Echoing remarks made early this year by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chief Justice has said that there is no conflict between Sharia principles for conflict resolution and civil law.

Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury's headquarters, has rejected claims made in a speech earlier this week by Conservative leader David Cameron, that Dr Rowan Williams was seeking the incorporation of Sharia law in the UK.

As the furore over Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' remarks about religious and civil law subsides into a more considered debate beyond the headlines, the Anglican leader is receiving backing from some unexpected quarters.

Muslim lawyers say they are puzzled that Archbishop Rowan Williams raised the Sharia issue before they have had a chance to tackle some key concerns. But Evangelicals and a progressive interfaith group are calling for wider debate.

Asking where the Church of England can go from here, Simon Barrow looks at why and how Rowan Williams got hold of the wrong end of the stick over religious communal practice and the civil legal system, why a larger 'multi-faith settlement' is unhelpful, and how post-Christendom beckons.

Lambeth Palace has been bracing itself for harsh morning headlines, after the Archbishop of Canterbury was widely interpreted as calling for the incorporation of Muslim Sharia law alongside English law. But is that what he said?