Sharia courts in UK should be investigated

The Institute for the Study of Civil Society
Saturday, October 25, 2008

1. That sharia courts are operating under the 1996 Arbitration Act, which allows private disputes to be settled by an independent arbitrator.

2. That sharia rulings on family matters could be given the authority of a British court by seeking 'a consent order embodying the terms' of the sharia court ruling.

Three problems

There are three concerns about sharia courts that purport to be systems of arbitration:

1. Voluntary arbitration is acceptable if both parties genuinely consent. There is a good deal of intimidation of women in Muslim communities and the genuine consent of women could not be accepted as a reality.

2. Women are not equal in Sharia law. The Koran calls for witnesses in legal cases and says that if a male witness cannot be found two women will do. Effectively the voice of a woman is half that of a man.

3. Religious guidance is effective because individuals fear God or wish to remain in good standing with fellow believers. In our system no punishments can be applied to individuals who fail to live up to religious requirements other than the social pressure of disapproval. Under some interpretations of Islam a person who leaves the faith is an apostate who can be put to death. While this threat remains, it cannot be accepted that Sharia councils are only independent arbitrators guided by faith.

Dr David Green, Director of Civitas, said: 'The problem is that Sharia law reflects male-dominated Asian and Arabic cultures and that it cannot therefore be accepted as a legally valid basis even for settling private disagreements in a country like ours, where our law embodies the equal legal status of everyone, regardless of race, gender or religion. Our system is based on moral and legal equality or it is nothing.'

'Further encouragement of sharia law, far from helping integration, will undermine the efforts of British Muslims struggling to evolve a version of Islam consistent with a tolerant and pluralistic society.'

Worst of all, according to Dr Green, the findings of a Civitas study currently nearing completion, 'suggest that there could be links between sharia courts and so-called honour killings. We do not have evidence that courts have authorised killings or beatings, but by reinforcing the absolute authority of fathers over their daughters and of husbands over their wives there is a strong risk of inadvertently legitimising violent methods of private enforcement.'

Government investigation needed

Before the recognition of sharia courts goes any further, the Government should establish a commission of inquiry to explore its extent and compatibility with British law.

Notes for Editors

1. Civitas is carrying out a major study of sharia courts in Britain, which is nearing completion. So far five sharia courts functioning under the Arbitration Act have been acknowledged in public. Our study suggests that many more courts are operating.

2. Recently pressure was applied in Ontario, Canada, for the recognition of sharia law. The demands were defeated primarily because Muslim women campaigned to stop the proposals. Among their main arguments was that they had come to live in Canada to escape the inferior status given them in predominantly Muslim countries.