Comment on the Report of the Siddiqui Review Panel, 2018

In: Journal of Muslims in Europe, Band 7, Heft 3, S. 283-308

Abstract

AbstractControversies over the possible application of Islamic law and practice (Shari'a) in the UK have been gathering pace since the mid-2000s. In 2016 two official inquiries were set in train, one of which, chaired by Mona Siddiqui, Professor of Islamic and Interreligious Studies, Edinburgh University, reported in February 2018. The Siddiqui Panel focused on two principal issues: the civil registration of Islamic marriages (nikah), and the role of Shari'a councils in the issuing of a religious (not civil) divorce. The paper sets out the background to the Shari'a debate in the UK, reviews the Panel's recommendations on the two issues, and assesses their implications.