More on this story. "Sharia rulings on divorces and disputes to be rubber-stamped by English courts," by Chris Hastings for the Telegraph, October 25:
A Government decision to allow Islamic courts in Britain the right to rule on family disputes and divorces has been condemned as discriminatory to women.Civil rights campaigners are angry that ministers have approved plans to allow Sharia councils in Britain the right to settle disputes regarding money, property and access to children.
They say such tribunals are institutions for male domination which treat women like second-class citizens.
Couples who choose to use the Sharia system must get the ruling rubber-stamped by a judge sitting in an ordinary family court.
But neither party has to attend this hearing and approval can be obtained by filling in a two-page application.
The endorsement of Sharia was announced to MPs by Bridget Prentice, a junior minister, in answer to a parliamentary question.
She said Sharia councils would still have no jurisdiction in England, and rulings by religious authorities would have no legal force.
But she added: "If, in a family dispute dealing with money or children, the parties to a judgement in Sharia council wish to have this recognised by English authorities, they are at liberty to draft a consent order embodying the terms of the agreement and submit it to an English court. This allows English judges to scrutinise it to ensure that it complies with English legal tenets."
Campaigners condemned the plans as unacceptable and said that the rulings were not compatible with English law, while the Conservatives insisted that should be safeguards for women.
Nick Herbert, the shadow justice secretary, said: "There can be no place for parallel legal systems in our country.
"It is vital that in matrimonial disputes where a Sharia council is involved, women's rights are protected and judgments are non-binding."
Another Conservative spokesman, Paul Goodman, the shadow minister for communities and local government, accused the Government of keeping the public in the dark and warned: "There must be one British law for everyone."
Dr David Green, the Director of the Civitas think tank, said: "I think there are a number of problems with regards to Sharia law. These Sharia councils are supposed to operate under the Arbitration Act which allows citizens in a free society to settle their disputes on a voluntary basis if they so wish.
"But that legislation assumes that both parts are regarded as being equal. I think the problem is with tribunals like these you can't always be sure that women would be treated equally.
"Under Islam a man can divorce a woman just by saying I divorce you three times. But a woman must go to a Sharia court to seek a divorce. Often the ruling goes in favour of the woman, but I think on the whole these councils are institutions for male domination. As a result I do not believe these rulings and proceedings should be recognised under British law.
"Under the traditions of Sharia law the voice of a women is not equal to that of a man."...
Are any of these dhimmi idiots advocating sharia law in the UK aware of the near impossibility of getting a conviction against a rapist. Requiring, as it does, 4 male muslim winesses of good character to the rape.
That fact alone, should be enough to wake up anyone to the barbarity of this law.
It appears the Brits insist on giving away the keys to their nation to the muslim invaders.
" "Under the traditions of Sharia law the voice of a women is not equal to that of a man."..."
No shit sherlock
This might be the UK's only hope of self-preservation now - to declare in court the injust and insane points of Islam. I hope they go further and debate all of the ridiculous practices of their occupiers, while they still have some control of their own highest courts.
Good luck, charlie.
Remember: Any time you say anything FACTUAL about Islam and its barbarity, it's branded 'hate speech,' regardless of its truthfulness.
Sure, the UK ... MIGHT ... take your advice and declare the injustices of Shari'a Law, and debate its practices --
But in the words of Wayne...
" ... and monkeys MIGHT fly outta my butt."
Hey, it's good to see anybody standing up against the insanity of Shari'ah law in modern Britain.
Well, giving it a shot in court is better than donig nothing. The law is their only hope now, and is it accidental that by legalizing sharia they have invited this mess into court, maybe so the could be defeated legally?
I'd like to think it was intelligently planned, but maybe it was a lucky accident.
This could just be an isolated incident, a random and isolated act of sanity on the part of the courts. Time will tell.