John Smyth
2024-12-21 15:17:19 UTC
Reply
Permalink'85 Sharia courts open across England.'
<https://www.yahoo.com/news/sharia-courts-exploit-britain-rich-070000545.html>
'Britain has become the Western capital for sharia courts, with 85
operating throughout the country. The news hardly bodes well for those
who still believe we have a functional integration strategy.
Not only are British Muslims increasingly turning to the UK’s sharia
courts, but they also serve their co-religionists from mainland Europe
and North America. Also known as “councils”, they have existed in the UK
since the early 1980s and issue Islam-inspired rulings on family life
and matrimonial matters.
The Islamic Sharia Council of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, formed
in 1982 and based in Leyton, east London, is a registered charity that
provides nikah (marriage) services, as well as overseeing talaq and
khula procedures (divorce initiated by the husband and wife
respectively).
What is perhaps more revealing is the normalisation of practices that
are illegal under UK law – such as polygamous marriages. Polygamy is so
normalised that an app for the creation of Islamic wills for those
living in England and Wales has a drop-down menu for men to say how many
wives they have (between one and four).
The app, reportedly approved by a sharia court, gives daughters half as
much inheritance as sons. In addition to this, Muzz (formerly Muzmatch),
one of the most popular matrimonial apps for British Muslims, has an
option where male users can state their “polygamy plan” – whether they
will seek a second wife or intend to stick with one. If a polygamous
marriage is performed on British soil, the already-married person may be
guilty of bigamy.
If this glimpse into the internal workings of sharia courts tells us
anything, it is the fact that existing laws and regulations in the UK
are not being properly implemented and enforced – especially when it
comes to relatively segregated Muslim communities where orthodox Islamic
doctrines prevail.
But if there is a concern over the existence of sharia courts in the UK,
then there must be a degree of consistency – especially over the
operation of rabbinical courts, such as the London Beth Din, which
refers to itself as “one of Europe’s premier halachic authorities” –
overseeing marriages, divorces, and conversions, as well as resolving
British commercial disputes in a manner consistent with Jewish law.
As a social conservative who values Britain’s rich tradition of
religious freedom but also one who appreciates the need for the
reassertion of state sovereignty, there is a balance to be struck.
Religious organisations that have charitable status should have it
withdrawn if they provide services and facilitate practices that
directly contravene UK law – such as polygamous marriages.
Any possibility of migrants in the UK arriving to be a second, third, or
fourth wife, should be clamped down on as part of a wider effort to
introduce a more restrictive immigration regime.
And alongside the nikah, it should be mandatory for all Muslim couples
to marry into legally recognised partnerships, which provide much-needed
protections, security, and support.
Britain’s considerable religious freedoms must not be exploited'