Looking at Britain in 2008 certain themes of course stand out more thanothers, and perhaps none more than the introduction of sharia law, thepossibility of which had first been to public attention by Archbishopof Canterbury Rowan Williams. The fall and rise of the Labour Party,the rise of the Conservatives, the dashed SNP hopes for Scottishindependence characterize much of politics this year.
Otherissues that stand out include youth violence; a terrorist attack onGlasgow airport, and another on a Giraffe restaurant in Exeter; thelaunch of the BBC’s controversial ‘White Season’ in March, exploringthe White working class; continuing contention over mass immigration;the ratification of the Lisbon treaty; the death of “baby P”; themonths-long campaign and final victory of the Gurkha war heroes to beallowed to stay in Britain; and the unprecedented arrest ofConservative MP Damian Green.I have divided the year under four different heading: ‘sharia,’‘terrorism,’ ‘law and order,’ and ‘politics,’ in the hope that thiswill help elucidate the history of particular events. However,naturally, an event appearing in one section might overlap withanother, and the contents of each section is sometimes broader than thetitle might suggest. Events are listed chronologically with a minimumof commentary.
SHARIA
February:
o The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, suggests that the adoption of certain aspects of sharia law in Britain seems “unavoidable.”
o Britain becomes the first major Western country to start issuing sharia bonds.
o It also emerges that police recruits will soon be taught Islamicculture, including the importance of the Koran and sharia law.