1,721,013 research outputs found
Sharia Councils and Muslim Family Law: Analysing the Parity Governance Model, The Sharia Inquiry and the role of State/Law Relations.
Full text linkIn February 2018 ‘The Independent Review into the Application of Sharia Law in England and Wales’ was published with a focus on whether Sharia Law is being misused or applied in a way that is incompatible with the domestic law in England and Wales. In particular it raised questions as to whether there were discriminatory practices against women who use Sharia Councils and came about after years of concerns raised by academics, lawyers and women’s activists. The British Muslim identity reveals important insights into the ways in which community formation and legal regulation and the rights of minority religious communities have taken shape over the past five decades and this chapter draws upon the Inquiry findings to consider whether religious tribunals can be reformed from within and if so whether the parity governance model is a useful model of application
Introduction
No full textThis introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book draws upon original empirical and policy research to examine debates on religious practice and the experience of Muslim family law within British Muslim communities. It examines the question of reform within marriage that focuses on the laws of English marriage but one via a historical lens. The book then shows that many of the earliest Muslim marriages in England and Wales were located within the legal framework, either by being combined with a legally binding ceremony, or, later, by being conducted in a registered mosque. It also draws upon original empirical research including in-depth interviews with British Muslim women, and interviews with professionals ranging from imams and sharia council judges to solicitors and counsellors and suggests reform and regulation of their processes and procedures to provide Muslim women with greater rights and protection
Personal Narratives, Social Justice, and the Law
No full textNorth American writer Joan Didion’s eloquent testimonial speaks to the significance of storytelling in our lives. Personal storiesmake our lives meaningful. Part of this is because our stories, wittingly or not, become the means through which we fashion our identities for listeners. Or, as scholars from many disciplines have argued, identity and selfhoodare narrative accomplishments. In this formulation, an individual constructs a sense of self by telling stories or “personal narratives,” which describe “the evolution of an individual life over time and in social context” (Maynes et al. in Telling stories: the use of personal narratives in the social sciences and in history. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 2008, 2). While personal narratives contain unique autobiographical elements, the logics of storytelling and the values and beliefs of a particular time and place also influence the kinds of stories people tell. As feminist historian Mary Jo Maynes and her coauthors argue: “The stories that people tell about their lives are never simply individual, but are told in historically specific times and settings and draw on the rules and models in circulation that govern how story elements link together in narrative logics” (2008, 2). Put another way, even the most idiosyncratic story is always in some way social: what narrators decide to tell is often guided by the expectations of audiences (real or imagined); the conventions of various genres (such as life history or autobiography); as well as the broader cultural narratives located in particular historical times and places. In this light, personal narratives at once provide evidence of a storyteller’s viewpoint and experiences as well as the social and cultural milieu in which they live
When is mediation mediatory and when is it really adjudicatory? Religion, Norms and decision-making
No full textDo Shari’a councils meet the needs of Muslim women?
Full text linkIn the last 30 years English law has seen a small but steady proliferation of shari’a councils though exact numbers are unknown. They have been set up to meet the religious needs of the British Muslim population focussing on providing a forum for the resolution of marital disputes. Shari’a councils offer mediation and reconciliation services as well as issuing religious divorce certificates. In the academic research to date it is apparent that the primary applicants to shari’a councils are Muslim women. In order to understand why one must investigate Islamic law which differentiates between the way in which men and women may divorce. Muslim men are free to pronounce a unilateral divorce without seeking the approval of any judicial body. Muslim women are arguably not granted any equivalent rights and must either secure their husband’s consent or apply to an authority to provide them with a religious determination. Shari’a councils have emerged to meet that need. My research demonstrates that whilst Muslim women are generally satisfied with the outcome of a shari’a council ruling they are critical of the processes. This becomes even more apparent to them when they compare their experiences of shari’a councils with the civil court system. Nonetheless, civil law alone is insufficient to meet the women’s needs and access to a religious authority remains a vital resource for many Muslim women. There is, however, a dynamic and evolving relationship emerging between Muslim family law practices and English law, which is still only at the embryonic stage
Religious arbitration in North America
No full textARBITRATION OF FAMILY LAW DISPUTES is a recent innovation for most of the legal systems that currently offer such a possibility. It is consequently little known and used as a method of alternative dispute resolution. Nevertheless, in some US states arbitration has been recognized as a method of family dispute resolution for decades.¹ This is notably true in New York, where court cases confirming the arbitrability of family disputes can be found dating back to 1945.² Moreover, the arbitral awards enforced in family cases include awards in Jewish beth din proceedings.
The Sharia Inquiry, Religious Practice and Muslim Family Law in Britain
No full textIn February 2018, the ‘Independent Review on Sharia Law in England and Wales’ was published, headed by Professor Mona Siddiqui. The review focused on whether sharia law is being misused or applied in a way that is incompatible with the domestic law in England and Wales, and, in particular, whether there were discriminatory practices against women who use sharia councils. It came about after years of concerns raised by academics, lawyers and women’s activists. This timely collection of essays from experts, scholars and legal practitioners provides a critique and evaluation of the Inquiry findings as a starting point for analysis and debate on current British Muslim family law practices in the matters of marriage and divorce. At the heart of the collection lie key questions of state action and legal reform of religious practices that may operate ‘outside the sphere of law and legal relations’ but also in conjunction with state law mechanisms and processes. This cutting-edge book is a must read for those with an interest in Islamic law, family law, sociology of religion, human rights, multiculturalism, politics, anthropology of law and gender studies
Gender and Justice in Family Law Disputes: Women, Mediation, and Religious Arbitration
No full textRecently, new methods of dispute resolution in matters of family law—such as arbitration, mediation, and conciliation—have created new forms of legal culture that affect minority communities throughout the world. There are now multiple ways of obtaining restitution through nontraditional alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms. For some, the emergence of ADRs can be understood as part of a broader liberal response to the challenges presented by the settlement of migrant communities in Western liberal democracies. Questions of rights are framed as “multicultural challenges” that give rise to important issues relating to power, authority, agency, and choice. Underpinning these debates are questions about the doctrine and practice of secularism, citizenship, belonging, and identity. Gender and Justice in Family Law Disputes offers insights into how women’s autonomy and personal decision-making capabilities are expressed via multiple formal and nonformal dispute-resolution mechanisms, and as part of their social and legal lived realities. It analyzes the specific ways in which both mediation and religious arbitration take shape in contemporary and comparative family law across jurisdictions. Demarcating lines between contemporary family mediation and new forms of religious arbitration, Bano illuminates the complexities of these processes across multiple national contexts
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