Sharia Family Law

[Ae589]

"I am married under shariah, there are halal bank accounts, and meat is slaughtered according to Islamic law"

That's just crap - non of those things are supported by British law (actually, trades description probably covers Halal). THey are entirely voluntary.

" That, surely, is what civilised societies do."

Yes, but that is not what is happening here - it's not a debate, it's a suggestion from one person in a position of relative power to another.



Slightly off topic, I'd like an introduction to Islamic economic law - can anyone recommend a good book?

 

[JoePolitix]

"I am married under shariah, there are halal bank accounts, and meat is slaughtered according to Islamic law"

That's just crap - non of those things are supported by British law (actually, trades description probably covers Halal). THey are entirely voluntary.

That's exactly the point Saeed was making, which is why he concludes "I would though strongly urge the calls for shariah enshrined in legislation to stop... These calls for shariah do not help. If you want want your inheritance to be divided according to Islam, get a Will. If you want to safeguard yourself in event of a divorce, get a prenup. None of this will be enshrined in legislation any time soon, and it doesn't need to be."

 

[JHE]

That's exactly the point Saeed was making, which is why he concludes "I would though strongly urge the calls for shariah enshrined in legislation to stop... These calls for shariah do not help. If you want want your inheritance to be divided according to Islam, get a Will. If you want to safeguard yourself in event of a divorce, get a prenup. None of this will be enshrined in legislation any time soon, and it doesn't need to be."

You and Mr Saeed are partly right and partly wrong.

Re. inheritance you are right. If Mr Moneybags Muslim wants to leave his wealth according to sharia, he can just make a will that gives twice as much to his sons as his daughters. Sexism in will-making is allowed.

Re. divorce you are wrong. In sharia, the father has custody of children after divorce. In English law (and Scots law, I imagine) the job of the court is to decide what is in the best interests of the children. The court, quite rightly, is not going to grant custody to the father just because of some sharia-inspired 'prenuptial agreement' saying that he should have custody.

 

[JoePolitix]

You and Mr Saeed are partly right and partly wrong.

Re. inheritance you are right. If Mr Moneybags Muslim wants to leave his wealth according to sharia, he can just make a will that gives twice as much to his sons as his daughters. Sexism in will-making is allowed.

Re. divorce you are wrong. In sharia, the father has custody of children after divorce. In English law (and Scots law, I imagine) the job of the court is to decide what is in the best interests of the children. The court, quite rightly, is not going to grant custody to the father just because of some sharia-inspired 'prenuptial agreement' saying that he should have custody.

I'm not "partly" anything, as I have made no comment on that subject.

I note though that you make a logical jump in assuming that Saeed was referring to custody of children rather than say allocation of wealth which is normally what prenups concern.

 

[JHE]

I note though that you make a logical jump in assuming that Saeed was referring to custody of children rather than say allocation of wealth which is normally what prenups concern.

No, I'm just pointing out that, if custody is disputed, as it often is, a 'prenup' will not settle the matter.

 

[JoePolitix]

No, I'm just pointing out that, if custody is disputed, as it often is, a 'prenup' will not settle the matter.

Who said it would?

 

[JHE]

And while we're on the subject...

(i) A 'prenup' cannot introduce differing rights to divorce. In sharia, it is much easier for a man to divorce his wife than for a woman to divorce her husband.

(ii) Mr Saeed's proposals obviously leave polygamy illegal.


Still, I'm glad that he's encouraging his co-religionists to drop their demands for sharia to be incorporated into law in this country.