Removing the State from Dr Rowan Williams
THE TELEGRAPH: The Archbishop of Canterbury said something stupid. What is to be done about it? There is now a fusillade of demands for his resignation rather as if he were a Chancellor of the Exchequer whose fatally bad judgment had undermined the economy.

In almost any other country in the world, this would seem bizarre but here, the parallel is apt.

The head of the Church of England is a political figure. Founded as a conscious bulwark against the Roman outfit to which the nation's enemies owed allegiance, the Anglican Church must play out its uncomfortable, anomalous role.



Dr Rowan Williams's latest pronouncements are, in a sense (or should I say, "in a very real sense"?) a peculiarly frank expression of the messy overlap between matters of state and of faith that is its remit. And, as so often happens with well-intentioned attempts at appeasement and compromise with the unacceptable, Dr Williams's intervention has made it clear how untenable all this now is.

The archbishop has discredited not just himself, and the über-tolerant multicultural lobby that he sought to support, but the position of the established Church. Removing the state from Dr Rowan Williams >>> By Janet Daley

THE TELEGRAPH:
Another Reason for Dr Williams to Resign

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Gordon Brown Praises Archbishop’s “Great Integrity”
BBC: Gordon Brown has praised the Archbishop of Canterbury's "great integrity" after criticism of his remarks on Sharia law.

The prime minister's spokesman said Dr Rowan Williams had clarified his comments that implied adopting aspects of Sharia in the UK was "unavoidable".

But Dr Williams faces pressure from some Church of England traditionalists who want him to apologise.

The archbishop is expected to address clergy on the subject at the general synod later.

The prime minister's spokesman said Mr Brown understood "the difficulties" the archbishop was facing and paid tribute to Dr Williams's "dedication to public and community service".

Earlier the Times reported that Mr Brown had telephoned the archbishop and encouraged him to clarify his remarks where he felt they may have been misinterpreted. Mr Brown's spokesman … >>>

IN FULL:
Dr Rowan Williams’ BBC Interview

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Red Will Be for Danger Not for Love in Saudi Arabia This Valentine’s Day
A 'love arrangement' for Saudi Arabia from Florabunda
BBC: Religious police in Saudi Arabia are banning the sale of Valentine's Day gifts including red roses, a local newspaper has reported.

The Saudi Gazette quoted shop workers as saying that officials had warned them to remove all red items including flowers and wrapping paper.

Black market prices for roses were already rising, the paper said.
Saudi authorities consider Valentine's Day, along with a host of other annual celebrations, as un-Islamic.

In addition to the prohibition on celebrating non-Islamic festivals, the authorities consider Valentine's Day as encouraging relations between men and women outside wedlock - punishable by law in the conservative kingdom. Saudis clamp down on valentines >>>

NINEMSN:
Red roses banned in Saudi Arabia

Just in case there are some damsels in distress over in Saudi because they shall not be receiving red roses, might I suggest clicking on the following link at my website Florabunda.com, where I feel sure we shall be able to help out in your quest for red roses: Love bouquets for Saudi Arabia

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Rowan Williams Has Shown Us One Thing – Why Multiculturalism Must Be Abandoned
The Archbishop has unwittingly pointed us towards a vision of a better Britain

THE INDEPENDENT: For five days now, the Archbishop of Canterbury has been chorusing: how do you solve a problem like Sharia? Ever since he suggested it is "unavoidable" – and desirable – for Britain to have Islamic courts ruling on Muslim family affairs, bashing the bishop has become a national sport. But this row shouldn't be just about the pitiful contortions of the head of a dying Church. Rowan Williams has shown us why the doctrine of multiculturalism needs to abandoned.

If you really believe that Britain is comprised of a smorgasbord of "cultures" that need to be preserved, promoted and respected as an end in itself, then this proposal is perfectly logical. Different cultures should have different courts, and rules, and schools.

We don't need to speculate about what these British sharia courts would look like. They already exist in some mosques across Britain, as voluntary enterprises. Last month, a plain, unsensationalist documentary called Divorce: Sharia Style looked at the judgements they hand down.

If a man wants a divorce, he simply has to say to his wife, "I divorce you" three times over three months. The wife has no right of appeal, and no right to ask for a reason. If a woman wants a divorce, by contrast, she has to humbly ask her husband. If he refuses, she must turn to a sharia court, and convince three Mullahs that her husband has behaved "unreasonably" – according to the rules laid out in a pre-modern text that recommends domestic violence if your wife gets uppity. Irum Shazad, a 26-year-old British woman … >>> By Johann Hari

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Synod Turns on Rowan Williams in Sharia Row
THE TELEGRAPH: The Archbishop of Canterbury is bracing himself for an angry confrontation with senior Church members as he refuses to apologise over the sharia law row.

Dr Rowan Williams has faced fresh calls for his resignation and claims from within the Anglican Church that confidence in him had "plummeted".

He will use his presidential address at the start of the General Synod, the Church of England's parliament, to attempt to head off pressure for an emergency debate on his competence.



A number of Synod members have urged the beleaguered Archbishop to quit, and are likely to try to force the issue on to the agenda during a debate on the four-day Synod's business.

A spokesman said Dr Williams, who will speak immediately before the debate, had no intention of resigning.

Friends said he would not back down or seek sympathy by portraying himself as a martyr. They added he was more likely to use his first public comments on the furore to defuse the tension with attempted humour… >>> By Jonathan Ptere, Religion Correspondent

THE TELEGRAPH:
Are We Promoting Harmony or Muslim Ghettos? By Lord Carey

THE TELEGRAPH:
Removing the state from Dr Rowan Williams By Janet Daley

THE TELEGRAPH:
Your View: Is Sharia Law in Britain “Unavoidable”?

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Rights Watchdog Sounds Alarm over Dutch Islamophobia
DAILY TIMES:

* Reports Muslims being ‘disproportionately targeted’ by security policies

* ‘Jew’ being used as an insult

STRASBOURG: Islamophobia is gaining ground in the Netherlands, with Muslim minorities facing rising violence and discrimination, a pan-European anti-racism commission said in a report released on Tuesday.



The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) found Islamophobia in the country to have “increased dramatically” since 2000, reporting that Muslims were “disproportionately targeted” by security policies and were facing racist violence and discrimination.



The ECRI studies and makes recommendations on the problems of racism and intolerance in the 47 states of the Council of Europe.



Tensions have been fuelled by national and international events, such as 9/11 attacks in the United States and the murder of outspoken columnist and filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a radical Muslim in 2004, the report said.



“The tone of Dutch political and public debate around integration and other issues relevant to ethnic minorities has experienced a dramatic deterioration,” it said, warning of a “worrying polarisation between majority and minority communities”.



It found that the country’s Muslims – a community of one million people, or six percent of the population – had faced “stereotyping, stigmatising, outright racist political discourse and biased media portrayal”. The Moroccan and Turkish communities were especially hard hit… >>>

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Is Austria to Be the Venue for the Next Showdown?
SONS OF APES AND PIGS: One of our very informed correspondent in Austria, the representative of the Austrian Association of Academics-Vienna chapter at the Counterjihad Conference in Brussels, sent me what appears to be a prelude to very alarming developments that would set the stage for an open challenge to Austrians and Austrian authorities from Muslims.

What we see happening, is what all people aware of the subversive and insidious nature of Islam knew will happen since years ago. A confrontation with Islam is inevitable. Unless all the Chamberlains of the Western governments see the obvious, that the situation is reaching the point of no return in every Western country, and act urgently by probing the evil teaching of that “holy” book that will put the world on fire with unimaginable consequences. I urge all Western populations to show their resolve in fighting for their freedom and survival by all means. Forgetting about their political affiliations and support the politicians that are exposing the only “religion” that thrived on spreading death and desolation wherever it existed. This is the priority without which, all your other priorities and aspirations will not see the day. Islam is like the brake pedal, you have to step on it, to stop and control the car. … >>> By Elisabeth of Austria

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

A Defender of the Faith Needs Better Judgment
THE TELEGRAPH: Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has many fine qualities: he is unquestionably sincere, well-meaning, and intelligent. He has manifested an admirable commitment to upholding spiritual values. But his position as leader of the Church of England requires him to have another virtue: that of judgment. And unfortunately, the events of last week have shown a surprising and regrettable lapse of judgment.

He must have known what he was getting into when he entered the minefield of whether Muslim communities should be able to regulate themselves by sharia law. He has insisted that he did not mean to imply that they should be allowed to have a parallel legal system, existing alongside the law of the land. But the fact is that what he did say was so obscure, imprecise and difficult to follow that it could easily be interpreted as endorsing precisely the position from which he has now gone to such pains to distance himself.

A BBC radio studio is not a seminar room, and a lecture in public is not the same as a symposium with academic colleagues. Public debate inevitably operates in bolder, clearer, less sophisticated colours than the nuances of High Table conversation - a reality which the Archbishop may not like, but has to live with for as long as he is head of the Anglican Communion. The media coverage which reported him - wrongly, he insists - as advocating the granting of legal legitimacy to sharia courts was wholly understandable, for his words appeared to support that view. The blame for the resulting uproar must ultimately rest with Rowan Williams himself. Had he spoken in a less ambiguous style, his musings on how "to tease out some of the broader issues around the rights of religious groups within a secular state" would in all probability have been ignored.

They were not, however, ignored. And the fact remains that the Archbishop has got into a pickle from which he has yet to extricate himself. His language was not only unclear: his thinking was uncharacteristically muddled. His suggestion that the British state should recognise different kinds of justice, including sharia, because that would enable people with different religious convictions to feel "loyal" to British society, is preposterous: it is a recipe, not for the social cohesion and unity which he says he craves, but for separatism and conflict. Far from overcoming cultural conflict, its primary effect would be to enforce division by emphasising it. In his effort to find an accommodation with other religions, in particular Islam… >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Lebanese Diva Opens Syrian Hearts

Fairuz, in her heyday, sings Zaali Tawwal
BBC: Every day the sun rises over Syria you hear one voice across the country - Fairuz, the legendary Lebanese singer and greatest living Arab diva.

If you are driving, or in a taxi, public transport, in your office or a nearby cafe, Fairuz accompanies the start of your day. She is the morning breath for Syrians.

After more than two decades of absence from the Damascus stage, Fairuz has been back at the Syrian Opera House marking the start of a year of festivities celebrating the city as Capital of Arab Culture for 2008. On the opening night… >>> By Lina Sinjab

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Sharia Row Persists for Williams
Photo of ‘Williams the Bard’ courtesy of The Times
BBC: The Archbishop of Canterbury is facing criticism from fellow Anglicans over his comments on Islamic Sharia law.

He has provoked condemnation from the Anglican Archbishop in Latin America, who said confidence in Dr Rowan Williams's leadership had plummeted.

Dr Williams's predecessor Lord Carey has also weighed into the row saying the acceptance of some Muslim laws would be "disastrous" for Britain.

Supporters of Dr Williams say reaction to his comments has been "hysterical". Dr Williams sparked a major row… >>>

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Islam: The Religion of Envy
It is heartening to hear that Jack Wheeler, one of the architects of the Reagan Doctrine, agrees with one of my basic conclusions in my book, ‘The Dawning of a New Dark Age’, namely that ENVY is at the root of much of our problems with Islam.


Hat tip Luc Van Braekel of Brussels Journal for this.

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

A Question of Honour: 17,000 Victims a Year in UK Alone
THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Ministers are stepping up the fight against so-called 'honour' crime and forced marriages. Detectives say official statistics are 'merely the tip of the iceberg' of this phenomenon. Brian Brady investigates

Up to 17,000 women in Britain are being subjected to "honour" related violence, including murder, every year, according to police chiefs.

And official figures on forced marriages are the tip of the iceberg, says the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).

It warns that the number of girls falling victim to forced marriages, kidnappings, sexual assaults, beatings and even murder by relatives intent on upholding the "honour" of their family is up to 35 times higher than official figures suggest.

The crisis, with children as young as 11 having been sent abroad to be married, has prompted the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to call on British consular staff in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan to take more action to identify and help British citizens believed to be the victims of forced marriages in recent years.

The Home Office is drawing up an action plan to tackle honour-based violence which "aims to improve the response of police and other agencies" and "ensure that victims are encouraged to come forward with the knowledge that they will receive the help and support they need". And a Civil Protection Bill coming into effect later this year will give courts greater guidance on dealing with forced marriages. A question of honour: Police say 17,000 women are victims every year >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Williams Is Just Wrong
SUNDAY EXPRESS: I’M starting to worry about the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Dr Rowan Williams is, by all accounts, a clever and well-meaning man but his call for the adoption of sharia law in Britain would suggest that his common sense has gone the same way as his razor and deserted him for good.

What’s really frightening is not just that the Archbishop thinks sharia law is “unavoidable” but that he believes it to be “very desirable”. Er, which bits exactly? The right of husbands to beat their wives? The amputations of criminals? 
The stoning to death of women who commit adultery? Thanks, but no thanks. 



Dr Williams says that the UK has to “face up to the fact” that some of its citizens do not relate to the British legal system and suggests that adopting parts of Islamic sharia law – such as those ruling divorce or financial matters – would help maintain social cohesion. 



Wrong, wrong and wrong again, Archbishop. 



Social cohesion is about everyone sharing the same values and respect for the law. You can’t have two separate legal systems, based on entirely separate principles, running side by side, giving one religious group different treatment from every other. That isn’t the rule of law but the end of the rule of law. Williams Is Just Wrong >>> By Julia Hartley-Brewer

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY:
Bishop of Rochester: Islam needs to change its outlook to reflect the modern world By Michael Nazir-Ali

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY:
A brutal beating and justice meted out in a humble back street cafe: how sharia law already operates in Britain By Fiona Barton and Alex McBride

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

In Israel, Ehud Olmert Is Likened to Chamberlain
YNET NEWS: Just like Britain’s Chamberlain, Prime Minister Olmert must quit over disastrous policies

On May 10, 1940 Neville Chamberlain finally resigned his office as British prime minister due to the disastrous direction his policies had taken the country. Despite the fact that his policy of appeasement of the previous four years had been so totally discredited by the German invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, Chamberlain remained in office for another seven months. During this time he presided over the fall of Norway and Denmark to Germany and the invasion of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg on the day of his resignation.

It seems odd that it took so long for a leader, who had advocated and pursued policies so inimical to his country’s security, to finally step down from the position he was so clearly unsuited for. In the name of God, go >>> By Jeremy Sharon

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Israel Moves to Allow Same-Sex Couples to Adopt
YNET NEWS: Top legal official rules 'partner' referred to in adoptions laws also applies to members of same sex unions; bottom line: Gays and lesbians may adopt their partner's child

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz ruled on Sunday that Israeli law grants members of same sex unions the right to adopt their partner's children and thus be considered the legal guardians of their joint children vis-à-vis official State institutions.

Discussion on the matter was spurred by the Ministry of Social Affairs in order to discern the official State position in wake of recent legal rulings on the matter.

The discussion included officials from Child Services, members of the Attorney General's Office, officials from the Ministries of Social Affairs and Justice as well as from the State Prosecutor's office.

At the end of the exchange, it was decided that the term "partner" in Israeli adoption laws does include partners in a same sex union. At the end of the discussion, the attorney general ruled that members of same sex couples may adopt their partner's biological or adopted children. Attorney General rules same sex couples eligible to adopt >>> By Aviram Zino

YNET NEWS:
Haredi homosexuals seek acceptance: After establishing first website, ultra-Orthodox gays appeal in letter written to religious leadership, ‘Accept us as a living, viable part of ultra-Orthodox society’ By Kobi Nahshoni

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Archbishop, Rowan Williams, Calls for the Incorporation of Some Shariah law in Britain

THE SUNDAY MIRROR:
If you live in Britain you must live by British laws, says Saira Khan

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

The Archbishop of Canterbury Has No Intention of Resigning
JERUSALEM POST: The archbishop of Canterbury has no intention of resigning over his suggestion that Britain's legal system should accommodate aspects of traditional Islamic law, a Church of England official said Sunday. The Archbishop of Canterbury has no intention of resigning >>>

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Erdogan warnt Deutschtürken vor Assimilation
Erdogan hat es nun gesagt, klar und deutlich und auf arrogante Art und Weise: Türken in Deutschland sich nicht assimilieren lassen sollten. Diese Meinung ist typisch für Muslime. Fast kein enziger will sich assimilieren lassen, wo immer er im Dar ul Harb lebt!

Wir sind schon gewarnt worden!

Wir werden blödsinnig und dumm sein, die Türkei in die EU hereinzubringen. Die Türkei ist einer ganz anderen Kultur, die gar keinen Platz in Europa finden sollte. Sonst wird in kürzester Zeit Europa islamisiert.

Wir Europäer sollten zu unseren Politikern laut und klar sagen, ‘NEIN’ zu der Erweiterung Europas südostwerts! - ©Mark

WELT ONLINE: Der türkische Regierungschef wurde von 20.000 Landsleuten in Köln wie ein Popstar empfangen. In seiner Rede forderte er, die Türken, die in Deutschland leben, sollten sich nicht assimilieren müssen. Aber Erdogan schlug auch versöhnliche Töne an.

Der türkische Regierungschef Recep Tayyip Erdogan hat die in Deutschland lebenden Türken in einer Rede in der Kölnarena vor einer zu starken Anpassung gewarnt. „Assimilierung ist ein Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit“, sagte er vor etwa 16.000 meist türkischen Zuhörern, die aus ganz Deutschland, aber auch aus Frankreich, Belgien und den Niederlanden angereist waren. „Ich verstehe sehr gut, dass ihr gegen die Assimilierung seid. Man kann von euch nicht erwarten, euch zu assimilieren.“

Es sei zwar wichtig, Deutsch zu lernen, aber die türkische Sprache dürfe darüber nicht vernachlässigt werden. Die Türken stünden in Europa vor der Herausforderung, ihre Identität und ihre Kultur zu bewahren. Im Übrigen betonte er die Friedfertigkeit aller im Ausland lebenden Türken: „Wir haben mit Hass überhaupt nichts zu tun, wir haben mit Feindschaft, mit Streit und Gewalt überhaupt nichts zu tun.“ Der Brand in Ludwigshafen >>>

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Tollé! Le chef de l'Eglise anglicane défend la charia
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE: Une pluie de critiques s'est abattue sur l'archevêque de Canterbury qui prône l'application partielle de la loi islamique au Royaume-Uni.

Le Royaume-Uni ne s'est jamais vraiment remisdes attentats sanglants du 7 juillet 2005, perpétrés contre
les transports en commun deLondres par quatre jeunes kamikazes britanniques musulmans. La vive controverse provoquée par les propos tenus jeudi sur la BBC par l'archevêque de Canterbury, Rowan Williams, comme quoi la charia devrait être appliquée en certaines circonstances dans le pays, a une nouvelle fois mis en exergue les failles du communautarisme à la britannique.

«Il est possible de trouver ce qui serait un arrangement constructif avec certains aspects de la loi islamique, comme nous le faisons déjà avec des aspects d'autres lois religieuses.» Le chef de file des vingt à trente millions de fidèles anglicans au Royaume-Uni ne préconise pas les formes les plus extrêmes de la loi coranique, comme l'instauration de châtiments corporels ou les discriminations envers les femmes.

A écouter ce partisan du dialogue interreligieux, les affaires familiales divorce, garde des enfants, héritage, etc. pourraient être confiées, sous certaines conditions, à des tribunaux musulmans. Il existe déjà plusieurs conseils de la charia outre-Manche pour les questions de divorce ou l'approbation de produits financiers. Mais à l'instar des cours d'arbitrage créées par les juifs orthodoxes, ces tribunaux n'ont toutefois aucun statut légal.

Le premier ministre, Gordon Brown, a immédiatement pris ses distances avec la sortie de l'archevêque: «La loi britannique doit s'appliquer dans ce pays, basée sur les valeurs britanniques.»

Ce refus a fait l'unanimité du monde politique de Westminster, pour qui ce n'est pas tant l'idée qui compte que la façon dont elle sera interprétée. Aux yeux de ses détracteurs, dans cette proposition du chef de l'Eglise d'Angleterre, religion d'Etat dont le gouverneur suprême est la reine Elizabeth II, les extrémistes musulmans verront l'expression d'un fléchis-sement de l'establishment britannique face aux pressions des fondamentalistes. «Il n'est pas question d'ériger un système légal parallèle. Cette déclaration est un facteur de division plutôt que d'encouragement au multiculturalisme moderne», estime Trevor Phillips, responsable de la commission pour l'égalité et les droits de l'homme. A l'écouter, le Dr Williams aurait mieux fait de se taire sur l'un des sujets les plus explosifs de notre temps. Persona non grata >>>

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)

Telegraph TV: Sharia Row

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Mark Alexander (Hardback)