07 April 2013

Inside Britain's Sharia courts

.... Sharia councils in other parts of Britain have also meddled in legal issues that should be matters for the UK courts. In Dewsbury, west Yorkshire, an old pub, once the White Hart Inn, is now a Sharia council.

Ayesha, a thin and haunted-looking woman in traditional dress and a headscarf told me her husband, who hit her even when she was pregnant, had been imprisoned for his violent behaviour. She and her children had injunctions against him, and yet when she went to Dewsbury Sharia Council for a divorce, they still wanted the couple to meet for mediation.

“I said, I can’t do that as he isn’t even allowed near my house because I’m frightened and can’t face him,” says Ayesha, “but they didn’t take any notice.” [telegraph.co.uk] Read more