[lit-ideas] Re: Sharia Law and Britain's decline

  • From: Judith Evans <judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 20:09:22 +0100 (BST)

In my view, Lawrence, your blog posts do not count as a reply to any of my 
points.

Let me reply to *your* points, in your email, now.

>>>>>>>>>>
“The 
sharia courts operating in Britain, will hear and pass legally binding 
judgment on cases involving divorce, financial disputes, and even 
domestic violence
<<<<<<<<<

Let me quote from the very Daily Mail article you quote:

*******************
In Britain, sharia courts are permitted to rule only in civil cases,
such as divorce and financial disputes.
*******************


And let me explain the divorce point.

Sharia courts can deal only with divorce in an Islamic marriage, can only end 
-- or not -- a Muslim marriage.  (They make this clear.)  Muslim/Islamic 
marriages contracted in the US are not recognised by UK law, a civil marriage 
must be contracted if a couple wish to be regarded as legally married. If a 
couple married by civil and Muslim ceremony seek a divorce, the Sharia court 
can only grant (or not) a Muslim divorce. So, a couple would have to seek a 
civil divorce also.

(The Beth Din is in a similar position.)

Nonetheless, full prior agreement by both parties is required.

"Legally binding" here is, then, an interesting concept.

How, Lawrence, do parties to a Muslim marriage in the US get a divorce from the 
Muslim marriage?

Financial disputes can indeed be decided by the sharia courts/tribunals.  This 
seems so uncontentious to me as to be hardly worth discussing. 

You say (Daily Mail again)

**************
 “In one recent inheritance dispute in Nuneaton, a Muslim man's estate was spit 
was between three daughters and two sons with each son receiving twice as much 
as each daughter – in keeping with sharia law.    
**************

I can't find this case. What did the will say? 

>>>>>>
   and even 
domestic violenc
<<<<<<<<<

this is of course dodgy in the extreme.  The sharia courts/tribunals have no, 
repeat, no, jurisdiction in criminal matters. They also can only hear cases and 
issue rulings with the consent of both parties.  

So, what's going on here?  It seems that the tribunals are, in conjunction with 
the police, acting as mediators/arbitrators. Without a specific case or cases I 
can't really say any more except that the police may be at fault here, one 
point apart. Any ruling they make on this cannot be legally binding.

Judy Evans, Cardiff, UK




--- On Thu, 8/9/11, Lawrence Helm <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

From: Lawrence Helm <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Sharia Law and Britain's decline
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Thursday, 8 September, 2011, 18:54

Judy,  I hadn’t intended to specifically reply.  I thought my notes were 
covering the issues adequately.  The one “point” I see in your note had to do 
with my comment “not from what I read elsewhere” or something like that.  I 
haven’t time to research everything I’ve read, but such an “elsewhere” was in 
the note of mine you referenced (by reference) when you ex cathedra declared me 
non responsive:  “The sharia courts operating in Britain, will hear and pass 
legally binding judgment on cases involving divorce, financial disputes, and 
even domestic violence. But, it will not end there. According to the Daily 
Mail, sharia court officials have said, that they hope, “[…] to take over 
growing numbers of 'smaller' criminal cases in future,” and extremist clerics 
have already asserted their aims to establish sharia law for everyone in 
Britain. Only yesterday, the Sun newspaper showed a video of radical clerics 
announcing plans to
 take over Britain:  “It may be by pure conversion that Britain will become an 
Islamic state. We may never
 need to conquer it from the outside.  “This, among other similar 
pronouncements, was made at a rally billed as a debate on whether the West had 
‘learned the lessons’ of the September 11 terrorist attacks. Apparently, we 
have not. “Sharia law regards women as inferior to men, and non-Muslims as 
inferior to Muslims, and it demands the execution of homosexuals. Sharia courts 
in Britain have already tried cases in domestic violence, and have issued no 
punishments beyond requiring the abuser get mentoring from Muslim
 elders and to attend anger management classes. In my opinion, this is an 
entirely unacceptable judgment for those who inflict violence on women. 
According to the Daily Mail, again:  “In one recent inheritance dispute in 
Nuneaton, a Muslim man's estate was spit was between three daughters and two 
sons with each son receiving twice as much as each daughter – in keeping with 
sharia law.   “The establishment of sharia law in Britain, even on a minor 
scale, not only undermines British law and culture of equality
 ‘under the law,’ with cases judged by a jury of one’s peers, but is implicitly 
menacing to people of all non-Muslim religions, atheists, conservatives, women, 
homosexuals, and people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds.” 
[http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/3522]  ;  Lawrence    From:
 lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Judith Evans
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 10:14 AM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Sharia Law and Britain's decline  I made points, 
Lawrence.  I invited a reply.  Your post is not responsive.


--- On Thu, 8/9/11, Lawrence Helm <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Lawrence Helm <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [lit-ideas] Sharia Law and Britain's decline
To: "Lit-Ideas " <Lit-Ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thursday, 8 September, 2011, 
17:02http://www.lawrencehelm.com/2011/09/sharia-law-britain-decline.html Lawrence
  

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