Did ++Rowan call for Sharia law?
Feb. 8th, 2008 03:38 pmWell there's a lot of kerfuffle about Archbishop Rowan's lecture on Civil and Religious Law in England: a religious perspective. Most of it seems to be from people reacting to the media coverage rather than what ++Rowan actually says, and as ever the media coverage doesn't get to grips with ++Rowan's deep thoughts.
People appear to be reacting to their associations for the word Shar'ia which is that it's a repressive, patriarchial law code which calls for barbaric punishments and oppresses women. Given ++Rowan's positions on these subjects (I'm guessing he's anti-death penalty and I know he's pro-equality for women), it is ridiculous to think that that is what he is calling for!
( My take on the lecture )
He concludes:
The irony is that in the `debate' that has followed people have stuck with the crude oppositions and mythologies and have not engaged with the substance of the lecture at all!
People appear to be reacting to their associations for the word Shar'ia which is that it's a repressive, patriarchial law code which calls for barbaric punishments and oppresses women. Given ++Rowan's positions on these subjects (I'm guessing he's anti-death penalty and I know he's pro-equality for women), it is ridiculous to think that that is what he is calling for!
( My take on the lecture )
He concludes:
In conclusion, it seems that if we are to think intelligently about the relations between Islam and British law, we need a fair amount of 'deconstruction' of crude oppositions and mythologies, whether of the nature of sharia or the nature of the Enlightenment.
The irony is that in the `debate' that has followed people have stuck with the crude oppositions and mythologies and have not engaged with the substance of the lecture at all!