Islamic Sharia Law courts operating in West Midlands
By Ben Goldby, Sunday Mercury
ICC Note: Secret Sharia law courts in the UK could put deadly penalties on members of the Muslim community who decide to convert to Christianity
TWENTY-two secret Islamic courts are issuing rulings under strict sharia law in the Midlands, the Sunday Mercury can reveal.
The courts sit in mosques and community centres, with self-styled Muslim scholars offering judgements – referred to as fatwas – online.
Their rulings include statements condemning homosexuals to harsh beatings and ordering a wife to have sex with her husband “even if she is busy in the kitchen” at the time.
Experts from thinktank Civitas, who have compiled a report on sharia law in the UK, say it is impossible to find out what goes on in the closed courts and fear there could be more of them operating in secret.
The tribunals usually settle financial or family disputes according to Islamic principals, but judgements published online by self-styled Muslim scholars based in the Midlands have offered illegal advice.
These include rulings that men can coerce their wives to have sex with them, that husbands can ban their wives from leaving the marital home, and warnings that Muslims must not join the police.
Decisions made by religious tribunals are legally binding and can be enforced in county courts and the high court if both parties have agreed to be ruled by sharia.
Civitas director Dr David Green last night called for an immediate end to the recognition of Islamic courts by British law.
He said: “The reality is that for many Muslims, sharia courts are in practice part of an institutionalised atmosphere of intimidation, backed by the ultimate sanction of a death threat.”
Previous research had suggested there were only two sharia courts in the Midlands – one in Birmingham and one in Warwickshire.
The Sunday Mercury revealed that a Muslim Arbitration Tribunal was operating the UK’s first official sharia court at Hijaz College Islamic University in Nuneaton last year.
Now the shock report by Civitas has revealed the existence of 85 sharia courts across the country.
More than a quarter of these are based in the Midlands, with eight sitting in Birmingham, while Stoke-on-Trent, Worcester, Burton-on-Trent, Derby, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Leicester also have sharia tribunals.
Islamic studies expert Denis Maceoin, who compiled the report, said there could be more Muslim tribunals operating without the government’s knowledge.
Tags: Law