India is not an Islamic state, so this controversy is indicative of the way many Muslims perceive the relationship between the Sharia and the laws of the state. From the BBC, with thanks to Ali Dashti:
A conservative Muslim body in India has gone to the High Court to challenge the legal age of marriage, which currently stands at 18.
The All-India Muslim Personal Law Board insists that in family matters the country’s Muslims should be subject only to Islamic law, known as Sharia.
It maintains that it is supported by a 1937 act upholding Muslims’ right to be guided by this law.
The debate has arisen because of a family who have been threatened with arrest because they allowed the marriage of an under-age girl.
Fatima Mehjabin and her husband Muazzamil dote on their four year-old son, Fazal, along with his little brother and sister.
But the very basis for their marriage is now being questioned in court because when they were wed five years ago, Fatima was 17 – one year under the limit set by Indian civil law.
Creeper plants
Fatima says: “Muslim personal law says you can marry at 12, so I didn’t see a problem with it. There are lots of bad things in society these days, so the sooner a girl gets married, the better.” …
But Muazzamil wants to legitimise his own marriage and let other Muslims follow suit, from the age of puberty.
He says: “The case we’ve been fighting so long has become a national issue. And, God willing, we will win it and Muslims all over India will be able to follow Sharia law.”