British Sharia

If you thought the Swat was the only home of Shariah courts, Dawn’s report may force a rethink. A startling report by M. Ziauddin, the Pakistani paper’s face in London stated on July 8: “Media debate is continuing since it was revealed in a report last week that at least 85 Sharia tribunals are now operating in the UK. Some quarters have attacked British law which is seen to be threatened by the creeping tide of radical Sharia. The Sharia courts in the UK are regularly giving advice on issues, including marriage and divorce. Decisions concerning marriages not recognised under English law, polygamy and disputes regarding children are being made by these Sharia courts, according to the report by the Civitas, a think-tank. The report claimed that there was no clear divide between the functions of Imams and the Sharia courts. One report said that about two-thirds of Muslim marriages were not being registered under the Marriages Act, which was illegal and a woman with such a marriage would have no choice but to go to a Sharia tribunal.”