A new web resource called ‘Sharia Watch UK’ was launched on April 24 at the House of Lords.
It aims to highlight the impact of Islamism in Britain and the often hidden face of is proponents. The launch was hosted by Baroness Cox, who has campaigned against the use of shari’a law in tribunals and councils across the UK. Lady Cox has argued that shari’a law ‘undermines the most fundamental principles of equality enshrined in British law’ in respect of its treatment of women.
Shari’a tribunals and councils currently operate a system of family law in the UK which denies women unilateral divorce rights – even in cases of domestic violence. Shari’a family law also denies child custody to women and treats their testimony as worth less than that of their husbands.
At the launch, a new report was published which analyses the beliefs of apparently mainstream Muslim organisations and argues that such beliefs represent an extremist view and should be regarded as such. Some of the senior figures involved in these groups advocate not only shari’a law, but jihad against non-Muslims. Furthermore, they express a desire for a full Islamic state – including barbaric punishments – in Britain.
The report Sharia Law – Britain’s Blind Spot aims to demonstrate how such organisations are regularly represented in the media as ‘moderate’ and indeed are endorsed and supported by mainstream public figures.
Shari’a and the Law Society
Meanwhile, in early May, The Christian Institute reported that formal training on shari’a law is to be offered to high-street lawyers by the professional body which represents solicitors.
The Law Society is running an introduction to Islamic shari’a law for small firms in a bid to help lawyers serve their Muslim client base in areas of law such as family, children, wills and inheritance.
But Baroness Cox criticised the Law Society’s actions. She said: ‘While every citizen in this country is free to practice their religion, it is deeply disturbing that an organisation as prestigious as the Law Society appears to be encouraging the implementation of shari’a Law. Muslim women have claimed they feel ‘betrayed’ by Britain: they came here to escape shari’a law and they find the situation worse here than in the countries they came from’.
Law Society response
A spokesman for the Law Society said that holding a shari’a law training session does not make the topic a legal discipline. The society is aiming to roll out a seminar series on the subject, for which this session is a forerunner.
