Sharia law in the UK?

[kangeiko]

Reactions to the Archbishop of Canterbury's comments on Sharia law in the UK.

Of particular interest to those interest in debates centring around individual vs. group rights. Also of interest because no-one (other than the tabloids, who have 1 braincell between them) has lost their shit - yet.

Comments

[lynnenne]

I think this is the key point for me:

"Under English law, people may devise their own way to settle a dispute in front of an agreed third party as long as both sides agree to the process." (emphasis mine)

In the majority of civil cases (lawsuits, divorce settlements, custody agreements, etc.) this is already done everywhere. Cases are settled and deals struck without ever going to court, so the parties can divide up property and waive rights however they see fit. My concern is the same as that of the government advisor on Muslim women: If we set up Sharia courts, many Muslim women may feel pressured by family members to use them and abide by their rulings, even if those rulings are not in the woman's best interest (or that of her children). If Muslims wish to employ attorneys who deal according to Sharia law, I'm all for it. But once we enshrine Sharia law in courts, I worry about how it will impact the "equality before the law" that Muslim women the world over are working so hard to win.

[kakodaimon]

I completely agree with this! I have never understood why people need the force of secular law to back up their religious laws. If religion is important and the will of the community is important to an individual or group, then they will consider religious law to be binding. If not, then not... I understand that there is a problem in Jewish law (this may be true in Islamic law) in which a man sometimes refuses to give his wife a religious divorce, although they may have a secular divorce (for example, the man may no longer be observant enough to care, but she does). This means she can no longer get married in her community. However, I believe secular law can and does punish ex-partners for being total dicks to each other during the divorce process - obviously my understanding is pretty limited, but I'm pretty sure there are ways to compensate which don't require reference to religious law at all. And you're very correct in pointing out about the civil cases.