Islamic Law taking control in the UK

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From The Sunday Times
September 14, 2008

Revealed: UK's first official sharia courts
Abul Taher
ISLAMIC law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts
given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.

The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to
rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those
involving domestic violence.

Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with
the full power of the judicial system, through the county courts or High
Court.

Previously, the rulings of sharia courts in Britain could not be
enforced, and depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims.

It has now emerged that sharia courts with these powers have been set up
in London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester with the network's
headquarters in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Two more courts are being
planned for Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Sheikh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi, whose Muslim Arbitration Tribunal runs the
courts, said he had taken advantage of a clause in the Arbitration Act
1996.

Under the act, the sharia courts are classified as arbitration
tribunals. The rulings of arbitration tribunals are binding in law,
provided that both parties in the dispute agree to give it the power to
rule on their case.

Siddiqi said: "We realised that under the Arbitration Act we can make
rulings which can be enforced by county and high courts. The act allows
disputes to be resolved using alternatives like tribunals. This method
is called alternative dispute resolution, which for Muslims is what the
sharia courts are."

The disclosure that Muslim courts have legal powers in Britain comes
seven months after Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was
pilloried for suggesting that the establishment of sharia in the future
"seems unavoidable" in Britain.

In July, the head of the judiciary, the lord chief justice, Lord
Phillips, further stoked controversy when he said that sharia could be
used to settle marital and financial disputes.

In fact, Muslim tribunal courts started passing sharia judgments in
August 2007. They have dealt with more than 100 cases that range from
Muslim divorce and inheritance to nuisance neighbours.

It has also emerged that tribunal courts have settled six cases of
domestic violence between married couples, working in tandem with the
police investigations.

Siddiqi said he expected the courts to handle a greater number of
"smaller" criminal cases in coming years as more Muslim clients approach
them. "All we are doing is regulating community affairs in these cases,"
said Siddiqi, chairman of the governing council of the tribunal.

Jewish Beth Din courts operate under the same provision in the
Arbitration Act and resolve civil cases, ranging from divorce to
business disputes. They have existed in Britain for more than 100 years,
and previously operated under a precursor to the act.

Politicians and church leaders expressed concerns that this could mark
the beginnings of a "parallel legal system" based on sharia for some
British Muslims.

Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, said: "If it is true that
these tribunals are passing binding decisions in the areas of family and
criminal law, I would like to know which courts are enforcing them
because I would consider such action unlawful. British law is absolute
and must remain so."

Douglas Murray, the director of the Centre for Social Cohesion, said: "I
think it's appalling. I don't think arbitration that is done by sharia
should ever be endorsed or enforced by the British state."

There are concerns that women who agree to go to tribunal courts are
getting worse deals because Islamic law favours men.

Siddiqi said that in a recent inheritance dispute handled by the court
in Nuneaton, the estate of a Midlands man was divided between three
daughters and two sons.

The judges on the panel gave the sons twice as much as the daughters, in
accordance with sharia. Had the family gone to a normal British court,
the daughters would have got equal amounts.

In the six cases of domestic violence, Siddiqi said the judges ordered
the husbands to take anger management classes and mentoring from
community elders. There was no further punishment.

In each case, the women subsequently withdrew the complaints they had
lodged with the police and the police stopped their investigations.

Siddiqi said that in the domestic violence cases, the advantage was that
marriages were saved and couples given a second chance.

Inayat Bunglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of
Britain, said: "The MCB supports these tribunals. If the Jewish courts
are allowed to flourish, so must the sharia ones."

Additional reporting: Helen Brooks

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<DIV class="float-left position-relative margin-top-minus-22"><SPAN
class=small>From </SPAN><SPAN class=byline>The Sunday
Times</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV class="small color-666">September 14, 2008<BR></DIV>
<DIV class=clear-simple></DIV>
<H1 class=heading><FONT size=5>Revealed: UK’s first official
sharia
courts</FONT></H1>
<H2 class="sub-heading padding-top-5 padding-bottom-15"></H2><!--
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<DIV id=related-article-links><!-- Pagination -->
<P>ISLAMIC law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia
courts given
powers to rule on Muslim civil cases. </P>
<P>The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to
rule on
cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving
domestic
violence. </P>
<P>Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable
with the
full power of the judicial system, through the county courts or High
Court. </P>
<P>Previously, the rulings of sharia courts in Britain could not be
enforced,
and depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims. </P>
<P>It has now emerged that sharia courts with these powers have been set
up in
London, Birmingham, Bradford and Manchester with the network’s
headquarters in
Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Two more courts are being planned for Glasgow
and
Edinburgh. </P>
<P>Sheikh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi, whose Muslim Arbitration Tribunal runs
the
courts, said he had taken advantage of a clause in the Arbitration Act
1996.
</P>
<P>Under the act, the sharia courts are classified as arbitration
tribunals. The
rulings of arbitration tribunals are binding in law, provided that both
parties
in the dispute agree to give it the power to rule on their case. </P>
<P>Siddiqi said: “We realised that under the Arbitration Act we can
make rulings
which can be enforced by county and high courts. The act allows disputes
to be
resolved using alternatives like tribunals. This method is called
alternative
dispute resolution, which for Muslims is what the sharia courts are.”
</P>
<P>The disclosure that Muslim courts have legal powers in Britain comes
seven
months after Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was pilloried
for
suggesting that the establishment of sharia in the future “seems
unavoidable” in
Britain. </P>
<P>In July, the head of the judiciary, the lord chief justice, Lord
Phillips,
further stoked controversy when he said that sharia could be used to
settle
marital and financial disputes. </P>
<P>In fact, Muslim tribunal courts started passing sharia judgments in
August
2007. They have dealt with more than 100 cases that range from Muslim
divorce
and inheritance to nuisance neighbours. </P>
<P>It has also emerged that tribunal courts have settled six cases of
domestic
violence between married couples, working in tandem with the police
investigations. </P>
<P>Siddiqi said he expected the courts to handle a greater number of
“smaller”
criminal cases in coming years as more Muslim clients approach them.
“All we are
doing is regulating community affairs in these cases,” said Siddiqi,
chairman of
the governing council of the tribunal. </P>
<P>Jewish Beth Din courts operate under the same provision in the
Arbitration
Act and resolve civil cases, ranging from divorce to business disputes.
They
have existed in Britain for more than 100 years, and previously operated
under a
precursor to the act. </P>
<P>Politicians and church leaders expressed concerns that this could
mark the
beginnings of a “parallel legal system” based on sharia for some
British
Muslims. </P>
<P>Dominic Grieve, the shadow home secretary, said: “If it is true
that these
tribunals are passing binding decisions in the areas of family and
criminal law,
I would like to know which courts are enforcing them because I would
consider
such action unlawful. British law is absolute and must remain so.”
</P>
<P>Douglas Murray, the director of the Centre for Social Cohesion, said:
“I
think it’s appalling. I don’t think arbitration that is done by
sharia should
ever be endorsed or enforced by the British state.” </P>
<P>There are concerns that women who agree to go to tribunal courts are
getting
worse deals because Islamic law favours men. </P>
<P>Siddiqi said that in a recent inheritance dispute handled by the
court in
Nuneaton, the estate of a Midlands man was divided between three
daughters and
two sons. </P>
<P>The judges on the panel gave the sons twice as much as the daughters,
in
accordance with sharia. Had the family gone to a normal British court,
the
daughters would have got equal amounts. </P>
<P>In the six cases of domestic violence, Siddiqi said the judges
ordered the
husbands to take anger management classes and mentoring from community
elders.
There was no further punishment. </P>
<P>In each case, the women subsequently withdrew the complaints they had
lodged
with the police and the police stopped their investigations. </P>
<P>Siddiqi said that in the domestic violence cases, the advantage was
that
marriages were saved and couples given a second chance. </P>
<P>Inayat Bunglawala, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council
of
Britain, said: “The MCB supports these tribunals. If the Jewish courts
are
allowed to flourish, so must the sharia ones.” </P>
<P><I>Additional reporting: Helen
Brooks</I></P></DIV></FONT></DIV></FONT></DIV>&l
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