No such thing as ”just a bit of sharia”.
Not only that, they (the supporters of it) simply can’t be trusted to adhere to the strict guidelines laid down by the state.
The movement of Sharia principles into — and over — Family Law is just one example. Other cases cover a huge variety of areas. There is, for instance, the UK government’s perpetual desire — whether Labour or Conservative — to make Britain a center for Islamic Sharia finance. This includes the issuing by the British government — the first in a non-Muslim country — of Sharia-compliant bonds [sukuk]. All these financial decisions, and the decisions on the probity of investments, will be made by a team of Islamic scholars. Whether their idea of reputable investment is what the average UK citizen regards as being reputable investment we shall have to see. But by pushing people towards investing with them, the British government is supporting the growth of investment in Sharia funds and thus strengthening such funds and the people who promote them.
UK: Our New Sharia Law
by Douglas Murray
April 3, 2014 at 5:00 am
The question of what constitutes “voluntary” remains. Could the state ever have confidence that a woman whose marital problems were put before a Sharia court actually “volunteered” for this process, or avoided it, or would have any say whatsoever in accepting the court’s judgement? In reality, the woman never stood a chance.
If we are indeed seeing the beginning of this process, we are far from seeing what lies at the end of it.
What is Sharia and what should be our attitude towards it? These questions, which have intermittently swirled around Britain in recent years, have just re-erupted thanks to a recent story in the Sunday Telegraph.
The story revealed that The Law Society — the body which represents and advises solicitors in England and Wales — has drawn up guidance for its members on how to draw up wills in accordance with Islamic law. The document can be seen here. As the Telegraph pointed out, High Street solicitors in England and Wales will now be assisted in drawing up documents that refuse women an equal share of inheritance and that discounts the potential inheritance of non-believers entirely. Nicholas Fluck, president of The Law Society, told the Sunday Telegraph that the document, which would be recognised by the national courts, would promote “good practice” in applying Islamic principles. The paper claims that this document effectively enshrines Sharia law in the British legal system for the first time.
Since this is such an important matter it is crucial to note what is right and what is wrong about this story. First the good news: this is not the first entry of Sharia into British law. Now the bad news: it has happened a lot already. This is just one in a string of such developments.
The first opening that adherents and advocates of Sharia law were given in the UK came from the 1996 Arbitration Act, which allowed civil disputes to be settled by any means of arbitration to which both parties consented. So, for instance, if two parties wished to have a dispute voluntarily arbitrated by a religious or other social arbiter, they could.
More here. H/T: Fjordman