September 17, 2008 1:10 PM
Britain adopts Islamic law, Sharia courts
While we're distracted with elections, Sharia law has made a mighty advance in Britain:
Britain Adopts Islamic Law, Gives Sharia Courts Full Power to Rule on Civil Cases
Monday, September 15, 2008Islamic law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases.
The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence.
Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with the full power of the judicial system, through county courts or the country's High Court, a part of its Supreme Court system.
Previously, the rulings of sharia courts in Britain could not be enforced, and depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims.
Politicians and church leaders expressed concerns that this could mark the beginnings of a "parallel legal system" based on sharia for some British Muslims.
Read entire article here.
Thanks to Anna for the link.
Do you ever wonder what would happen to our outspoken and out-of-their-league celebrities - currently free to run down their country while thriving on morality off-screen and on-screen - should the enemies of America prevail here?
Posted in Current Affairs | Permalink
Comments
While I believe that God teaches divorce is evil, I also believe that God would rather a wife and mother divorce her husband to protect herself and her children from possible death at the hands of an abuser than to remain married in the eyes of the state.
My understanding of the new regulations in Britain is that now Islam law could prevent women from seeking civil divorces in such cases.
[I am NOT saying that I think divorce is ok. It isn't. God always hates every divorce, regarless of the cause. HOWEVER, sometimes civil divorce is necessary to protect the safety of women and children.]
Posted by: Anna | September 17, 2008 1:50 PM
You know, that's just scary.
I recently took a course in modern Asian history, and we talked a lot about the repercussions of the Opium War. Essentially Western countries bullied their way into China, Japan, Korea, etc, and forced those governments to grant "extraterritoriality." This meant that a citizen of Britain, or France, or Holland, etc, who committed a crime in China would not be tried according to Chinese law, but rather according to their own country. We make a big deal about how pompous such a requirement was, and how "bad" Western nations were for forcing this.
Now we (the West) turn around and allow a similar kind of extraterritoriality, although based on religion, not citizenship, and call it good. Like I said, scary.
What about British Muslims who are moderate/progressive? Will they be subject to sharia law?
Posted by: teachergirl | September 17, 2008 4:54 PM
The problem is: there is no difference between civil and criminal code in Sharia as evidenced by the government-sanctioned overlap into criminal code with Sharia rulings on domestic violence.
This is very concerning.
Posted by: Elena | September 17, 2008 5:50 PM
