As the sun sets over the rolling green hills of the West Midlands, a black gate slowly opens giving way to a long gravel drive lined with trees. Here, on the outskirts of the drab commuter town of Nuneaton, is Britain's biggest Sharia court where – many believe – Muslim judges enforce Islamic law on British soil.
Inside, Sheikh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi sits behind a desk in his large office, surrounded by Quranic texts and cradling his baby daughter, Nabihah, in his arms. Branded a "hard-line cleric" in a prominent daily newspaper just weeks ago, he speaks in a posh – almost plummy – English accent tinged with the twang of his native Coventry.
"What [they] want to do is titillate [their] readers and sell a good story. We have British judges as part of this tribunal. We have barristers, solicitors, women, and professional people on the panel. We are not some backstreet Sharia council. It is a cheap shot," says Siddiqi. [International Business Times] Read more
