Canterbury defends Sharia comments in General Synod address
Episcopal News Service, London. February 11, 2008 [021108-02]
Matthew Davies
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, has defended his recent public remarks regarding certain aspects of Islamic Sharia law being introduced into the British legal system, saying it is "not inappropriate for a pastor of the Church of England to discuss the perceived concerns of other religious communities and try to bring them into better public focus."
Williams' comments came during a February 11 presidential address at the opening of the Church of England's General Synod. He was greeted with extended, thunderous applause and a standing ovation as he entered Assembly Hall in Church House, Westminster, where the General Synod is meeting through February 14.
Williams' earlier comments about civil and religious law in England, which resulted in a strong reaction in the media and calls for his resignation, were made during a February 7 BBC Radio 4 World at One interview and as part of a lecture for the Temple Festival Series in London later the same day.
"Some of what has been heard is a very long way indeed from what was actually said," Williams said, referring to the ensuing media reports. However, he told Synod members that he accepted responsibility for any "misleading choice of words that has helped to cause distress or misunderstanding among the public at large and especially among my fellow Christians."
The Temple lecture, which was written as an opening contribution to a series on Islam and English Law mounted by the Temple Church and London University, "posed the question to the legal establishment of whether attempts to accommodate aspects of Islamic law would create an area where the law of the land doesn't run," Williams said. "This, I said, would certainly be the case if any practice under Islamic law had the effect of removing from any individual the rights they were entitled to enjoy as a citizen of the U.K.; and I concluded that nothing should be recognized which had that effect."
Williams questioned whether "certain additional choices could and should be made available under the law of the United Kingdom for resolving disputes and regulating transactions.
"It would be analogous to what is already possible in terms of the legal recognition of certain kinds of financial transactions under Islamic regulation (including special provision around mortgage arrangements). And it would create a helpful interaction between the courts and the practice of Muslim legal scholars in this country."
Lambeth Palace issued a clarification February 8 saying that the Archbishop "made no proposals for Sharia in either the lecture or the interview, and certainly did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law. Instead, in the interview, rather than proposing a parallel system of law, he observed that 'as a matter of fact certain provisions of Sharia are already recognized in our society and under our law.'"
When the notion was put to him that "the application of Sharia in certain circumstances if we want to achieve this cohesion and take seriously peoples' religion -- seems unavoidable," Williams indicated his assent, the Lambeth statement said.
In his presidential address, Williams said he has "no illusions" about the sufferings that Christian minorities face in Muslim-majority countries. "But I noted that many Muslim majority countries do distinguish clearly between the rights of citizens overall and the duties accepted by some citizens of obedience to Islamic law," he said. "It is this that encourages me to think that there may be ways of engaging with the world of Islamic law on something other than an all-or-nothing basis."
"Part of both the burden and the privilege of being the Church we are in the nation we're in is that we are often looked to for some coherent voice on behalf of all the faith communities living here," he added. "And that is a considerable privilege, and I hope we can use it well -- however clumsily it may have been deployed in this instance."
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, according to a spokesperson, said he understood "the difficulties" the archbishop was facing and paid tribute to his "dedication to public and community service."
Williams also spoke during his address about the July 16-August 3 Lambeth Conference and the complications of both church-related and political issues in Zimbabwe.
The twofold focus of the Lambeth Conference, Williams explained, "is equipping bishops for leadership and strengthening the identity and confidence of the communion. That's why there is less emphasis on subject-oriented large groups: the primary need will be to get to know each other sufficiently well to confront the divisive matters that are around, and so there will be a larger number of slightly smaller groups."
The official program for the Lambeth Conference was launched on January 21 at Lambeth Palace.
Williams said his "deepest hope and prayer" for Lambeth "is that it will be a decisively counter-cultural event. Whether or not we arrive at some unimaginable solution to both our theological and our structural challenges, I hope we shall at least have shown that it is possible to think and speak with one another in the presence of God."
He said there will be extended discussion of the Anglican covenant, which the Synod will be addressing on February 13. A second draft -- St. Andrew's draft -- was released on February 6.
Although the Lambeth Conference will include several plenary sessions, "we are planning fewer resolutions," Williams said.
Some Anglican primates and bishops have indicated their intentions to boycott the Conference, a decision Williams said he both respects and regrets. "I respect the consciences of those who have said they do not feel able to attend because there will be those present who have in their view acted against the disciplinary and doctrinal consensus of the communion," he said. "Needless to say, I regret such a decision, since I believe we should be seeking God's mind for the Communion in prayer and study together; but it simply reminds us that even the most 'successful' Lambeth Conference leaves us with work still to be done in rebuilding relationships.
Williams said the decision of some to be absent from Lambeth "not only shows the deep differences over theology and ethics that have so strained our connections; it also reflects, uncomfortably for us, some of the legacy of hurt that is felt by some of our provinces at what is experienced as patronizing or manipulative or insensitive actions and attitudes on the part of many of the churches of the 'West' or 'North' -- not only the Episcopal Church in the USA, but us as well. That's hard to hear, but we have to hear it and to offer apologies and seek for better understanding. Lambeth can't be the end of the story; and if at Lambeth we try to do proper justice to the idea of a Covenant, it must be in the light of that need for a more serious and profound mutuality between us all."
In his comments about Zimbabwe, Williams said "the legacy of bruised feelings and half-buried resentments...complicates our political, never mind our ecclesiastical, relationships with the post-colonial world. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Zimbabwe at the moment."
"A history scarred by exploitation and deep racial injustice can all too easily be used, as it has been there, to turn aside every criticism and even to refuse any proper help when a local regime has fallen victim to its own incompetence, corruption and self-delusion," he added. "It has been that much harder for many in this country to know how to respond to the needs of Zimbabwe for fear of simply reinforcing stereotypes of colonial patronage or misunderstanding. We have tried to take our cues from those on the ground locally who are seeking justice and change."
Williams expressed his outrage and concern in January following reports that church services in Harare had been disrupted by state officials saying he "condemns unequivocally the use of state machinery to intimidate opponents of the deposed bishop of Harare, Nolbert Kunonga."
Kunonga has been a supporter of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe who has been accused of allowing the country to slide into ruin during his 27-year rule. Although Kunonga was deposed last year, the former Harare bishop has reportedly resorted to forgery in an attempt to discredit and stop Sebastian Bakare becoming the diocese's interim bishop. To much applause, Williams welcomed Bakare as a guest of the General Synod.
On February 3, demonstrators blockaded the Anglican cathedral in Zimbabwe's capital to prevent the installation of Bakare as bishop of Harare to replace Kunonga. The ceremony later went ahead at a sports center.
"[O]ne of the most welcome developments of recent months has been that the Anglican Church has rallied very remarkably to repudiate the excesses of the former Bishop of Harare, and has installed a deeply respected and courageous elder statesman of the Zimbabwean Church, Bishop Sebastian Bakare, as chief pastor in Harare," Williams said in his February 11 address. "The Province's efforts to cleanse and renew the situation have been met by the expected levels of intimidatory behavior on the part of some of Bishop Kunonga's supporters, but the process of reconstruction has gone forward, with, happily, some support from the courts."
Further information about the Church of England's General Synod is available here.