or English. No need to believe me, however. Just read this from Manzoor Moghal, or the comments to the Bishop Nazir-Ali's piece. As to no-go areas for Muslims, name one.

Okay. Now for a test. Is there anyone in Britain whom you think might have applauded the Archbishop's statements?

Dr Williams's comments were welcomed by Mohammed Shafiq, the director of the Ramadhan Foundation, who said: "Sharia law for civil matters is something which has been introduced in some western countries with much success."

Read the entire article. You just know the Queen must be asking about now, "Who will rid me of this troublesome priest?"

Update: Much more on the issue here, including the BBC asking whether the reaction condemning the Archbishop is Islamophobia?

Update2: More here, including discussion of a court case in the UK seeking to hold a forced marriage null as violating the public policy of Britain.