Sharia in the UK
OP - June 15, 2016, 04:29 PM
Sharia in the UK: Cultural Appreciation or Deprival?
A Critical Analysis
By Hana Poyant
Sharia, the body of Islamic religious law based on the Muslim holy book, the Koran. It is implemented in varying degrees in various countries in the world. It covers a range of issues, including It covers issues including worship, commercial dealings, marriage and penal laws.
The effects of the implementation of the Sharia law has been deemed as controversial and been criticized for clashing with many aspects of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and democracy.
In the UK, a system of courts dealing applying the sharia law has grown across the country to help mediate in disputes between Muslim families. They operate mainly from mosques, settling financial and family disputes according to religious principles. Sharia law, imported from theocracies like Saudi Arabia, first began to be used here in a strictly limited form, dealing mainly with narrow issues like Islamic financial contracts. But as the Muslim population has grown and the pervasive creed of multiculturalism has become ever more powerful, so Sharia law has rapidly grown in influence within some communities. An current estimate reveals that approximately 85 Sharia courts operate in the UK. A few are officially recognized tribunals, operating under the Arbitration Act, with powers to set contracts between parties, mainly in commercial disputes, but also to deal with issues such as domestic violence, family disputes and inheritance battles.
The Sharia Council in the UK is not legally recognized by authorities, however, is currently taking measures to ensure its objective of gaining validity is obtained.
Britain's recent move to enshrine the sharia Law into the UK legal system has been met with a high level of protest. The was to support the spiritual, religious and cultural beliefs from people from different backgrounds. This would also result in the public coming from such backgrounds would be able to receive the help they require from English courts and would present a process that reflects a change of people obtaining the help they require from general lawyers and courts than that of sharia specialist lawyers and Islamic courts. As of now, many minority religious communities may feel that the gap between their principles and the legal system of the state is so vast, the only option open to them is to opt out of the mainstream legal system.
The Law Society of UK has published guidelines which were then discreetly distributed to lawyers in England and Wales to assist solicitors who have been instructed to prepare a valid will which follows Sharia succession rules whilst remaining in the current legal framework otherwise knows as the "Sharia Compliant Wills". The new guidance will allow people the freedom to choose a will to reflect their own religious beliefs. The guidelines were issued to lawyers in England and Wales to help them navigate the two different legal systems. Lawyers are not required to follow them, but doing so makes it easier for them to account to oversight bodies for their actions. The new guidance is said to allow people the freedom to choose a will to reflect their own religious beliefs. The Law society also aims to legitimize and normalize the sharia law.
The guidelines written, draws attention to a number of matters, Inheritances will be divided according to gender which would mean that male members of a family would get double the share than that of their female counterparts. Also, adopted children and children born out of wedlock could be denied any inheritance
This criticism surrounding these guidelines have bought to light various issues, specially the serious breach of equality laws in the Up. It has been argued that The UK has the most comprehensive equality laws in the world, the guidelines seems undermine this by approving a system that deprives women, non-Muslim and children born out of marriage to second class citizenship.
The current rules of intestacy in the UK states that if a person as to die without leaving a will, or if the will left is not legally valid their property must be shared out according to certain rules and Only married or civil partners and some other close relatives can inherit under the rules of intestacy. The proportion depends on circumstances, however, often results in an equal inheritance. Under the sharia law, the same situation will have different result. It is the male members of the family who will be given most if not all of the belongings and property of the diseased, often the female members are placed at the bottom of the pyramid of the inheritance laws under sharia.
The secularity of the laws in the UK has also been touched upon. It is stated that all UK laws should be progressive and secular, incorporating the rights and equalities established by Parliament over many years in relation to race, religion, handicap, sex and gender and it is completely unacceptable for Sharia or similar laws to have any influence and that equality should mean that all UK citizens are subject to the same laws, regardless of their religion.
These wills drafted according to the Sharia family tribunals, are against public policy and should cause immense disquiet within the profession. The law of succession in this country has evolved over hundreds of years to create fairness and equality under the law irrespective of sex, race, belief, marital status or accidents of birth. Cruel, uncivilized stigma demonizing homosexuals unmarried couples and illegitimate children has no place in the western, free and liberal society decades ago and any attempt to reintroduce them on religious precepts should be vehemently opposed.
The Right to freedom of thought and belief is available to all as individual rights but public interest not religion should place in the law making process and no religious group should become privileged over any other in this regard.
There is also the fear of creating a legal system parallel to that of the English legal system. Further developments may also occur as a result of this that may widen the gap further. It may well be possible that this system may have opened a floodgate to differences that will help in ensuring that a gap is maintained, it is possible that no single legal code can prevail.
Should a will be drafted according to sharia, the potential female, illegimate, adopted children and family members will face a breach of their right of protection from discrimination. This also has the potential to be misused. Families may use this law as a method to "control" or "punish" other members of a family which may in turn may deprive them of many other rights .A divorced spouse also may no longer a Sharia heir, as the entitlement depends on a valid Muslim marriage existing at the date of death, this could well result in victims of domestic abuse being forced to stay with their partners/ families in fear of being left with nothing. In Britain, where women make up more than 50% of the working population, to adopt such a principal has been compared to taking a step backward away from modern civilization. Non- Muslim spouses, children or others will not be able to inherit at all as they are not considered as family members under the sharia law. This could pose as a major issue at present as there is a growing trend in the number of persons marrying outside their race. Also, in this youth dominated society, children in some families choose a different faith than that oft their parents, some deciding to not follow any faith at all. The sharia law does not cover this.
Another issue highlighted is that implementing such a controversial and multi-perceptional law into the English legal system is bound to cause the legal system difficulty in adapting to it. Many experts unfamiliar to the law which dates back centuries ago may not fully understand the concept itself. There is also the slight possibility that if this does have the desired political affect, to appear culturally sensitive, there may be a rift created in society as a result of endless debates and further changes, which may create a bridge between religiously sensitive different sections in the society purely based on religious views.
The question that arises here is which would be better? To review the guidelines and draft ones that are under the name of Sharia but offering more leniency and protect rights such as applying techniques such as the Statutory Interpretation to certain terms or amending words and clauses such as illegimate and adopted or to not allow the sharia law any authority in the UK legal system?.
The fact that the sharia law comes in the form of a choice, a person can choose to opt for sharia or can follow the general law does not make a lot of difference. Due to strong cultural beliefs often witnessed in such communities, most of the communities will choose to opt for the sharia la regardless of other options available. This will also serve as a form of encouragement for others to follow suit.
It is also important to take into consideration other religions and sections of the society. In UK an estimated number of 18.6% represent the Muslim population, while 15.2% are Hindu, 4.4 are Sikhs, and Jews represent 5.0% of the population, it can be argued that the English Legal system also need to accommodate views and beliefs from other religions in the UK legal system. Some argue that Sharia courts are no different from Beth Din, long-established Jewish community courts in which proceedings are conducted in accordance with English law, but are rooted in religious principles. The Sharia council claims that targeting Islamic courts are designed to increase the sense of mistrust of Muslims that already exists in wider society. This may in turn lead to the need to create further guidelines accommodating the most practiced religions in the UK and in turn may create the potential to all religion related laws to take a separate form than that of the English legal system, which ones again gives rise to the theory of a 'parallel system" in the English legal system.
The issue lies with the un-compatibility of the sharia law with the English legal system. Should sharia and other courts continue to function as normal, via arbitration, for the purposes of marriage counselling and such, used by religious minorities when and if the choose to do so? or should the sharia law be given a higher status in the society and the legal system, creating a risk for a major number of uncertainties in the possible future?. The implications of the sharia law can be plainly seen in societies and countries that have majority of the population from the same faith, it may be well suited there as cultures, beliefs and everyday norms do not clash in such a great level as it does in a diverse country such as the UK.
Many notable critics have stated that Law safeguards equality. The British history and tradition depicts a tale where people have fought for centuries for equality. To have a component added which may poses as a threat or at the very least strike a great level of imbalance into the system can mean that the system is not functioning properly. To frame certain ideas or beliefs of one particular section of the society in law which governs all of the population would in be incorrect. Requests for further review into this matter have been raised in the British Parliament and is currently being considered by the Law society of UK.
Topic: Sharia in the UK