Today there are 85 sharia courts operating openly in the United Kingdom. Academic Denis MacEoin authored a recent report published by Civitas, refuting a previous claim that only 5 such courts were in existence and tells of their increase and danger(s) associated with the spreading of Islamic law in Britain.
Mr. MacEoin worries these courts could lead to different legal standards and their application to Muslim and non-Muslim citizens. He says ” It is not a matter of eating halal meat or seeking God’s blessing on one’s marriage. It is a challenge to what we believe to be the rights and freedoms of the individual, to our concept of a legal system based on what parliament enacts, and to the right of all of us to live in a society as free as possible from ethnic-religious division or communal claims to superiority to a special status that puts them in some respects above the law to which we are all bound”.
Among the findings, the report indicates the type of rulings meted out by sharia courts, including the advisement of illegal actions and transgressions of human rights standards as applied by British courts. Sharia courts ban Muslim women from marrying non-Muslim men unless the potential groom agrees to convert and (they) advocate for the removal of a wife`s property rights upon divorce. Despite the increase of sharia courts, there are groups who believe these rulings are restrictive and do not go far enough. Islam4UK is an example of such a group who would like to see Britain become an Islamic state, wholly under the jurisdiction of Shariah law in every matter, whether civil, criminal or otherwise, along with the brutal, prejudicial and ancient punishments prescribed by this system. They see this as the inevitable outcome of the Islamic re-population of the U.K. and it appears as though there are precious few in Britain’s current power-base who care to even recognize this threat, let alone assist in preventing it.
Simply put, this group has been established by sincere Muslims as a platform to propagate the supreme Islamic ideology within the United Kingdom as a divine alternative to man-made law. Their aim is clear: Izhaar ud Deen (Domination of al-Islam worldwide). On the site there is a complete rant devoted to `baseless British values` where the notions of democracy, tolerance and fairness are determined as fallacies. Britain is currently characterized by binge drinking, sexual promiscuity, reality TV, fish and chips and anti-social behaviour. The only system they claim that will successfully unite people is Islam. Upon further reading, we find their answer to a frequently asked question posed to Muslims by many Britons:
“Why is it that Muslims wish to convert the indigenous people of the U.K. and, if Muslims within the U.K. detest the British way of life, why do they not go back to their own countries?”
Their answer is threefold: (1) every single country in the world today is ruled by man-made law, (2) the man-made law governing the U.K. is oppressive and Muslims are obliged to speak out against oppression wherever they are and (3) Islam is a universal and divine way of life sent to the whole of mankind. They conclude, that it is incumbent on the people of Britain and moreover the whole world, to submit to the will of Allah and (to) testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammed is his final messenger and furthermore, implement the sharia (Islamic law) of Muhammed as a matter of obedience to their creator.
How do some Muslims living in Britain feel regarding the implementation of sharia law in the U.K.? According to a 2006 report, 40% would like to see it cemented as a parallel legal system with 20% feeling sympathetic to the suicide bombers who carried out the 7/7 transit attacks. At the time, a spokesman to Charles Clark, Home Secretary said “ it is critically important to ensure that Muslims, and all faiths, feel part of British society. Today’s survey indicates we still have a long way to go…….(but) we are committed to working with all faiths to ensure we achieve that end”. But groups such as Islam4UK find such ‘Britishness” an ideal steeped in colonialism, rooted in racist policy. A further study identified increasing support for the wearing of the veil in public, Islamic schools and the death penalty for apostasy.
So, considering the growing number of sharia courts, the fact that a parallel justice system is already in existence and well functioning and radical Islamic groups are working to transform the U.K. into an Islamic state, to whom does the average concerned Briton turn? To the mayor of London? No, Boris Johnson is too busy advising a further understanding of Islam through recommended fasting. Gordon Brown? No, the Prime Minister is too busy debating the nation’s Afghanistan commitment to notice his country is succumbing to Islam. The Queen? No, she is too busy chastising the Prime Minister. Local MP’s? No, they are too busy spending pound upon pound for squat toilets and foot-baths for Muslim inmates. The Church? No, they’re too busy with inter-faith dialogues and thoughts of re-writing the New Testament. The media? No, they’re too busy affirming the legendary tolerance and civility of the typical Englishman by taking it on the chin and whitewashing the bejeweled elephant in the room.
Again, what is a concerned Briton to do? Some take to the streets. Protests were set in motion for the precise reason that many of the British people themselves feel abandoned by the very government that they expected to uphold the long established values which shaped and defined their country. They protest at what they see as a mass failure on the part of government officials who refuse to acknowledge the fact that England is falling to Islam. The common man has seen his neighbourhood transformed from peony gardened, red-bricked row houses to a Baghdad travel brochure.
Given that Britain has been responsible for bringing the ideal of democracy and the most fairest and freest of legal systems to the world, it should come as little surprise that she is the target of Islam. Her crime? she gave birth to the Magna Carta of 1215, the common man’s right to rule which ensured the rights of the King’s subjects whether free or fettered to the lawful right of appeal.
And now, she is being choked by people living in her midst into utter submission to conform to the law of barbarity which seeks to eliminate the very democratic principle(s) upon which Britain was found. Do not mistake the use of our valued principle by Islamists as a sign of respect for it; there is none. It’s exploitation is purely strategic in their quest to supplant it with their archaic ‘divine’ rule and the people entrusted to uphold and safeguard the law of the land are failing. Miserably.
King John of England, 1166-1216. Sealed the Magna Carta, one of the earliest steps in the evolution of modern democracy.