How many sharia law courts in britain

They say the councils should be reformed, until an alternative way of seeking a religious divorce can be found. Unsurprisingly, given their negative press, sharia councils are wary of media interest. Birmingham is confident enough about its reputation to be an exception. The women are asked if they want to go through a reconciliation process, or straight to the panel for a decision the councils offer couples mediation.

Islamic marriages are contracts nikahs , signed by both parties and two witnesses. Each must contain an amount of money mahr that is granted to the wife. While both men and women can obtain a divorce in Islam, the process is simpler for men unless the woman has included an equal right to divorce in the contract, and few do.

Subject to various conditions and restrictions, husbands can end the marriage simply by declaring they are divorcing their wife — known as a talaq. A wife can also initiate a divorce known as a khula , and if the husband agrees, the marriage can be ended. If he contests it, a third party can dissolve the contract — which is where sharia councils step in. Without the council rulings, the panel tell me, many women feel they are still married in the sight of God — even if they have had a civil divorce.

During the afternoon, I watch women file in, one by one, as seven cases are heard. Some are alone, others have relatives with them; some are mothers. There is a teaching assistant and an eye specialist among them, and most hearings are in English two women prefer to speak in Urdu. All but one have their marriages dissolved. Zaynab is a young mother. She explains that her marriage fell apart in , and the last time she saw her husband was when he tried to drunkenly break into her home.

He has since moved away. The three scholars question her gently. Is her marriage registered under English law? No, her husband was worried it would affect his benefits.

Farage took his information from a interview in the Telegraph, in which a member of the House of Lords, Baroness Cox, mentions the same figure as Civitas.

Sharia councils usually give judgments on religious matters, but there are some circumstances in which a court of law might uphold decisions they make. Generally speaking, courts won't interfere with decisions that are purely religious, but they don't accord them legal status either. For instance, civil marriage recognised by the state for official purposes is different to the religious rituals that make it valid in the eyes of a given God. The religious celebrant has to comply with certain legal formalities, and must be authorised to register marriages in some cases.

Equally, the paperwork required for a civil marriage or divorce needn't be recognised by your church. For this reason, many Sharia organisations exist to issue Islamic divorce certificates, and give advice on other aspects of religious law.

One piece of research from the University of Reading has identified 30 major councils, and some smaller ones, providing these services. The way Sharia becomes legally binding is where a council or similar body is used for arbitration.

This means taking a commercial or personal dispute—never anything covered by criminal law—to a neutral forum and agreeing to be bound by what it decides. They were happy until the pressures of married life and children brought a whole different reality to their lives.

He cheated — several times. She forgave and tried to adjust her life, her views, and her tolerance levels over and over again. It went on for a while until something changed.

She became more spiritual and, in doing so, reached the conclusion that she did not have to tolerate his behaviour. Her faith taught her that she was an equal human being who was worthy of respect. She was having none of it. Something had stirred in her.

She had rediscovered her self-esteem, despite his best efforts to thrash it into tiny pieces over the years. He took her rejection of him in his stride and remarried after the separation. Not a civil ceremony, mind, but an Islamic one. Due to his refusal to grant her an Islamic divorce, she was left hanging in limbo while he was free to build a new relationship with another woman and have more children.

Why did she need a religious person or certificate to tell her that her marriage was over? Surely his lack of financial contributions to their children and her household proved that he has ended his relationship with her. Their legal authority comes from being voluntarily chosen as a decision-maker, and they can't make any decisions that are contrary to national law.

From the research that's been done to date, it's not clear how many exist or how many different types there are. One piece of research from the University of Reading has identified 30 major councils, and some smaller ones, providing these services. An estimate of "85 at least" was given in a report by the think tank Civitas. It was repeated in an interview in the Telegraph with Baroness Cox in April UKIP told us that he got his number from the Telegraph article.

But the Civitas estimate includes online forums and admits that the actual number is "indeterminate". The coalition government had said that the courts have the powers they need to protect people from coercion and unequal treatment. But campaigners like Baroness Cox reply that whatever about the strict legal position, "the power of Sharia councils lies in how they are perceived by their communities".

Academics tend to be more relaxed, saying that "fears that councils are forming a parallel legal system appear to be unfounded". A new book by a Dutch researcher is reportedly more critical about how women in particular are treated. Researchers also stress that we need more information to work out how important Sharia councils are on the ground, and the experiences of people using them.

Similarly, the government now says that "there is evidence of a problem, but we have an inadequate understanding of all the issues involved".