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"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to Stop Sharia Law from being binding in law under arbitration tribunals rules.
Sharia law can be enforced in this country by the county and high courts. This is allowed under rules of arbitration when both parties in the dispute agree to give the tribunal (in this case a Sharia court) the power to rule on the case. We state that this should be stopped, as sharia law is totally contrary to western values of fair and equal justice for all."
This petition is for UK citizens and UK expatriates only.
This new petition lasts to the end of the year. (1 January 2009)
Please note this petition is not suggesting that sharia courts put us on a slippery slope to seeing people executed for being homosexual, stoned for adultery or having their hands cut off for shoplifting. No. Of course we don't want that, neither do we realistically expect any moves in that direction in the next few months. No doubt some Muslims living in Britain do have such pipe dreams but they are not likely to be made reality any time soon.
Sharia law being used and backed up in by UK courts is a reality today and it is fundamentally wrong. It is wrong for UK courts to back up agreements reached in these courts based on sharia concepts because sharia law is fundamentally unfair. It discriminates against women. Surely no woman who wasn't either mad or coerced would ever voluntarily go to a court which would systematically do her down and accord her lower rights, less than an equal say and smaller shares in property disputes with men.
If women do freely go to such courts and freely agree to be bound by their decisions there is no need for the English and Scottish civil and High courts to ever become involved, is there? If there has to be the heavy hand of the proper courts involved this suggests that the original agreement to be bound by the decision of the sharia court is questionable to say the least. So, by all means agree to your own private judgment by a sharia court, a man you meet in the street, a toss of a coin or the reading tea leaves but if you are not intending to be bound by that agreement you have just wasted your own time. The courts, real courts, should not be asked to impose an agreement which is based on an unfair foreign religious law. UK law should not become contaminated with legal concepts from 6th century Arabia or be a party to the denial of full, fair and equal rights to women on the basis of their sex.
This is non-negotiable. UK courts should not be used to oppress British citizens simply because they are women who have had the misfortune to be born into a family mired in Islam.