Should Sharia law be incorporated into British legal system?

The Archbishop of Canterbury told the BBC the adoption of certain aspects of Sharia law in the UK "seems unavoidable".

Sharia is a set of principles which govern the way many Muslims believe they should live their life.

Dr Rowan Williams said the UK has to "face up the facts" that some of the British citizens do not relate to the British legal system. He insists adopting part of the Islamic Sharia law would help to maintain social cohesion.

However, as the Archbishop is reportedly a no stranger to controversy, his argument was quickly followed an uproar.

Conservative leader David Cameron argues it would undermine society and alienate other communities.

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, said he cannot agree with his successor's opinion, but he defends Dr Williams by saying he should not be forced to quit.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the Archbishop’s "great integrity" and "dedication to public and community service", but he said religious law should be subservient to UK law, according to the guardian.

On the other hand, some of the Muslims shared different point of views over should Sharie Law be incorporated into British legal system.

Shaista Gohir, Government Adviser of Muslim Women, told the BBC if the Jewish community have a choice to operate their own courts in the UK, it is not surprising that Muslims are now asking for Sharia courts too. However the debate should also includes "whether any form of religious arbitration should be allowed”.

She said: “I personally think that we should not have Sharia courts as the majority of Muslims do not want it. Many Muslim commentators and the media are wrongly assuming that all Muslims want Sharia law in the UK.

"Various polls have so far indicated that around 40% want Sharia law. Although this is a significant percentage, why ignore the views of the other 60%?”

Shaista said as UK Muslims are from across the world and therefore very diverse, it is unlikely all Muslims would ever agree to a single interpretation or implementation.

Lord Phillips, the most senior judge in England and Wales, told the guardian there was no reason Shaire law’s principles could not be used in mediation as long as it is subject to the “jurisdiction of the English and Welsh court".

He added that Sharia suffered from "widespread misunderstanding" and "It was not very radical to advocate embracing Sharia law in the context of family disputes, for example, and our system already goes a long way towards accommodating the archbishop's suggestion.

"It is possible in this country for those who are entering into a contractual agreement to agree that the agreement shall be governed by a law other than English law."

Inayat Bunglawala, from the Muslim Council of Britain, told the BBC Sharia law applied only to civil matters.

He said: "I think it's important to clarify that English common law already allows us to go to mediation to whichever third party we wish. There is no parallel legal system. This system cannot override English common law system at all.”