Encouragement instead of Sharia

After the Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Phillips, Chief Justice of England and Wales, has sparked heated controversy by saying Muslims in Britain should be able to live according to the Sharia the daily Der Standard argues for adopting another tactic: "Orthodox Jews are already bringing various disputes before religious judges without bothering the state. No one is stopping Muslims from doing the same. And conversely, no one should prevent British citizens, especially women, from seeking the protection of the civil courts. Anyone working in the law will be quick to tell you that this freedom is all too often lacking." Muslims should be involved more closely in British politics and legal practice, writes the paper, because "that would be much more useful to the two million Muslims living on the British Isles than considerations on special legal forms that will only be made use of by the deeply religious minority."

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