When in Rome, do as you like - Or International Sharia law debate
Just as it looked like emotions and gut feelings might be simmering downwards, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, has decided that the embers of the debate needed some stoking and opened his ill-advised mouth. The mind boggles as to the motives of his, for want of a better word, outburst, but to me this is at least career suicide, if not bloody idiocy. Being on the verge of a move from atheism to Buddhism, I think I am particularly respectful of other people's faiths, beliefs and idealisms, but as understanding of others' and their beliefs that I want to be, I still cannot see any sense in the views expressed by the clergyman, or his timing, for that matter.
I don't believe that I am at all xenophobic, racist or anything else as narrow minded, for that matter, but let us take a moment to respect the wisdom of the simple phrase, the law of the land. I do not reference this as any kind of individual slogan, rather a show of respect for the sanctity of the differences in humanity, individuals and countries' ways of living. In this country, we have been shown advertisements, or public service announcements, telling us that when we travel abroad, we should respect and understand the laws of the country that we travel to, or face the penalties that they deem appropriate. We are also reminded that there is only so much that our embassy staff can do for us, should we fall foul of foreign law. Am I right about this?
Yet we are now proposing the accommodation of the ways of foreign nationals into our own legal system, to make it easier for people of different beliefs and ways of living. I am trying very hard not to rant about this and would like to point out that it isn't the proposals themselves that I am venting my spleen at, but the thinking behind them. Don't get me wrong, the very notion of the proposed changes makes me furious, but only because it is so unbelievably one sided, unfair and generally insulting to British nationals, regardless of race or ethnic origin. Let's briefly look at the flipside again. What would happen if you broke any law in say, the UAE? Is anybody there proposing to allow various aspect of Western life into their legal system? Not really, eh?
At a time when there is undoubted ill feeling and tension between cultures in this country, the learned clergy decide to make a statement like this. I can only hope that the church, of which I am no real fan, has the common sense to require the resignation of this buffoon and attempts to tidy up in the aftermath. It is a relief to see that various organisations, of all persuasions, have publicly distanced themselves from the comments, or actually voiced their disagreement. Words like those can only set back the efforts made to promote acceptance and tolerance of different beliefs and ways of life, who really needs them?
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