Sharia court to decide Muslim cases in the UK
September 16, 2008
According to a report, five Sharia courts in Britain are equipped with ‘official powers’ to rule on Muslim civil cases. The Sunday Times reported that rulings made by the five courts in London, Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester and Nuneaton in Warwickshire are enforceable with the power of the judicial system, through the country high courts or high court.
Edinburgh and Glasgow will soon have Sharia courts. Until this point, the rulings of Sharia courts in Britain could not be enforced and everything depended on voluntary compliance among the Muslims. The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, which was set up in 2007 to provide a viable alternative for the Muslim community seeking to resolve disputes in accordance with Islamic law, runs the Sharia court.
Shaykh Faiz Siddiqi, chairman of the governing council of the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, had taken advantage of a clause in the Arbitration Act 1996 to give rulings of the Sharia courts legal backing. The 1996 Arbitration Act classifies the Sharia courts as arbitration tribunals. Sharia courts can rule on various cases involving financial rows to divorce and domestic violence.
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