Church head moves to defuse Muslim law row

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The head of the Anglican Church has moved to defuse the row he sparked by suggesting that that some aspects of Muslim Sharia law could become part of UK law.

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has faced calls to resign from senior members of his church following a BBC interview in which he suggested the introduction of some parts of Sharia was "unavoidable."

His comments Thursday provoked widespread criticism from politicians, including UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who dismissed the idea.

Addressing the General Synod, the Church of England's national assembly, Monday Williams said he "took responsibility" for any "unclarity" and "misleading" choice of words and possible distress or misunderstanding they had caused, both to Christians and the public at large. Watch criticisms of Rowan Williams. »

But he added: "I believe quite strongly that it is not inappropriate for a pastor of the Church of England to discuss the perceived concerns of other religious communities and try to bring them into better public focus."

Williams said his comments had been an attempt to engage with Islamic law on something more than an "all or nothing basis" and acknowledged that Christians residing in some countries dominated by Islamic law often faced suffering for their beliefs.

Sharia law is a legal and social code designed to help Muslims in their daily lives. It has proved controversial, however, because of its use in some Muslim states to justify suppression of women's rights and extremely brutal forms of punishment, including beheadings.

Col. Edward Armitstead, a member of the General Synod, told the Daily Telegraph Saturday that Williams should step down because of the comments in the interview, which was followed by a lecture the same evening on the subject at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

"I don't think he is the man for the job," Armitstead told the paper.

A statement posted on the Archbishop of Canterbury's Web site late Friday denied that the Rowan had made any proposals for Sharia in either the lecture or the interview and that he "certainly did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law."

In his BBC interview, Williams strongly criticized the implementation of Sharia to suppress human rights. However, he said that Muslims should not have to choose between "the stark alternatives of cultural loyalty or state loyalty."

He also said that at present "certain provisions of Sharia are already recognized in our society and under our law."

Under British law, people are permitted to find their own way to settle a dispute in front of an agreed third party as long as both sides agree to the process. This provision is used by Muslim Sharia courts and Orthodox Jewish courts in Britain.

In welcoming Williams' comments, Muslim groups criticized the "hysterical" backlash against the archbishop.

In a statement on its Web site, the Muslim Council of Britain said it was "grateful for the thoughtful intervention" and that it observed "with some sadness, the hysterical misrepresentations of his speech which serves only to drive a wedge between British people." E-mail to a friend