Enemies of Western culture and Christendom such as the Archbishop clearly illustrate the need for the majority to reassert itself. A good first step would be for the Queen to fire Williams if he doesn't resign forthwith. As Larry Auster has said, this left-wing hippie intellectual should never have been appointed in the first place. Williams is a civilizational traitor, a suicidal narcissist and thus beneath contempt.

Also, I should point out that Mr. Galli's comment about America facing this issue, while true in one sense (that is, we must reject it), is most problematic in that he goes further and appears to suggest that we might need to accommodate sharia, given that we live in a "pluralistic" society. Indeed, like Williams, he speaks without particular alarm about the inevitability of sharia in America. Freedom of religion, however, does not mean its inculcation into our legal system, and Mr. Galli needs to understand that.

++Rowan is out of his league here. ++Benedict's Regensburg lecture blows this drivel away.

What seems to go without mention or particular analysis is that in the UK, Orthodox Jews already operate their own judicial system - in that context some elements of Sharia Law are inevitable.
His comments are not as outrageous as they seem - though I personally hope he is wrong.
As for the comments from DiverCity - that the Archbishop is a Left Wing Hippy - well that will come as a surprise to many in the US Episcopal Church show try to place him somewhere to the right of Genghis Khan :-)
The Anglican Communion is a very special and accepting Church - Carey, Ramsey and all the Archibishops have been exemplars of that. It is not a Church of hard line doctrine rather one of dissernment, discussion and accommodation.

I'm not at all defending Williams (though I think we've oversimplified the nuanced idea he proposes), but when it comes to the evangelical Christian response... I'm not concerned with "Western Culture" or "Christendom". These things have more often than not been enemies of true discipleship as conveyed in the New Testament. I celebrate the downfall of Christendom so that true Christian discipleship may flourish again!

I think that if Muslims want to live by sharia law they should move to a country where sharia law is the law of the country. If they want to live in a country where there is secular law then they should live by the law of that country.

Excellent point, M.J. Spaulding. Indeed, a Moslem Labour MP from Dewsbury by the name of Shahid Malik responded to Williams this way: “I haven’t experienced any clamour or fervent desire for sharia law in this country. If there are people who prefer sharia law there are always countries where they could go and live.” Amen.

As for the Archbishop, one leader with whom I agree said: "Dr. Williams lacks the courage of his lack of convictions. Thank God for Pope Benedict." Again, Amen. And in case you haven't realized, I don't cotten much to nuance.

I so agree with MJ Spaulding... If Muslims want to move to western countries they must live under western law. The fact that the west is desirable is, in no small part, because of it's system of governance. Conversely, the fact that Muslim countries are arguably less desirable is because of the religious law and oppressive clerical rule.

it is unjust to say that, "If Muslims want to move to western countries they must live under western law." for the simple fact that as humans we have our similarities but our differences out weight it. I understand that when one hear the name of Islam it provokes thoughts of terror and agression. But also remember that as humans we naturally fear that which we do not know or familiar with. Anyone who studied Islam, I mean studied true Islam without the media bais can tell you that Islam is the number one religion in the world that people have misconceptions about. They say that when one focuses on the negative qualities of another being, then the only thing that perosn will see is the negative. Nothing positive will he/she see. Most people don't know that before Islam arrived in the middle east they used to bury their young girls alive because it was male dominated society. It goes to show that books should not be judged by their titles, read then one will know.

I am not a believer but I was baffled by the archbishop's remarks. With such a (mis)conception, there is no need for Al Queda bombers to blow us up, we commit suicide, first spiritually, and then...

R. Stern

Let's not hide behind the 'nuanced lecture' excuse, or the claim that 'it was widely sensationalized in the British dailies.' Careful examination by intelligent, well-informed, opinion made it clear that Williams has done considerable harm in many important areas of spiritual and judicial life and the collection of diverse opinions appearing on your page makes it clear that others also heard what he said and understood what he meant! Words have meaning and, if we claim to be misunderstood we should have made sure we used words that were easily understood. There is also the insulting intimation that the rest of us aren't clever enough to understand what he really meant! To be fair to Williams, he is simply living up to the standards he set from the beginning when he attached the pagan druid order to his archbishopric!

Ahmad joins other Muslims and Rowan Williams in trying to play 'the ignorance game'! Many in the West have studied Islam very carefully and it is blind-faith believers such as Ahmad who are ignorant about the real history of Islam. The positives he seeks cannot hide the truth about his prophet. His claim that 'before Islam arrived in the middle east they used to bury their young girls alive because it was male dominated society' is simply not true of every culture. Presumably he is seriously claiming that Muhammad improved the situation by beheading adult males he captured (on at least one occasion nearly 1,000 in one day!), selling the women and children into slavery, and marrying 22 women (including the child bride Aesha whose virginity he took when she was nine-years old!). 'It goes to show that' if you want to know about Islam read the Qur'an and the hadith (tradition) for the whole truth about this rightfully feared and despised religion!

Archbishop Rowan has harmed the church that he is supposed to lead and guide. I have seen the effects of different personal laws for different religions, having been raised in India and cannot imagine anyone in their right mind would propose such a system in western democracies. The ones who will suffer should such a system be enforced are the muslim women( muslim men have so many rights compared to the women). There should be one common law for all, regardless of relious differences ( in India, politicians pander to different religious minorities ( men in particular) by not having a common law) for their votes. The common people would like to see one law for all communities. Rowan Williams should be thinking deeply of a system that ensures protection for christians in countries where they are in extreme minorities( they are in shock at this idea that sharia law is inevitable in Britain).