THE HOUSE of Lords on Friday described the Islamic legal code Sharia as ’wholly incompatible’ with human rights legislation, a comment that could spark an outcry among Muslims in the United Kingdom.
The Upper House of the British Parliament has drawn sharp attention to the conflict between Sharia and the UK law, calling the Islamic legal code ’wholly incompatible’ with human rights legislation.
The controversial remarks came amidst a debate in Britain over the appropriateness of incorporating Sharia courts into the UK’s legal system, a move advocated by figures including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams and Lords Phillips, the new senior Law Lord.
The comments in the House of Lords came today as it considered the case of a woman who, if she was sent back to Lebanon, would be obliged under Sharia law to hand over custody of her 12-year-old son to a man who beat her, threw her off a balcony and on one occasion, attempted to strangle her.
The woman was seeking asylum in the UK to avoid the provisions of Sharia law that give fathers or other male family members the exclusive custody of children over seven.
In the most high-profile UK criticism of the family law provisions of Sharia law so far, the Lords stated that these provisions breached the mother’s rights to family life and the right against discrimination and were severely disruptive to the child.
The minister for community cohesion, Sadiq Khan, a Muslim said recently that Sharia courts risked entrenching unequal bargaining power between the sexes.
Sharia courts have been delivering judgements in the UK since last year and currently operate in London, Birmingham, Bradford, Coventry and Manchester, with plans to expand into Scotland.
The Upper House of the British Parliament has drawn sharp attention to the conflict between Sharia and the UK law, calling the Islamic legal code ’wholly incompatible’ with human rights legislation.
The controversial remarks came amidst a debate in Britain over the appropriateness of incorporating Sharia courts into the UK’s legal system, a move advocated by figures including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams and Lords Phillips, the new senior Law Lord.
The comments in the House of Lords came today as it considered the case of a woman who, if she was sent back to Lebanon, would be obliged under Sharia law to hand over custody of her 12-year-old son to a man who beat her, threw her off a balcony and on one occasion, attempted to strangle her.
The woman was seeking asylum in the UK to avoid the provisions of Sharia law that give fathers or other male family members the exclusive custody of children over seven.
In the most high-profile UK criticism of the family law provisions of Sharia law so far, the Lords stated that these provisions breached the mother’s rights to family life and the right against discrimination and were severely disruptive to the child.
The minister for community cohesion, Sadiq Khan, a Muslim said recently that Sharia courts risked entrenching unequal bargaining power between the sexes.
Sharia courts have been delivering judgements in the UK since last year and currently operate in London, Birmingham, Bradford, Coventry and Manchester, with plans to expand into Scotland.
Source: Merinews
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