Williams expected to clarify Sharia comments

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, is expected to clarify comments he made on sharia law when he gives the annual presidential address during this week's Church of England General Synod.

Some members of the Church of England, politicians and secular groups distanced themselves from comments Dr Williams made in a BBC interview and Temple lecture last week in which he claimed that the incorporation of some aspects of the Muslim legal system of Sharia into British law was "unavoidable".

According to The Guardian, Lambeth Palace officials indicated that the Archbishop of Canterbury would attempt to clarify his remarks on Sharia during his 30-minute address before Synod members in London on Monday.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord George Carey, added to the chorus of criticism over the weekend, writing in the News of the World newspaper that Dr Williams had over "overstated the case for accommodating Islamic legal codes".

"His conclusion that Britain will eventually have to concede some place in law for aspects of sharia is a view I cannot share," he wrote.

Lord Carey added, however, that he was praying for Dr Williams amid the row and defended the Archbishop against calls for his resignation.

"This is not a matter upon which Dr Williams should resign. He is a great leader in the Anglican tradition and he has a very important role to play in the Church," he wrote.

"He has my full support. I telephoned him to say this to him and to tell him he is in my prayers. I understand he is horrified by what has happened."

The Christian Muslim Forum said, meanwhile, that the Archbishop of Canterbury had opened an important debate on the broader issues of how to accommodate the rights of religious groups within a secular debate.

It added, however, that it was a "complex and emotive debate" and one in which it was "easy for misunderstanding and stereotyping to occur, especially in relation to shari'ah law".

The presidents of the Christian Muslim Forum said they would undertake a "considered discussion" on the Archbishop's comments in the coming months.