SHARI’AH COURTS EXIST IN BRITAIN

Shari’ah courts exist in Britain. They have been there for the last 25 years. The Islamic Shari’ah Council, a panel of Britain’s top Muslim scholars, has decided thousands of Muslim marriage and divorce related cases not only in Britain but other European countries since its establishments 25 years ago. A panel of seven to 10 scholars of the Council hears about 50 divorce cases a month, sometimes settling disputes with couples as far as Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands and Germany. Hasan, a 55-year-old India-born Muslim, who studied jurisprudence in Saudi Arabia before coming to Britain 31 years ago, is frequently called upon to give evidence in British courts as a Muslim scholar. Lawyers often send Muslim clients to him, believing a Shari’ah court will be a better place for settling disagreements. Under the English law, people may devise their own way to settle a dispute in front of an agreed third party as long as both sides agree to the process. Shari’ah courts and the Jewish Beth Din, which already exist in the UK, come into this category.