Author: Christopher Hope and James Kirkup
Publication: Telegraph, UK
Date: July 4, 2008
URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2242340/Muslims-in-Britain-should-be-able-to-live-under-Sharia-law%2C-says-top-judge.html?DCMP=EMC-new_04072008
Muslims in Britain should be able to live
according to Sharia, the country's most senior judge has said.
Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the Lord
Chief Justice, strongly backed Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury,
over his suggestion earlier this year that aspects of sharia should be adopted
in Britain.
The archbishop's remarks sparked a national
debate and led to calls for his resignation.
Risking inflaming that controversy again,
Lord Phillips has said that Muslims in Britain should be able to use sharia
to decide financial and marital disputes.
The judge did add that only the criminal courts
should have the power to decide when a crime has been committed and when to
impose punishment.
But his suggestion that different religious
groups should run their affairs according to different rules sparked warnings
that community cohesion could be undermined.
In a speech at the East London Muslim Centre,
Lord Phillips said it was "not very radical" for Dr Williams to
argue that sharia can be used to help govern issues like family disputes and
the sale of financial products.
Lord Phillips said: "It is possible in
this country for those who are entering into a contractual agreement to agree
that the agreement shall be governed by law other than English law."
Therefore, he said, he could see no reason
why sharia should not be used to settle disputes in this country.
He said: "There is no reason why principles
of sharia, or any other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation
or other forms of alternative dispute resolution."
He added: "It must be recognised however
that any sanctions for a failure to comply with the agreed terms of the mediation
would be drawn from the laws of England and Wales."
Sharia suffered from "widespread misunderstanding"
in Britain, Lord Phillips said.
"Part of the misconception about sharia
is the belief that sharia is only about mandating sanctions such as flogging,
stoning, the cutting off of hands or death for those fail to comply with the
law," he said.
"In some countries the courts interpret
sharia as calling for severe physical punishment. There can be no question
of such courts sitting in this country, or such sanctions being applied here."
The judge said Dr Williams had been misunderstood
when it was reported in February that he said British Muslims could be governed
by Sharia.
Lord Phillips said that the archbishop was
saying only that "it was possible for individuals voluntarily to conduct
their lives in accordance with Sharia principles without this being in conflict
with the rights guaranteed by our law".
There is already scope in English law for
some communities to use their own religious codes to resolve disputes. Orthodox
Jews can use the Beth Din rabbinical courts to decide on matters including
divorce.
However some critics say that women marrying
under sharia do not have the same rights as in English law, and could lead
to them being treated as second class citizens as far as divorce settlements,
custody of children and inheritance go.
Muslim and Christian politicians expressed
fears that at a time of heightened tensions, encouraging Muslims to live by
their own distinct rules could make it harder for different communities to
integrate.
Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry
Bar and a practising Muslim, said that allowing sharia in parts of the UK
would be divisive.
He said: "This would create a two-tier
society. It is highly retrograde. It will segregate and alienate the Muslim
community from the rest of British society.
"The majority of British Muslims want
to live only under British law and they would reject anything that means they
are treated differently.
"What Lord Phillips and the archbishop
are discussing is something that is completely outside their area of understanding."
Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley,
said Lord Phillips' suggestion was "totally unacceptable."
He said: "It is very unhelpful for community
cohesion. This is the sort of thing that builds up tensions in areas like
mine, in places like Bradford. Sharia law has got no place in any shape or
form in British law."
Andrew Selous, a Tory MP and chairman of the
all-party Christians in Parliament group, said calls like those made by Lord
Phillips and the archbishop were "worrying."
He said: "As far as people of all faiths
are concerned, it is important that we are all equal under one United Kingdom
law. It will lead to more community tensions rather than less."
Lord Ahmed, a Labour peer and practicing Muslim,
said there was a "big debate" among British Muslims about whether
and how Sharia should apply in the UK.
He said: "There is a risk that this would
make it harder for communities to integrate -- we all need to do more to integrate,
and mainstream society has to do more as well."
"We should have one law for everyone
in the UK, but there may be very rare occasions when exceptions have to be
made, like for marriage, divorce and food."
A Muslim lawyer said that raising the prospect
of allowing people to live under Sharia in Britain would "alarm"
people.
Mahmud Al Rashid, spokesman from the Association
of Muslim Lawyers, said: "There is massive misunderstanding about what
Sharia is. It is not a single law."
A spokesman for Dr Williams said: "We
welcome the speech given by the Lord Chief Justice as a positive and constructive
contribution to this important and ongoing debate."
Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, the Archbishop
of Westminster and leader of Britain's Catholics, said that people should
live under the laws of the UK.
His spokesman said: "As the Cardinal
has consistently said and indeed said earlier this year, was that Britons
should abide by and be subject to the law of the land."
Downing Street said the Government's position
on the issue of Sharia had been made clear at the time of the controversy
over the Archbishop's speech.
"We think that British law should be
based on British values and determined by the British Parliament," the
Prime Minister's spokesman said.
Baroness Warsi, the Conservative shadow minister
for community cohesion, backed the judge.
She said: "The Lord Chief Justice's speech
is a very clear and unifying speech for our communities in Britain.
"I specifically endorse the points made
by Lord Phillips that with equality of rights come responsibilities. It is
absolutely essential that everyone in this country is treated equally by the
law but it is important that everyone is equally subject to it, and that the
same laws apply equally to everyone."