On the widespread misunderstanding of “sharia”. Williams attempted to discuss this.

Among the manifold anxieties that haunt the discussion of the place of Muslims in British society, one of the strongest, reinforced from time to time by the sensational reporting of opinion polls, is that Muslim communities in this country seek the freedom to live under sharia law. And what most people think they know of sharia is that it is repressive towards women and wedded to archaic and brutal physical punishments

He tried to explain a little about the reality but the media weren’t really interested in reporting that. It’s not something to get the juices flowing and, worse than that, it highlights the fact that their own activities are part of the problem.

Instead, some of the coverage has been disgraceful. The Sun headline (alongside a photo of the bus from the London attacks) was a case in point. The headline is sort of right but not for the reason they’re trying to suggest.

I’m guessing Williams was expecting some “sensational reporting” of his remarks and some adverse responses but not this extraordinary outrage. There are calls for his resignation which are descending into witch hunt territory.

There seem to be more ironies here than you can shake a stick at.

I reckon the word “sharia” is misused / misunderstood by non-muslims, as is the word “fatwa”. Hence the knee-jerk reaction.

Just looked up that Andrew Brown piece and it’s certainly a lot more sensible than most of what’s been written. Thanks for pointing it out.

“The archbishop should be standing up for our Judeo-Christian principles that underpin British criminal law that have been hard fought for.
“He should be concentrating on winning souls into the Church of England rather than getting involved in politics.”

I thought Andrew Brown at Comment is free had a sensible response to Willams views.