The archbishop and sharia law

The big news in the UK today, splashed across the front pages of the morning rags, is yesterday’s observation by the leader of the Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, who said that it "seems inevitable" that elements of Sharia Muslim law would be incorporated into British legislation.

Almost instantly the comments have been greeted with shock and condemnation from nearly every corner of British society. Christian groups, secular groups, the head of the equality watchdog, several high-profile Muslims and MPs from all parties have all strongly condemned the statement. A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said this morning, “sharia law cannot be used as a justification for committing breaches of English law, nor should the principles of sharia law be included in a civil court for resolving contractual disputes.”

The essential question is whether Muslims living in Britain should have a different set of laws that apply to them that are in accordance with Sharia law. The issue is especially pertinent in divorce proceedings, which under Sharia law are extremely strict and not very favorable to women.

Canterbury

I ended up going to Canterbury this weekend, as it was the easiest out of the three options. Stonehenge was too complicated to get to without a car, and the train station at Stratford-Upon-Avon is closed from November to May. It was interesting, if not totally thrilling.

The main reason to go is to see the Cathedral, which is the head of the Anglican Church (as well as the worldwide Angligan union, which includes Episcopalians in the US). It's a gigantic cathedral, sort of the St. Peters of Anglicanism. But everywhere there were these priests dressed in these creepy black robes and capes. I was a bit unnerved by them.

The big attraction of the church is the candle that burns at the spot where Thomas Beckett was murdered, right in the church. I read Beckett in high school but don't remember much about it.
Other than the cathedral there's not much in the town, save for a lot of chain stores and pubs. I went with this girl Lori who I met at Richard's party last weekend. She's also American, moved here just about a year ago from New York. She's from outside Boston, so we're also both from New England. We went to this hysterical reenactment of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales with talking manequins. We both agreed it reminded us of the witch museum in Salem, which is unrivaled in its hysterical campiness.