The leader of the world's Anglicans, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, has hit back at his critics amid a furore about his comments on Islamic law that have led to calls for him to quit.
The Church of England's highest-ranking cleric has drawn heavy criticism since he acknowledged that the adoption of some parts of Sharia law alongside Britain's legal system "seems unavoidable" in certain circumstances.
His office sought to clarify the remarks, made in a BBC radio interview and a lecture Thursday, which united all three main political parties, the media and some Muslim groups in opposition.
"The Archbishop made no proposals for sharia in either the lecture or the interview, and certainly did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law," a statement on his website said.
"Instead, in the interview, rather than proposing a parallel system of law, he observed that, 'as a matter of fact certain provisions of sharia are already recognised in our society and under our law'.
"When the question was put to him that 'the application of sharia in certain circumstances -- if we want to achieve this cohesion and take seriously peoples' religion -- seems unavoidable?', he indicated his assent."
His lecture was a careful exploration of the limits of a "unitary and secular" legal system and how, in an increasingly diverse society, it might be able to accommodate religious claims, the statement added.
"In doing so, the Archbishop was not suggesting the introduction of parallel legal jurisdictions but exploring ways in which reasonable accommodation might be made within existing arrangements for religious conscience," it said.
But the clarification -- posted late Friday -- did not stop another slew of critical, front-page headlines Saturday, including at least two public calls for the 57-year-old former university theologian's resignation.
Much of the debate has been centred on the potential for division between ethnic communities in Britain at a time when the government is trying to promote a more cohesive society based on shared values.
One of those calling for him to go, Alison Ruoff, a member of the Church of England's "parliament" or General Synod, told BBC radio Saturday that Williams had done "inestimable damage".
"He's not basically a leader. He has got a fine brain. He's a good man, a godly man but he belongs in academia. He's been very badly advised. This is ill-thought out.
"It's gone completely pear-shaped and I'm sorry for him in a way but I think he should go."
