The Acts of Convention

House of Bishops

The House of Bishops Committee on National and International Concerns presented its Report #1 on Resolution D020 (Opposition to Sharia Law) and moved adoption of a substitute.

Original Text of Resolution:

(D020)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That because certain aspects of Sharia law violate fundamental human rights when imposed by the state, it is the policy of The Episcopal Church to oppose, through all available means, the governmental imposition or continuation in any country of those aspects of Sharia law providing for:

• subjugation of women;
• denial of full rights of citizenship to Christians, Jews, and to members of other non-Islamic faiths, while imposing blasphemy laws on non-Muslims;
• prohibitions on peaceful Christian evangelism and voluntary Muslim conversion to other faiths.

Committee Substitute:

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That the 74th General Convention support the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Anglican leaders who have jointly affirmed with Islamic leaders in various countries our shared desire to honor those teachings in our respective traditions which work to avoid coercion and respect individual liberty; and be it further

Resolved, That in further dialogue, particular attention be paid to vigorously oppose any nation's or other governmental body's imposition or continuation of a legal system which violates fundamental human rights; and be it further

Resolved, That General Convention urge the application of these principles by the United States government to the reconstruction underway in Iraq and Afghanistan, in peace negotiations in Sudan, and in ongoing discussions with Nigeria and Indonesia, with particular attention to the rights of religious minorities, women, and those seeking to change their faith.

Motion carried

Substitute resolution adopted

(Communicated to the House of Deputies in HB Message #147)