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Sharia In Britain
The Telegraph has an interesting report on how sharia law is increasingly used by British Muslim communities instead of the "formal" legal system.
In an interview with the newspaper, Patrick Sookhdeo claims that sharia courts have created an "alternative parallel unofficial legal system" in the UK, which an Islamic barrister and academic predicts could become "a formal network of Muslim courts" within a decade.
The principles of sharia law come party from the Koran, partly from other sources including tribal traditions. While in principle British authorities might see no danger in people seeking redress for minor offences in courts run by their peers and religious and community elders, it seems that the courts "try" more serious offences too. The Telegraph reports on how an informal Somali community court dealt with a stabbing after the victim told police he did not seek to press charges.
While the police say that they will pursue some charges, such as domestic abuse, even when the victim refuses to press charges, some commentators observe that the sharia courts are satisfying a desire for justice where Britain's legal system fails. The court "operates on a low budget, it operates on very small timescales and the process and the laws of evidence are far more lenient and it's less awesome an environment than the English courts," one supporter says, adding,
"I was speaking to a police officer who said we no longer have the bobby on the beat who will give somebody a slap on the wrist.
"So I think there is a case to be made under which the elders sit together and reprimand people, trying to get them to change."
The court ordered the stabbing assailant to pay compensation to his victim - presumably, failure to do so would bring further shame upon the family. There are, to date, no reports that some of sharia's grislier sentences have been passed by the courts.
Mr Sookhdea says "Sharia courts now operate in most larger cities, with different sectarian and ethnic groups operating their own courts that cater to their specific needs according to their traditions."
In the article, sharia's religious roots are played down and the courts are presented as communities seeking redress and sorting their differences together.
Is this "community-based" justice any better than vigilantism? Despite the claims of its supporters, is it desirable to have two - or more - legal systems operating in Britain, not least since one makes an appeal to its followers over and above the demands of the national law? The religious element of sharia is crucially important, placing obligation to God above obligation to other laws. Critics are sure to smell communitarianism, rejection of integration and a form of self-imposed purdah at work here - and link it to other demands radical Muslims make to have national laws changed to satisfy their beliefs.
Or, as some argue, is sharia filling a gap where the police and the legal system fail victims? Is Britain's Muslim community, or elements of it, developing a parallel legal system which takes seriously the crimes that the establishment believes are no longer taking seriously - mugging, theft, anti-social behaviour - but which make life hell for their victims?
