(CNSNews.com) - Britain's top judge has set off a storm after saying that aspects of Islamic law (shari'a) could be employed to deal with family and marital disputes among British Muslims.

"There is no reason why principles of shari'a law, or any other religious code, should not be the basis for mediation or other forms of alternative dispute resolution," Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips said in a speech in a London mosque last week.

Phillips made it clear that both parties to a dispute should agree to the rules and that English law should continue to take precedence.

Any punishments or rulings would have to comply with the law of the land. There was no question, he said, that punishments imposed in some Islamic countries under shari'a, such as stoning or amputation of limbs, would be "applied to or by any Muslim who lives within this jurisdiction."

The judge said there was a lot of misunderstanding about Islamic law.

"The view of many of shari'a law is colored by violent extremists who invoke it, perversely, to justify terrorist atrocities such as suicide bombing, which I understand to be in conflict with Islamic principles," he said.

Phillips is the most senior judge in England and Wales, and he has been named the inaugural president of the new United Kingdom Supreme Court when it begins operating late next year.

His comments reignited a controversy over comments made by England's top church leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, early this year. Williams, the titular head of the world's Anglican (Episcopalian) churches, sparked calls to resign when he said there was a case to be made for finding "a constructive accommodation with some aspects of Muslim law."

In his speech, Phillips defended Williams' comments, saying it was not "very radical to advocate embracing shari'a in the context of family disputes, for example."

He noted that the English system "already goes a long way towards accommodating the archbishop's suggestion."

Last year, a body called the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal was established to provide a viable alternative for Muslims seeking to resolve family, marriage, inheritance and commercial disputes in line with Islamic law.

Operating with the English legal framework, the tribunal seeks to make determinations that are both in accordance with one of the recognized schools of Islamic law and also "can be enforced through existing means of enforcement open to normal litigants."

Proponents of allowing aspects of shari'a law to operate in a Western but multicultural society argue that to deny Muslims that right is to deny them "equality."

Critics counter that in a culture which, for example, holds different views about the place of women, allowing religious officials to preside over family and marriage disputes could lead to rulings that are in conflict with Western norms and treat women as second-class citizens.

Lawyers, rights groups, politicians and editorialists responded to Phillips' comments, with many voicing concern about the potential implications for community cohesion and inter-communal relations.

In the Muslim community itself, reaction was mixed.

The Muslim Council of Britain, the country's leading umbrella body for Muslim organizations, said it welcomed Phillips' "call for Muslims to be allowed to apply elements of Islamic law to the governance of personal relationships where this does not conflict with the laws of the land."

The council's secretary-general, Dr. Abdul Bari, appealed for a thoughtful debate on the issue, devoid of what the organization called "hysterical overreaction and misrepresentation."

But British Muslims for Secular Democracy, a group launched earlier this year as a platform for diverse, alternative Muslim views, said a move in the direction suggested by Phillips "would be detrimental to Muslims and to society as a whole."

The organization pointed out that there are major differences over interpreting and implementing shari'a among various Islamic schools of thought, and said British Muslims also hold diverse views based on factors including their geographic and ethnic backgrounds

Unlike western legal systems, the group said, some Islamic legal experts promote shari'a rules that contravene civil liberties and differ in matters such as freedom of expression, the rights of women in divorce cases, inheritance and testimony in court.

"Incorporation of aspects of shari'a law within the English legal system will further segregate Muslim communities from the mainstream," said BMSD Vice-Chairman Dr. Shaaz Mahboob.

"We think that British law should be based on British values and determined by the British Parliament," said the official spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Make media inquiries or request an interview about this article.