Creeping Sharia = Civitas Finds 85 Sharia Courts Operating in Britain

Is anyone really surprised that the numbers of Sharia Courts - operating in Great Britain - was/is grossly underestimated?

Note the muslim reponse to this report (or any type of criticism) is to use their typical, vociferous accusation of (the Myth of) Islamophobia.

If you think that these courts only deal with "domestic, marital and business disputes" - I have a bridge to sell you in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, USA.

It will be interesting to see if Civitas will actually be able to stop this latest example of the Islamisation of Great Britain ----- I'm not optimistic.

At least 85 separate sharia "courts" are now openly functioning in Britain, almost 20 times as many as previously believed, a report by Civitas claims.

A study by the thinktank found that scores of unofficial tribunals and councils regularly apply Islamic law to resolve domestic, marital and business disputes, many operating in mosques.

It led to claims of a "creeping" acceptance of sharia principles in British law, but the Muslim Council of Britain dismissed the report as "scaremongering".

The study follows the outcry over remarks by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, last year that the adoption of aspects of Muslim law in Britain, such as in divorce proceedings, "seems inevitable".

Lord Phillips, who was then the Lord Chief Justice, attracted controversy by saying that there was "no reason why" sharia principles could not form the basis of mediation in disputes.

Some decisions of Islamic tribunals are already considered legally binding and could theoretically be enforced in civil courts in England and Wales.

Other officially recognised bodies can agree to grant Muslim "divorces" as part of a parallel system of religious law in Britain.

"This whole business is creeping up on us without anyone really noticing," said Dr David Green, director of Civitas.

Read it all: http://theopinionator.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/06/creeping-sharia-civitas-finds-85-sharia-courts-operating-in-britain.html