O ye who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor: for Allah can best protect both. Follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest ye swerve, and if ye distort (justice) or decline to do justice, verily Allah is well- acquainted with all that ye do. The Quran surah 4 (The Women) verse 135 Do Shari’a Councils Meet the Needs of Muslim Women? By Rehana Parveen A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham For the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Birmingham Law School College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham 30 June 2017 1 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Acknowledgements, Dedication and Thanks I would like to thank my supervisors Professor John Baldwin and Professor Gordon Roger Woodman for their unwavering support, guidance and assistance throughout this process. I would like to dedicate this thesis to the memory of Professor Gordon Roger Woodman, a kind, gentle and thoughtful man. I am honoured to have benefited from his intellectual expertise and his charming character. I would also like to thank all my colleagues at Birmingham Law School who have pushed, prodded and cajoled me forward when I needed it, but were always willing to provide me with an attentive ear to listen to my woes when that was my need. I especially extend my heartfelt thanks to Dr Samantha Schnobel and Dr Emma Oakley. To my dearest family and friends who have borne with me whilst I struggled through these past years. Your love and support has been a source of comfort and joy. I especially thank my parents, my husband, my brothers and sisters and all of my nephews and nieces. I know how joyful it is to be part of such a large family and each member has in their own unique way contributed to my journey. And finally I thank Allah . He has blessed me in ways that I could not have imagined and I pray that what I have written is pleasing to Him. 2 Abstract In the last 30 years English law has seen a small but steady proliferation of shari’a councils though exact numbers are not known. They have been set up to meet the religious needs of the British Muslim population primarily 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. Islamic law 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 not granted any equivalent rights to terminate a relationship and arguably must either secure their husband’s consent or apply to an authority which can 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 taking place between Muslim family law practices and English law, which is still only at the embryonic stage. Shari’a councils provide an important resource for Muslim women to fulfil their specific religious needs but there are significant improvements to be made to the provision of this service. 3 Contents Chapter 1: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 10 Introduction to shari’a councils .......................................................................................................... 11 My study ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 Methodology and approach .................................................................................................................. 13 The Islamic Judiciary Board (IJB) ....................................................................................................... 16 Method and approach for the interviews ....................................................................................... 19 Contextualising the debate – externally and personally .......................................................... 19 Personal journey and positionality ................................................................................................... 22 British Muslims: statistical information .......................................................................................... 24 Multiple identities .................................................................................................................................... 26 Key arguments ........................................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 2: Placing my research and placing shari’a councils within the legal pluralism debate ........................................................................................................................... 30 Research to date ........................................................................................................................................ 30 Power and Authority .......................................................................................................................... 34 Women’s objectives ............................................................................................................................ 38 The IJB as a ‘new’ shari’a council ................................................................................................... 43 The importance of a comparative approach ............................................................................. 44 Banning of shari’a councils or reducing their need ............................................................... 46 Further research is needed .............................................................................................................. 50 Legal Pluralism .......................................................................................................................................... 52 Defining ‘Law’ and ‘Legal Pluralism’ from a Western perspective. ................................. 55 The impact of Legal Positivism ....................................................................................................... 57 From Legal Positivism to Legal Pluralism ................................................................................. 59 The history of legal pluralism ......................................................................................................... 60 The relationship between legal pluralism and Muslim women as legal subjects ..... 66 Gender Equality and Sameness/Difference Debate ............................................................... 67 Post-identity and Vulnerability ...................................................................................................... 72 Muslim Women and Creating Legal Subjectivity .................................................................... 73 The challenges for legal pluralism ..................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 3 – Islamic Law, Morality and its Sources .......................................................... 81 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 81 The relationship between human beings and God ..................................................................... 82 The aim of a Muslim – to enter paradise and avoid the hellfire ............................................ 83 4 Categorisation of all acts ........................................................................................................................ 86 Islamic morality and Islamic law ........................................................................................................ 90 Shari’a ............................................................................................................................................................ 94 Shari’a and Fiqh ......................................................................................................................................... 96 Authority and Legitimacy of the Jurists. .........................................................................................