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King John, Sharia and England
by Adrian Morgan

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, recently mused about Sharia law in Britain on BBC radio. He suggested that having only one system of law was "a danger." His comments sparked outrage, and numerous articles appeared, ostensibly "explaining" Sharia. Many of these were patronizing or inaccurate, attempting like Williams to avoid the plain fact that in marriage, Muslim law discriminates against women.

In one article from the Guardian, Elizabeth Stewart mentioned briefly that in 1213, King John offered to become Muslim and submit Britain to the rule of Sharia law. Stewart wrote: "But the Moroccan ruler decided that a king who was prepared to betray his own religion and subjects would probably not make a good ally, and turned him down."

This episode allegedly happened in 1213, two years before the unpopular monarch was forced to sign the Magna Carta at Runnymede on June 19, 1215.

The story was taken up again by Graham Stewart in the Times more than a week later. The story is better known in the Muslim world than it is in Britain. Even in the 19th Century, when study of Britain's Medieval period was more popular than now, historians mentioned that the story was little-known.

The British Embassy in Rabat, Morocco, states on its website: " Morocco and Britain have longstanding political and trading links. Diplomatic relations date back to at least 1213 AD, when King John of England dispatched envoys to seek the support of Mohammed El-Nasir, Morocco's fourth Almohad ruler. It seems that Mohammed El-Nasir was not impressed by what he heard of the English King, and informed the envoys that King John was unworthy of an alliance with him."

So what is the background of this tale, and does it have validity? The earliest mention of this delegation to Morocco is made by the historian Matthew Paris, a Benedictine monk. Paris wrote a massive history of the world in several volumes, a history that started with Creation and continued until his present day.

Paris drew many details of King John's life and times, such as the signing of Magna Carta, from the writings of another monk historian, Roger of Wendover, Prior of Belvoir, who died in 1236. Roger wrote a chronicle called "Flores Historarium" ("Flowers of History"), but no mention of King John's mission to Morocco is mentioned here.

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