Sharia courts operating a parallel justice system in UK?
London, UK: Western media is always proactive to find cases of parallel justice system in India and Pakistan where Panchait (local village elder’s council) and Jirga (council of local elders) decide cases of family disputes and financial disputes. However, western media always refrains from reporting a parallel justice system within United Kingdom. Sharia councils those operate under the 1996 Arbitration Act are working as a parallel justice system in United Kingdom where family disputes and financial disputes are settled according to Islamic Shariah laws similar of those are in Saudi Arabia.
These tribunals are meant to mediate disputes, settle financial and family disputes according to religious principles.
According to a report that was written by a Dutch academic Machteld Zee, two separate legal orders functioning In United Kingdom of which one currently operates in the “shadow of the law”.’
The report indicates that the parallel justice system runs against the law of the land and is condemning British Muslim women to ‘marital captivity’ while failing to protect them from domestic violence. Report says that Arbitration usually takes place behind closed doors and the arbitrator’s decision must remain secret unless the parties agree otherwise
According to the report, a judge at an East London court told a couple who had already obtained a civil divorce that the paper counted for nothing. According to report, the judge of Shariah Court said the couple that:
‘Secular judge does not do religious divorces. We have Islam. Secular courts do not have Islamic laws. Can a kaffir [non-Muslim] come in and judge Islamic matters?’
The vast majority of cases in front of Sharia councils in the UK concern marital disputes as women need a Sharia authority to grant a religious divorce. Sharia courts cannot overrule regular courts but they are responsible for issuing Islamic divorce certificates – although these must be approved by a law court before they can be recognised in civil law.
In her book Choosing Sharia, she said: ‘In a toxic mix of religious fundamentalism, culture and tight-knit communities, sharia councils uphold the theory and practice of the strong hold men have over women.
‘Sharia councils may “help” women who want a divorce, but it is a solution to a problem that they fuel and one that they seek to preserve.’
She said that the councils ‘frustrate women in their requests, especially if the husband is unwilling to cooperate’.
Meanwhile, Daily Mail reports that a separate report in 2009 found there were as many as 85 sharia courts in the UK, which are recognised under the Arbitration Act.
The Guardian in one of its report indicates:
Slowly has the Islamist takeover of Britain been, in contrast to the constant media warnings of its imminent arrival.
