Activities of Islamic Sharī’ah Council and Muslim Arbitration Tribunal to Apply Islamic Law in England and Wales

Abstract

The UK is a Christian majority country with several minority religious groups like Muslims, Hindus, Jews and Sikhs who have been living there for a long time. All faith groups have their own laws. Likewise, Muslims also have their specific laws called “Sharī’ah law” or “Muslim Family Law”. This paper attempts to represent a prospect of how Islamic law deals with the issues faced by the Muslims in England and Wales. There are many “The Islamic Shari’ah Council (ISC)” and “Muslim Arbitrational Tribunal (MAT) to solve the family concerns in England and Wales, for instance, marriage, child custody, divorce and other issues related to their matrimonial life. These councils play a prime role in implementing Islamic law among Muslims in Britain. Since ISC and MAT play a crucial role in applying Islamic law, it will be the focusing component of the paper. This study examines how ISC and MAT resolve the legal problems of the Muslim families and to which extent sometimes it is allegedly not compatible with England and Wales's domestic legal settings. Moreover, the main aim and object of the paper is to find out the internal functions and the processes of the Islamic Sharī’ah Council and Muslim Arbitration Tribunal in England and Wales