Over across the pond, the Brits are having a spirited discussion about Islamic law following a statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, that sharia is inevitable within the UK. This has pleased some of the more extremely politically correct people who are calling for the creation of a dual-tier legal system which would enforce the medieval dictates of Islamic sharia law.
While he may not be quite that foolish, it seems British journalist Martin Fletcher (h/t LGF) does appear to be more of the useful idiot, at least judging from an op-ed he published which praises his "brush with Islamic justice:"
As one who has been hauled in front of a Sharia court I would like to risk having my hand — or head — chopped off a second time by suggesting that the Archbishop of Canterbury just might have a point.
Story Continues Below Ad ↓My brush with Islamic justice occurred in December 2006 in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. A popular movement called the Islamic Courts Council (ICC) had recently seized control of the country, expelling feuding warlords who had made it a byword for terror over the previous 15 years.
One afternoon Richard Mills, The Times photographer, and I were driving away from the infamous Bakara arms market. In a narrow, rutted sidestreet our way was blocked by an approaching vehicle. Neither driver would give way.
A furious argument flared up, and our bodyguards drew their guns. Happily, ICC policemen arrived in the nick of time and escorted us all to the nearest Sharia court.
We waited in the yard of an old police station. An alleged drug dealer lay on the ground on his stomach, his hands and legs bound together behind his back. [...]
Finally the drivers, still arguing furiously, were each told to make their case to a couple of religious elders. They had barely begun before the court adjourned to a nearby carpet for sunset prayers.
When it resumed, and both drivers had had their say, the court pronounced. The two men were ordered to apologise to each other and we were all dismissed.
The court performed its duty with admirable dispatch and minimal fuss and everyone went away happy. It was quicker, cheaper and just as effective as a British magistrates’ court.
—Matthew Sheffield is the creator of NewsBusters and its Executive Editor.
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Drug dealers laying baking in the hot sun
February 10, 2008 - 14:04 ET by Lame CherryIsn't this called torture by liberals in binding and baking people?
Maybe that is the problem in George Bush has been doing the wrong kind of torture...........America must torture according Shira rules then it will be fine with liberals.
Wow who knew it would be that simple.
*HIC IACET ARTORIVS REX QVONDAM REXQVE FVTVRVS
You can count on Martin Fletcher...
February 10, 2008 - 14:07 ET by d1carterWhat works in Somalia needs to stay in Somalia, including Martin.
d1... I couldn't agree
February 10, 2008 - 14:12 ET by bigtimerd1...
I couldn't agree more.
Absolutely!
February 10, 2008 - 15:53 ET by ThalpyAbsolutely! So what do the experiences of Martin Fletcher in Mogadishu have to do with anything in England? Where in the world do these news agencies find these people? We have a working system; it isn't perfect, but it has provisions within it to bring about change. It is the rule of law, more or less. Again, in the United States you may come here, assimilate and stay. If you come here and don't assimilate, you are a guest. You stay for a time, and go back to your home. You might get to change the law there, if they let you. Obviously, our system isn't working according to plan just now, but it could again if those whom we elect do our bidding. If not, we must throw them out.
Western male guilt
February 10, 2008 - 14:24 ET by acumenHow did I know this story was NOT written by a woman or a homosexual by only reading the headline -- British Journalist Praises Sharia Law?
"As one who has been hauled in front of a Sharia court I would like to risk having my hand — or head — chopped off a second time..."
Is the writer seriously suggesting one could have their hand/head chopped off under Sharia law for riding in a car where the driver is fueding with another driver. Sounds peachy...
I feel warm and fuzzy all over
February 10, 2008 - 14:40 ET by kgI feel warm and fuzzy all over after reading that one.
Don't knock it guys...this
February 10, 2008 - 15:40 ET by motherbeltDon't knock it guys...this could be coming to a country near you.....
At MSP airport, Muslim taxi drivers won't take service dogs, won't take passengers carrying duty-free liquor. MSP is installing footbaths in restrooms for them. In a Chicago or Detroit suburb (I want to say Dearborn, but I 'm not sure) the call to prayer is broadcast over loudspeakers through the town five times a day.
Muslims in other places are demanding (and getting, I might add) prayer rooms in public schools, to have students excused from exam times etc. if it runs into prayer times...special accomodation during Ramadan....
(Can you imagine if Catholics demanded a room to say the Stations of the Cross during Lent?)
I'm going to say it again. In our multi-culti, PC country.....Sharia law...not by conquest, but by capitulation.
Sharia Law
February 10, 2008 - 15:16 ET by Emma GrumpA dual-tier justice system? Sure - that'll work - for a while, then once it gets a foothold, the local mullahs decide ALL British law should be Sharia, and I'm sure the good Archbishop will do all he can to see this through to reality. I would like to think the Brits have guts enough to "man-up" and vigorously oppose even the thought of this looney idea , but I see no indication that the citizenry still possesses the fighting spirit that awed the world when Winston Churchill rallied them to victory over six decades ago. I sincerely hope I am wrong but if I'm not, God Save the Queen.
I would like to think the
February 10, 2008 - 15:22 ET by motherbeltI would like to think the Brits have guts enough to "man-up"
Don't bet on it...they've all "gone wobbly" and Maggie Thatcher ain't coming back.
Extremely Disturbing
February 10, 2008 - 15:33 ET by stratman"... statement by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, that sharia is inevitable within the UK."
The bit about some dumbass reporter is fairly inconsequential to the meat of the matter. What is chilling is the acquiescnce of the Archbishop to the purported inevitability of Sharia law in the UK!
What sort of appeasement mentality has poisoned the Church of England such that the Archbishop appears ready to bow to Islam's medieval tenants? How can one support a duplicitous legal system that treats an entire class of people differently than another? How do you then justify the class system warfare you create, one that mimics the caste system of India? Where do you draw the line and say "no more" to the destruction of the equality and basis of order derived from the British judicial system?
If the UK were to allow a two party judicial system it would be a tacit nod to the reemergence of the foundation of slavery, where one class of people are considered separate from the rights and remedies of the rest of society. In fact, dualities of this nature can not and have not survived the test of time in history. When a group separates itself from the rest in this manner, the historical result has always been death and/or sucession. Exactly what is England willing to sacrifice of its continent and way of life for the (mistaken) hope of appeasement?
Sharia law in the UK is only inevitable if the Brits allow it to happen. Now I understand better why former Prime Minister Tony Blair has left the Church of England and converted to Catholicism.
Absolutely mindboggling!!!
Killing them with kindness isn't working. Time to get scrappy with the Donkeys.
Time for another Mayflower trip
February 10, 2008 - 15:49 ET by JayTeeEngland protestants need to migrate to America again.
History Repeats.
Is America safe?
February 10, 2008 - 16:16 ET by planetrepublicanWhat makes you think we safe over here from this? There are a lot of MSM types and liberals who are probably in agreement with the Archbishop. This multiculturism and PC could pave the way. The left already has a great deal of distain for Christians and other traditional people, they have no patience for them, they have zero tolerence of them. With their zeal to change society they might just think that the Islamo's are just the ticket to topple the white Christian west, mainly the USA. Add to that an Obama or Hillary and we could have a recipe for disaster.
planetrepublican
February 10, 2008 - 16:24 ET by motherbeltSee my post above, regarding some things that are already happening here.
JayTee, why would they want to come here?
February 10, 2008 - 16:21 ET by R D HelmIn fifty years or so, there will probably be enough Muslims in this country to elect a president.
:-O
None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. -J.W. von Goethe
I don't think so/, maybe enough mexicans
February 10, 2008 - 16:50 ET by JayTeeThe Problem with Muslims is that nobody likes them. It's a Dying religion controlled by force.
People may Argue that there are more Muslims than Christians, but the Southern Babtist aren't killing their Children for adopting American habits and making their wives wear burka's
Jay Tee, you are way off on
February 10, 2008 - 17:06 ET by motherbeltJay Tee, you are way off on that one.
Read "America Alone" by Mark Steyn or "The Death of the West" by Pat Buchanan for a look at where world populations are increasing. Nearly every caucasian country in Europe has a birthrate that is below replacement rate. Muslims have a birth rate well above replacement rate. England and France are accepting large numbers of Muslim immigrants because their own populations are not producing enough offspring to work and pay taxes and support their welfare states.
To insist otherwise is to hide your head in the sand.
As Mark Steyn says: The future belongs to the fecund and the confident. The Islamists are both.
I worked with Muslims before
February 10, 2008 - 17:31 ET by JayTeeChina has the Numbers, not the Muslims....and yes Europe is a zero Growth population, and Yes, A muslim woman produces more babies than he/she can afford, but Birth rates in America are finally rising.
They can't think their way our of paper Sack, even with all the Oil money flowing in. When a car breaks down in Saudi Arabia, it is abandoned becasue it was "Allah's will" that it broke. So you see mecedes abandoned in the Desert with a Fuel Pump problem. Same with Oil refineries and associated mechanical devices that don't look like a Camel.
Europe has a problem because of the Un-employment rate . . . Poverty breeds revolution, not Muslims, but poor Muslims watching the Mecedes drive by, is a revolution with Suicide bombers waiting to happen.
They don't integrate.........they segregate.....and Every border in every Muslim country is a bloody Border, they can't even get along with themselves.
I don't have my head in the Sand, I just can't see them as a Huge threat....after all, Dumb ole George Bush is whipping their butts...with the help of a few Marines and an Air Force.
I'm waiting for Women's liberation to come into play. You can't keep them down on the Muslim Farm, once they see the Lights of the big cities.
Jay
February 10, 2008 - 17:49 ET by RESTLESS 1I'm thinking along the same lines. However, if the U.K. wants to try Sharia Law, I say let them. It might be wise to show liberals how they will be treated should they continue to welcome the Muslim way of life. Gays will be killed, raped women will be killed, women talking to mem will be banned. It seems funny to me that libs somehow think that conservatives will be the first killed just because we think they should be defeated, but it is the liberal belief system that makes muslims hate us so much.
Be nice to the Muslims, they will kill you Last
February 10, 2008 - 17:58 ET by JayTeeConvert or Die, isn't an award winning message.
China has a similar message, Conform or Die.
Jay Tee, start with this
February 10, 2008 - 18:40 ET by motherbeltJay Tee, start with this excerpt from Steyn's book
Arguing from the standpoint that you know some Muslims and you think you know how they think is fruitless. The rioting of those "youths" in France is proof that a mob doesn't need to be highly educated to cause destruction and frighten a government into capitulation.
I am still looking for the other link I wanted to give you...I lost it. When I find it I will come back and post it.
Update:
I just discovered why I can't find it...the story (the attack on the elderly train passengers) wasn't in a separate article, it's contained in the link I already gave you.
JayTee, I hate to break this to you, but..
February 10, 2008 - 18:40 ET by R D HelmDespite our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and noble efforts they are, overall, the GWOT on the part of Western Civilization as a whole, is going badly.
The Islamo-supremecists are winning.
None are so hopelessly enslaved as those who falsely believe they are free. -J.W. von Goethe
"Segregation" is the key
February 10, 2008 - 19:03 ET by stratman"Segregation" is the key word JayTee. Segregation is what kills democracy, kills a republic, kills freedom.
Segregation is what feeds societal inequities socially, economically, educationally, and psychologically. Segregation is key to enabling socialism/communism (think the "us versus them" mentality of the Liberals), enabling fascism, feeding totalitarianism and dictatorships, and justifying slavery.
The thought of two separate and unequal judicial systems in one country is anathema to the historical struggle for freedom and democracy beginning with the Magna Carta and still best exemplified by the US Constitution and the Bill Of Rights.
While the Liberals have set themselves on a course of appeasement with Sharia law, there are many in the Democrat party that are Christians and Jews who would be repulsed by the idea of Sharia law in the USA. I believe the artificial divides created by power hungry politicians between Democrats and Republicans will evaporate if/when this clear threat to American life presents itself.
Tangentially, just think of the predicament the ACLU would have in wanting to support Sharia law while upholding the Constitution as their mandate requires. They would require duct tape to keep their heads from exploding!
The Archbishop of Canterbury would not be the first useful fool of those interested at worst in world conquest, at best the bastardization of Western systems. I would like to know more of how the people of the UK are approaching this issue before throwing in the towel on our allies. I don't believe the Brits will bow to Islamofascists that easily.
If I recall correctly, the Danes were considering allowing Sharia courts to function separately but have not... yet. The Danes have discovered the issues of their Muslim population attempting to alter Danish life to suit Islam's mandates. The lack of integration has caused some critical fissures in Danish society. The indigenous population is finally attempting to maintain their way of life by heavily regulating immigration, capping citizenship and requiring integration into the Danish way of life of Muslim immigrants.
If the very Liberal Danes can alter their course on immigration and politically correct multiculturalism, then what will it take for US Democrats to finally see the folly of amnesty, open borders, and appeasement as a recipe for worldly pluralism?
Eisenhower said we should fear the Military-Industrial Complex. I think we should fear more the Liberal-Appeasement Complex.
Killing them with kindness isn't working. Time to get scrappy with the Donkeys.
mb... Just wanted to say
February 10, 2008 - 17:38 ET by bigtimermb...
Just wanted to say thanks for the new word I just learned...well, thanks to my fav Steyn too with your quote from him..
I'm enjoying both you and JT's posts though...that's why I love this site...you never quit learning.
alleged drug dealer
February 10, 2008 - 16:20 ET by TjexciteHe did not say but, this alleged drug dealer mostly likely did not see the sun rise. It did not matter that he was alleged. And do they get to choses on which court or kangaroo court they go to. When will they set up a black court for only black offenders and a Jewish court for only Jewish offenders.
Of course in a civilized country
February 10, 2008 - 16:43 ET by c5thenThere would have been traffic laws that prevented the initial incident, and if it was not prevented by the traffic laws, the police would have issued a ticket to the offender and everyone would have been on their way. The fact that he had to have bodyguards says alot about Somalia.
One wonders if he would have been as willing to accept sharia law if he was accused of being an infidel and had to convert to Islam, or lose his head?
The day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.
Sad
February 10, 2008 - 19:11 ET by planetrepublicanI am saddened by all this. To think that we debating dual systems within our western countries and civilizations. How did it come to this? There are members of our society who will let this happen, some would actually want this to happen.