Anyone have game on the technicalities of leases on government-owned consecrated Anglican land? Because we have a feeling that it's about to become an issue:

A new sharia law controversy erupted last night over Government plans to issue special "Islamic bonds" to pay for Gordon Brown's public-spending programme by raising money from the Middle East. Britain is to become the first Western nation to issue bonds approved by Muslim clerics in line with sharia law... The scheme would mark one of the most significant economic advances of sharia law in the non-Muslim world. It will lead to the ownership of Government buildings and other assets currently belonging to British taxpayers being switched wholesale to wealthy Middle-Eastern businessmen and banks... But critics say the scheme would waste money and could undermine Britain's financial and legal systems. Senior Conservative MP Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: "I am concerned about the signal this would send – it could be the thin end of the wedge. "British Common Law must be supreme and should apply to everyone."

That whole "one law for everybody" thing is cute and all, but it's just so last century. Hitchens, among others, is not overly pleased:

It is the principle of equality before the law that really counts. And just look at how casually this sheep-faced English cleric throws away the work of centuries of civilization: "[A]n approach to law which simply said 'there's one law for everybody and that's all there is to be said, and anything else that commands your loyalty or allegiance is completely irrelevant in the processes of the courts' - I think that's a bit of a danger." In the midst of this dismal verbiage and euphemism, the plain statement - "There's one law for everybody and that's all there is to be said" - still stands out like a diamond in a dunghill.

Countdown to MR's Get There Before It Gets Blown Up 2008 European Tour: four months.

References:
* New sharia row over Chancellor's plans for 'Islamic bonds' [Daily Mail]
* To Hell With the Archbishop of Canterbury [Hitchens]

Previously:
* We're Going To Miss Westminster Abbey - MI5 Suspects 4,000 Potential Terrorists In Over 200 Cells In Britain (Plus: AQ Recruiting Children For Next Terrorist Attack)
* Blair: Israelis Need To Make "Psychological Shift" By Giving Up Stubborn Insistence On History, Experience, Reality
* British Military Band Gives Saudi Royalty Best Reception Ever. Ever. [Video]