.... MPs will consider how sharia councils compare with other religious courts operating in the UK, such as the Jewish rabbinical Beth Din court, how such systems operate in other jurisdictions abroad and whether there should be government monitoring or oversight.
The chair of the committee, Keith Vaz, said: “We will be hearing evidence from both observers and practitioners of these courts, and are currently accepting written evidence on a wide range of issues, including the compatibility of sharia courts with British law.”
The separate Home Office inquiry is being led by Mona Siddiqui, a professor of Islamic and interreligious studies at the University of Edinburgh. That inquiry focuses on identical areas including divorce, domestic violence and custody cases. The Home Office investigation is not due to report until next year. [The Guardian] Read more
