Archbishop of Canterbury has no intention of resigning

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The archbishop of Canterbury has no intention of resigning over his suggestion that Britain's legal system should accommodate aspects of traditional Islamic law, a Church of England official said Sunday. Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of more than 75 million Anglicans worldwide, kicked off a controversy when, in an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. radio Thursday, he said the implementation of Shariah law in Britain was an inevitable part of achieving social cohesion. While Williams has since been backed by other senior bishops, the media's reaction has been poisonous, drawing lurid headlines accusing him of everything from cowardice to tacit support for Islamic terror. Some editorialists have called for him to resign, but the Church of England said Sunday he would do no such thing. "He is not considering his position," church spokeswoman Marie Papworth said, adding that Williams would not be speaking publicly about the issue until Monday, when he was due to address the General Synod, the church's governing body.