In a secular legal system, the right to hold religious beliefs is absolute. However, the right to manifest those religious beliefs is limited by the need to respect the autonomy and rights of others.
A religious or theocratic legal system, on the other hand, does not recognise such limitations – its notion of justice rests instead on the supremacy of its own revealed truths and the whims of the – invariably male – clerical authorities who interpret them.
The Islamic Sharia Council based in Leyton, East London, is the largest Sharia body in the UK. Sheikh Haitham al-Haddad is a board member and its representative.
Amongst other things, he has stated that “a man should not be questioned why he has hit his wife, because this is something between them”.
[A COMMENT] Excellent article! Its a disgrace that these Sharia Courts are allowed to conduct business. [Left Foot Forward] Read more
