Abstract
The existence and operation of unofficial Muslim civil courts in the West have been subject to debate and scrutiny. Different cases have emerged in countries like Britain, Europe, and the United States, where attempts have been made to accommodate or dismiss Shari’a courts. This chapter analyses this complex terrain between official and unofficial laws, their understanding and misunderstanding, as well as their interpretation and misinterpretation in the public. These courts primarily handle civil matters and have limited jurisdiction. They typically deal with issues such as marriage, divorce, and financial settlements within the Muslim community. These courts operate within the framework of existing legal systems and are subject to the overall legal structure and oversight of the respective countries. The decisions made in these courts are non-binding and do not override the official state laws. The scope and functioning of these courts may vary in different jurisdictions. The degree of recognition and accommodation by the state also differs.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
“Austria passes controversial reforms to 1912 Islam law.” BBC World 25 February 2015. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31629543. Accessed 11 July 2018.
Lean, N. (2012). The Islamophobia Industry: How the Right Manufactures Fear of Muslims. London: Pluto Press.
”Shari’a Law “could have UK role”.” BBC News, 4 July 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7488790.stm. Accessed 25 April 2018.
Bakht, Natasha. 2004. “Family Arbitration Using Sharia Law: Examining Ontario’s Arbitration Act and its Impact on Women.” Muslim World Journal of Human Rights, 1.
Bakker, Laurens G.H. et al. 2010. Sharia in Nederland. Een studie naar islamitische advisering en geschilbeslechting bij moslims in Nederland.
Bano, S. 2011. “The Sharia, Islamic Family Laws and International Human Rights: Challenge for the CEDAW and the UN General Assembly.” Religion & Human Rights, 6 (2): 101–122.
Bano, Samia. 2013. “Islamic Family Law and English Family Courts: Reflecting on Legal Pluralism from the Perspective of Muslim Women’s Access to Justice.” Social & Legal Studies 22 (1): 57–78.
Barker, Renae. 2011. “Sharia Law in Australia: Our History and Current Proposals.” Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law 18 (3): 48–60.
Berger, Maurits S. 2015. “De (on)mogelijkheid van Sharia in Nederland. Met voorstellen voor toepassing van islamitisch familierecht.” In Actuele ontwikkelingen in het familierecht, edited by Katharina Boele-Woelki, 69. Ars Aequi.
Bouchard, M., & Turek, P. 2011. “Sharia Law and Canadian Family Law: Theory and Practice in Ontario.” In Islam, Society and Politics in Central Asia and the Caucasus edited by B. S. Turner and R. T. Kavanagh, 235–254. London: Routledge.
Boussiakou, Iris. 2008. “Religious Freedom and Minority Rights in Greece: The Case of the Muslim Minority in Western Thrace.” The European Institute, (December). http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/23191/1/GreeSE_No_21.pdf. Accessed 15 July 2018.
Brechin, Jessie. 2013. “A Study of the Use of Sharia Law in Religious Arbitration in the United Kingdom and the Concerns that this Raises for Human Rights.” Ecclesiastical Law Journal 15: 293.
Cohen, Lynne. 2000. “Inside the Beit Din.” Canadian Lawyer 5: 27.
Doughty, Steve. 2009. “British has 85 Shari’a Courts: The Astonishing Spread of the Islamic Justice Behind Closed Doors.” Daily Mail, (June). http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196165/Britain-85-Shari’a-courts-The-astonishing-spread-Islamic-justice-closed-doors.html. Accessed on 25 April 2018.
Edwards, Richard. 2008. “Shari’a Courts Operating in Britain.” The Telegraph, September 14. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2957428/Shari’a-law-courts-operating-in-Britain.html. Accessed on 25 April 2018.
European Commission of Human Rights. (1997). Report on the Application of Sharia Law in Europe. Brussels: European Commission of Human Rights.
Fadel, M. 2013. “The True, the Good and the Reasonable: The Theological and Ethical Roots of Public Reason in Islamic Law.” Fordham Law Review, 82 (1): 751–802.
Farid, Hafez. 2016. “Die MJÖ als Projektionsfläche für Verschwörungen.” In Jung, muslimisch, österreichisch: Einblicke in 20 Jahre Muslimische Jugend Österreich, edited by, Farid Hafez, Reinhard Heinisch, Raoul Kneucker and Regina Polak. Vienna: New Academic Press & Alhamra.
Farrar, Salim and Ghena Krayem. 2014. “Sharia in the West: From Constitutional Pluralism to Legal Pluralism in Europe and the USA.” Melbourne Journal of International Law 15 (1): 36–63.
Guardian. 2018. “Greece’s Muslim Minority Hails Change to Limit Power of Shari’a Law.” The Guardian. January 11. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/10/historic-step-greek-pm-hails-change-to-limit-power-of-Shari’a-law. Accessed 3 August 2018.
Hafez, Farid. 2013. “One Representing the Many, Institutionalized Austrian Islam.” In Debating Islam. Negotiating Religion, Europe, and the Self, edited by S. Behloul, S. Leuenberger & A. Tunger-Zanetti, 227–242. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag.
Hafez, Farid. 2017. “Austrian Muslims Protest against Austria’s Revised “Islam Act.”’ Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 37 (3): 267–83.
Hamilton, Fiona. 2009. “Non-Muslims Turning to Shari’a Courts to Resolve Civil Disputes.” The Times, July 21. http://themuslimlawyer.blogspot.com/2009/07/non-muslims-turning-to-Shari’a-courts-to_29.html. Accessed 25 April 2018.
Hickley, Matthew. 2008. “Islamic Shari’a Courts in Britain are now “Legally Binding”.” Daily Mail, September 15. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1055764/Islamic-Shari’a-courts-Britain-legally-binding.html. Accessed 25 April 2018.
Huus, Kari. 2012. ‘Federal Court Deals Blow to Anti-Shari’a Efforts,’ NBC News, January 10. http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/01/10/10097954-federal-court-deals-blow-to-anti-Shari’a-efforts?lite. Accessed 16 July 2018.
Jamal, Arif. 2016. “Australian Sharia Law Courts: An Alternative Form of Justice or a Threat to Our Legal System?” Sydney Law Review 38 (4): 625–650.
Johnson, Toni and Sergie, Mohammed A. 2014. “Islam: Governing under Shari’a.” Council on Foreign Relations July 25. http://www.netadvisor.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014-00-00-Islam_-Governing-Under-Shari’a-Council-on-Foreign-Relations.pdf. Accessed 13 July 2018.
Krayem, Ghena. 2014. “Recognition of Islamic Marriages in Australia: A Cautionary Tale.” Melbourne University Law Review 38 (2): 692–733.
Macfarlane, Julie. 2012. Islamic Divorce in North America: A Shari’a Path in a Secular Society. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Mach, Daniel and Jamil, Dakwar. 2011. “Anti-Shari’a Law: A Solution in Search of a Problem.” Huffpost Religion, May 20. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/20/anti-Shari’a-law-a-solutio_n_864389.html. Accessed 16 July 2018.
Maxwell, Daniel. 2014. “An Examination of Sharia Law in Australia in Light of Its Application in England.” Alternative Law Journal 39 (1): 17–21.
Nasralla, Shadia. 2015. “Austria Passes “Law on Islam” Banning Foreign Money for Muslim Groups.” Reuters, February 26. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-austria-muslims/austria-passes-law-on-islam-banning-foreign-money-for-muslim-groups-idUSKBN0LT28420150225. Accessed 11 July 2018.
Oltermann, Philip. 2018. “Austrian Full-face veil ban Condemned as a Failure by Police.” The Guardian, March 27. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/27/austrian-full-face-veil-ban-condemned-failure-police-integration-smog-marks-animal-costumes. Accessed 12 July 2018.
Patel,Fazia, Duss, Matthew and Toh, Amos. 2013. “Foreign Law Bans: Legal Uncertainties and Practical Problems.” Center for American Progress and Brennan Center for Justice, May 16. http://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/ForeignLawBans.pdf. Accessed 16 July 2018.
Pearl, D, Menski, W. (1998). Muslim Family Law. London: Sweet & Maxwell.
Rane, H, Ewart, J, and Abdalla, M. (2020). Media Framing of the Muslim World: Conflicts, Crises and Contexts. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rohe, Mathias. 2011. “Alternative Dispute Resolution in Europe under the Auspices of Religious Norms.” RELIGARE Working Paper 6. http://www.religareproject.eu/system/files/Alternative%20Dispute%20Resolution%20by%20Rohe%20e-version.pdf.
Shachar, Ayelet. 2011. Multicultural Jurisdictions: Cultural Differences and Women’s Rights. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Shah, P. (2010). Legal Pluralism in Conflict: Coping with Cultural Diversity in Law. London: Routledge.
Shah-Kazemi, Sonia N. 2001. Untying the Knot: Muslim Women, Divorce and the Shariah. Nuttfield Foundation.
Siddiqui, Mona. 2018. Independent Review into the Application of Sharia Law in England and Wales. London: UK Parliament. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/applying-sharia-law-in-england-and-wales-independent-review
Taher, Abul. 2008. “Revealed: UK's First Official Shari’a Courts.” The Sunday Times, September 14. http://www.wildernesschristianity.net/info/UK_Shari’a_courts/Times-On-Line_UK-first-official-Shari’a-courts_edited.html. Accessed 25 April 2018.
Toplansky, Eileen F. 2010. “Shari’a Law in Canada and Britain.” American Thinker, August 8. https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2010/08/Shari’a_law_in_canada_and_brita.html. Accessed 25 April 2018.
Torrance, D. 2019. Sharia Law Courts in the UK. Debate Pack Number CDP-2019-0102, House of Commons Library, 1st May 2019. Available at https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CDP-2019-0102/CDP-2019-0102.pdf
Tsaoussi. Aspasia and Zervogianni, Eleni. 2008. “Multiculturalism and Family Law: The Case of Greek Muslims.” In European Challenges in Contemporary Family Law, edited by Katharina Boele-Woelki and Tone Sverdrup, Intersentia: Antwerp, Oxford and Portland.
Tsitselikis, Konstantios. 2004. “The Legal Status of Islam in Greece.” Die Welt Des Islam, New Series 44(3), 402–431.
White, Hilary. 2008. “Shari’a Courts Operating in England Recognized by British Law.” Life Site News, December 17. http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2008/sep/08091708. Accessed 25 April 2018.
Williams, Rowan. 2008. “Civil and Religious Law in England: A Religious Perspective.” The Times, February 8. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/full-text-of-archbishops-lecture-civil-and-religious-law-in-england-a-religious-perspective-gr55xb6d0n9. Accessed 1 May 2011.
Wilson, Jemma. 2010. “The Sharia Debate in Britain: Sharia Councils and the Oppression of Muslim Women.” Aberdeen Student Law Review 1: 46.
Yilmaz, I. 2000. Muslim Law in Britain, Reflections in the Socio-Legal Sphere and Differential Legal Treatment. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 20, No. 2.
Yilmaz, I. 2001. Law as Chameleon: The Question of Incorporation of Muslim Personal Law into the English Law. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp. 297–308.
Yilmaz, I. 2002. The challenge of post-modern legality and Muslim legal pluralism in England. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Vol. 28, No. 2, pp. 343–354.
Yilmaz, I. 2003. Muslim Alternative Dispute Resolution and Neo-Ijtihad in England. Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations, Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 1–24.
Yilmaz, I. 2016. Muslim Laws, Politics and Society in Modern Nation States: Dynamic Legal Pluralisms in England, Turkey and Pakistan. Reprint. London and New York: Routledge.
Yilmaz, I. 2023. Islam in the Anglosphere: Perspectives of Young Muslims in Australia, the UK and the USA. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.
Yilmaz, I. 2024. Sharia as Informal Law: Lived Experiences of Young Muslims in Western Societies. London and New York: Routledge.
Zee, M. (2014). Choosing Sharia? Multiculturalism, Islamic Fundamentalism and British Sharia Councils. Leiden: Eleven International Publishing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2024 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Yilmaz, I., Sokolova-Shipoli, D.P. (2024). Unofficial Shari’a Courts in the West: Conflict or Coexistence?. In: Muslim Legal Pluralism in the West. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-4260-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-4260-8_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-97-4259-2
Online ISBN: 978-981-97-4260-8
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)