THE Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, has emphatically ruled out the possibility of Sharia courts sitting in this country or deciding penalties.
But in a speech at the East London Muslim Centre in Whitechapel, he said there was no reason why Sharia principals could not be used in, "mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolutions". (July 4, The Independent, page 2, 'Sharia Law Comi
ng to Britain').
However, he made it clear that those who live in this country are governed by English and Welsh law and subject to the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh courts and the English law, which is based on the equality and respect for the rule of law.
It is gratifying to know the Lord Chief Justice Phillips has supported the views of Dr Rowan Williams the Archbishop of Canterbury about the role of Sharia law in the UK.
His remarks provoked uproar when he advanced an argument that adoption of some aspects of Sharia law in Britain seemed unavoidable.
Dr Williams had been misunderstood. It is pleasing to know that British intellectuals and law defenders are advocating the importance of Sharia law at least in mediation, marital law, regulation of financial transactions and conflict resolutions.
DR KH KhamasFormer president of Dewsbury, Batley, heckmondwike and Savile Town Muslim Association
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