The Guardian view on sharia councils: shedding some light | Editorial

Strikingly little is known about these bodies. Awareness is the key to ensuring that they do not violate the legal rights of women who use them

The use of Islamic principles in settling marital and family affairs in Britain is in some communities a deeply entrenched social phenomenon, giving rise to so-called sharia councils. Tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of Muslims attempt to live in conformity with sharia rules. They are free to do so provided this does not lead them into breaches of English law.

However, there are worrying instances where councils and advisory tribunals have been suspected of limiting the rights of women who come before them, with questions of family law resolved in favour of the more literal and austere interpretations of Muslim traditions. These instances are also viewed on the far right as Trojan horses which will lead to an eventual Islamic takeover of western Europe, and this ludicrous paranoid fantasy has some political power. A subject at once so explosive and so widely ignored needs sober and scrupulous handling.

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from The Guardian http://ift.tt/2DZR6Q0
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