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Archbishop could be forced to quit over sharia law uproar as synod meets today
The Archbishop of Canterbury is expected to face calls for his resignation when the Church of England's general synod meets today. Senior colleagues, MPs, bishops and the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England have all poured scorn on Rowan Williams's views on Islamic sharia law.In a lecture last week, he said the establishment of sharia in Britain "seems unavoidable" and it would be better if Muslims could settle marital disputes or financial matters in a sharia court. The archbishop spent yesterday with his advisers working on what could prove to be a crucial address to the synod today. He was to have focused on the oppression in Zimbabwe but will now have to try to defuse the sharia row as well. Dr Williams's supporters fear that a synod member may call for an emergency vote on his resignation. 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. Posted by: tipper 2008-02-11 |
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