In the wake of the Anglican Church's big dispute over homosexuality, Williams' moral authority looked further in jeopardy as prelates from overseas provinces of the Anglican Communion joined in the criticism with some calling for his resignation. According to FoxNews on Friday,
Weblogs and other sites have been overwhelmed by comments from the public, Anglicans and non-Anglicans, the vast majority being highly critical of Williams and his apparent appeasement of Islamism. The Prince of Wales, Britain’s foremost champion of good relations with Islam, has distanced himself from the Archbishop’s views. Privately, he is concerned that the speech is in danger of being taken out of context and distilled into scaremongering headlines.
Although the Queen is head of the Church, her spokeswoman declined to comment.
Alison Ruoff, a Synod member for London and a member of the Bishop of London’s diocesan council, said: “He has done the Anglican Communion and the Church of England no favours. He should go.”
Dr. Peter Akinola, the Primate of Nigeria, where Christians are regularly persecuted by Muslims, called the remarks “most disturbing and most unfortunate”.
Today, Williams is defending his right to broach the subject of Sharia law in England, but accepts now that his comments might have triggered misunderstanding and alarm."I must of course take responsibility for any unclarity" or "any misleading choice of words that has helped cause distress or misunderstanding," he told the General Synod, the Church of England's governing body.
But he added: "I believe quite strongly that it is not inappropriate for a pastor of the Church of England to discuss the perceived concerns of other religious communities and try to bring them into better public focus." [source]
The AFP story continues:"Much of the debate has been centred on the potential for division between ethnic communities in Britain, particularly the country's 1.6 million Muslims, at a time when the government is trying to promote a more cohesive society.
"Earlier, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's spokesman praised Williams as a man of "great integrity," adding that the British leader understood the archbishop's "difficulty."
"The prime minister believes the Archbishop of Canterbury is a man of great integrity and dedication to public and community service and he understands the difficulty he is facing at the moment," Brown's spokesman said."
Interestingly ("alarmingly?") FoxNews reported over the weekend that sharia courts are already operating in London. According to The Daily Mail (as cited by FoxNews), teen members of the Somali community in Woolwich were arrested on charges of stabbing another youth, but the victim’s family told police the case would be settled out of court and the suspects were released on bail. At the hearing, the assailants were ordered to pay the victim."All their uncles and their fathers were there," said Aydarus Yusuf, who helped set up the hearing. "So they all put something towards that and apologized for the wrongdoing."
In Leyton, another Islamic council also said it had been handling cases -- more than 7,000 divorces -- while sharia courts in the capital were said to have settled hundreds of disputes regarding money.
Wow, folks! Another "Dhimmi" with his head in the sand, thinking we can all hold hands and sing "Kum ba yah!" I fear this wave of Dhimmitude will catch on here in the U.S. soon. The Brits need another Winston Churchill!!Go here to see Father Jonathan Morris', of FoxNews, response. (Morris is the regular opinion journalist for the network on matters regarding religion.)
Submitted by kmaginn at Hummers & Cigarettes
Latest recipient of the Demented Priest Award
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