Quite so, Dr Hasan. But what of Muslim women who are not content
with your ability to ‘enforce’ rulings in which women are manifestly
not treated as equal to me?

A very brave Muslim woman, Kavita Ramdya , has written in response:

Sir,
I shudder to think of the repercussions for Muslim women if British law
recognises decisions made by Sharia councils. Sharia law dictates that
when a woman requests a divorce and the husband disagrees, the judge
will “emphasise reconciliation” and “she has to return the dower to
him”, whereas a man can divorce his wife by simply repeating “I divorce
you” in front of two witnesses.

[i]Muslim women who see...

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Quite so, Dr Hasan. But what of Muslim women who are not content
with your ability to ‘enforce’ rulings in which women are manifestly
not treated as equal to me?

A very brave Muslim woman, Kavita Ramdya , has written in response:

Sir,
I shudder to think of the repercussions for Muslim women if British law
recognises decisions made by Sharia councils. Sharia law dictates that
when a woman requests a divorce and the husband disagrees, the judge
will “emphasise reconciliation” and “she has to return the dower to
him”, whereas a man can divorce his wife by simply repeating “I divorce
you” in front of two witnesses.

Muslim women who seek
divorce are subjected to an interview process, pressured to remain
married and risk losing quite possibly their only financial wealth by
being forced to return their dower.

In the past, it was
critical that individuals marry and remain married in order to preserve
the safety and stability of a clan, tribe, family fortune, or even an
alliance between countries.

Since then, marriage has
evolved. It is now the primary method with which to pursue happiness
and fulfilment. Muslim women in Britain are cognisant of the fact that
they have the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness.

For
Sharia judges to question a woman’s motives for divorce and pressure
her socially and financially to remain in an unfulfilling and possibly
dangerous marriage is antiquated at best and deadly at worst. Decisions
made by Sharia councils have no room in British law.

The former Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir Ali,
has warned us of the regressive nature of Sharia law and its
irreconcilability to the English system of jurispridence. One wonders
whether the Archbishop of Canterbury would agree with Dr Hasan or Kavita Ramdya.

Who now has the ultimate authority to adjudicate between them?