Here’s an interesting piece from The New York Times on the issues faced in trying to integrate religious courts (Christian, Jewish, and Muslim) with civil law in the UK. The article mentions similar integration issues in the US and Canada noting that all three countries have provisions to accept, to some degree, rulings by religious courts in non-criminal matters like divorce and inheritance.
Britain Grapples With Role for Islamic Justice
Elaine SciolinoLONDON — The woman in black wanted an Islamic divorce. She told the religious judge that her husband hit her, cursed her and wanted her dead.
But her husband was opposed, and the Islamic scholar adjudicating the case seemed determined to keep the couple together. So, sensing defeat, she brought our her secret weapon: her father.
In walked a bearded man in long robes who described his son-in-law as a hot-tempered man who had duped his daughter, evaded the police and humiliated his family.
The judge promptly reversed himself and recommended divorce.
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November:20:2008 - 16:21
This sounds familiar…even here in the U.S.
An Iman referred me to the civil courts without a decent explanation and I believe out of his own anger and bitterness.
That is my personal experience anyways that truly left me scratching my head in bewilderment. I mean I had to get an explanation from a Canadian researcher and that was in my own private searching. The mosque itself was clueless as again I was astonished at this Imam who was ignoring me and telling me to go the civil courts. A nice explanation was called for but GOD forbid nice.
It was explained to me that if a husband would sign civil papers or concede it would be recognized Islamically as well. My question was “What if it isnt’ signed?” That means that civically one is divorced yet Islamically still in limbo and under the domination of men “One being a husband who refuses divorce” and “Two an Iman swayed by a husband not to grant a divorce”. So what other feeling is a woman left with other to feel that she is trapped by unconcerned and dominating men.
As for this particular story, what if a woman doesn’t have a father?
Question: How can one be sensitive to religious beliefs and at the same time ensure that in a democratic society people are not denied fair treatment?
That delves into even deeper issues and that separation of church and state is INDEED A GOOD THING….for those who may choose to argue otherwise…
November:20:2008 - 16:37
Interestingly, a similar situation can occur with Orthodox Jews. A civil divorce can be obtained readily enough. But a religious divorce depends upon the husband’s signing a get. If he doesn’t sign, there’s no religious divorce.
That, of course, leaves the wife up a certain creek. She can choose to leave the religion. She can choose to leave the community–which would shun her if she divorced her husband without the get. She could pray for her husband’s death, I guess, or take matters into her own hand (the latter is the subject of a TV crime program, BTW!).
November:20:2008 - 16:52
I like that expression “up a certain creek” …
But just knowing that there ARE choices is empowering…