Vatican official says Anglican head naive on Sharia

ROME, March 11 (Reuters) - The Vatican's top man for relations with Islam on Tuesday criticised the Archbishop of Canterbury as mistaken and "naive" for suggesting that some aspects of Sharia law in Britain were unavoidable.

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, in a wide-ranging discussion with reporters about Christian-Muslim relations, also said he was confident that a new, permanent body between the Vatican and Muslims would help defuse misunderstandings in the future.

"I think it was a mistake, a mistake because, above all, one has to ask what type of Sharia. And then, it was a bit naive," Tauran said in answer to a question at a breakfast meeting.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams sparked a religious and political storm in Britain and beyond last month when he raised the prospect of Islamic law in the United Kingdom.

Cathcon- there are intrinsic elements of sharia, especially the concept of exemplary justice that make it unacceptable in whatever form.

Comments