Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams is facing growing criticism today for suggesting some aspects of sharia in Britain was unavoidable.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams
Main political parties distanced themselves from the comments on Islamic law by Dr Williams, the leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans, who is battling divisions within his church over gay priests.
"You cannot run two systems of law alongside each other. That would be a recipe for chaos," said Culture Secretary Andy Burnham.
Speaking to the BBC, Dr Williams said other religions enjoyed tolerance of their laws in Britain and called for a "constructive accommodation" with Muslim practice in areas such as marital disputes.
Asked if the adoption of sharia was necessary for community cohesion, he said: "It seems unavoidable and, as a matter of fact, certain conditions of Sharia are already recognised in our society and under our law, so it's not as if we are bringing in an alien and rival system.
"We already have in this country a number of situations in which the internal law of religious communities is recognised by the law of the land as justifying conscientious objections in certain circumstances."
His unexpected comments were welcomed by some Muslim groups, but the government said it was out of the question that the principles of sharia could be used in British civil courts.
"The prime minister is clear that in Britain, British laws based on British values will apply," a spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg agreed, saying: "Equality before the law is part of the glue that binds our society together. We cannot have a situation where there is one law for one person and different laws for another.
"There is a huge difference between respecting peoples' rights to follow their own beliefs and allowing them to excuse themselves from the rule of law."
Sharia is the body of Islamic religious law based on the Koran, the words and actions of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions, and rulings of Islamic scholars. It covers issues including worship, commercial dealings, marriage and penal laws.
Dr Williams said he was not endorsing the harsh punishments meted out in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, where murderers and drug traffickers are publicly beheaded or hanged.
The issue of integrating Britain's 1.8 million Muslims has been widely debated since July 2005, when four British Islamists carried out suicide bombings on London's transport system, killing 52 people.