One of the basic tenets of true democracy is that the same applications regarding freedom of speech, freedom of religion, human rights, and matters of law will apply equally to every citizen. It is wrong to discriminate against people on the basis of their age, colour, religion or interest; perhaps with the proviso that such is applied unless it either offends against the greater beliefs and practises, or that, in the case of an individuals interests, it is not in the interests of the nation or a significant part of it. I think that this is right and proper, safeguarding (at least as it should) the rights of the majority, and basing those safeguards on a clear understanding of what the morally right responsibilities of every citizen are reckoned to be.
In this country we have upheld a system that is based on Judao-Christian laws and beliefs, and one factor in particular is that one legal system serves all, thereby ensuring, at least as far as possible, that in matters of law every citizen is equal.
Why then if this is supposed to be the case, are we legitimising the use of Sharia Law in the United Kingdom, a country that, despite the lack of spirituality amongst so many, is still nominally a Christian country. Is our law so badly flawed that we need a separate system for some of our citizens? If that is the case then should we not be doing all that's necessary to correct matters rather than introducing a parallel system, even if the decisions made under that system require the rubber-stamping of the existing law courts. Indeed, the term 'rubber-stamping' itself indicates that it is nothing more than a formality ---- something require to legitimise.
For those who wish to live under Sharia Law there are plenty of nations that they can turn to and live under. Of course, one of the problems of most if not all of those nations is that there is no sense of the equality that is enshrined in our own UK constitution. They are male dominated and favour males above females. In fact in many of them, women are regarded in many ways as being no more than a chattel, a belonging. Wives can be dispensed with simply by stating the fact three times, thereby ensuring that they know their place --- which is a long way below their male masters.
In the UK, some Muslim priests have warned against sharia having an official role in society because of the manner in which women are discriminated against by the fact that sharia accords unequal status between men and women, weighted in favour of men.
Dr Rowan Williams, the current Archbishop of Canterbury, suggested in a speech that he gave last February that a move towards the inclusion of sharia law was unavoidable. His appointment, in case you are wondering, makes him the official spokesman for the UK's tens of thousands of Christians who belong to the Church of England. Thankfully he is not, therefore, my spokesman!
Despite the assortment of flaws that seem to be in our own legal system, matters such as treating criminal perpetrators more as victims and vice versa, most of them arise not as a result of flawed laws but due to the application of the laws in conjunction with the prevailing political expedience. Hence we have seen this week, for example, that many instances of knife-crime violence have, in the past, been downgraded in order to manipulate the crime figures released to the general public. Overall this misapplication has resulted in too many people being handed a custodial sentence for less serious crimes --- things such as non-payment of council tax --- and yet given a community service order for crimes which deserve a custodial sentence.
Notwithstanding the flaws that exist, either those due to misapplication or those due to the particular law being overtly flawed, I believe that we have need for only one legal system in this country, for to bring in a parallel set of laws brings in with an imbalance in the equalities of the society in which we live. For example, under British law it is a crime to commit bigamy, whereas under Sharia law it is not.
If we are to truly live in a democracy then we must protest at different legal systems being put in place that disadvantage any of our citizens who might have a case tried by a secondary legal system. For this reason I protest most vehemently against the introduction of Sharia law into the UK, and urge all who believe in democratic freedom and true justice for all based on equality, to do the same.
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