Head of German Protestants attacks Rowan Williams

Cathcon translation of Sharia Streit- Sharia Controversy

Bishop Huber criticises Anglican approach

The Chairman of the Protestant Church in Germany, Bishop Wolfgang Huber, opposes the introduction of Sharia law for Muslims in democratic countries. On Friday, he made a sharp criticism of the approach of the British Archbishop Rowan Williams to introduce parts of Islamic law for British Muslims.

If the coexistence of religions should succeed, this could be only be done on the basis of a unified legal system said Huber to journalists: "The distinction between religion and law must remain intact."

For Christians in Islamic countries, the Chairman of the Protestant Church Council supported religious freedom as a universal human right. "We do not resign ourselves to the fact that particularly Christians have to suffer under restrictions and violations of their human rights," he said, according to the manuscript of the speech on Friday in Essen. Freedom of religion also includes the right to change one's religion or belief.

That people keep to what is important to them

The freedom of religion is not only the right of the individual, but also the community exercise of religion must be supported, said Huber. He criticized the Islamic states where the rejection of Islam attracts the death penalty. Moreover, the proclamation of other religious views besides Islam is often suppressed.

The Chairman reiterated the need for dialogue between religions, emphasising one's own belief profile. Tolerance is not arbitrary, said Huber. It means much more, "that people stand by what is important to them, and therefore respectfully deal with the issues which are to the other important".

Christians believe that the one God is revealed in his Son Jesus. Islam see Jesus is a prophet subordinate to the prophet Mohammed. For theological reasons, Huber believes multi-religious ceremonies and prayers are possible, in which the differences between religions are respected. Inter-religious ceremonies, however, should be rejected

Cathcon comment- Bishop Huber speaks from bitter experience indeed- his father, a fully paid up Nazi and university professor of law, wrote what was a classic text for the Nazis- "The Legal System of the Great German Reich".

Video here of Archbishop being heckled in Cambridge