Islamic law is becoming the law of the land in select pockets of Britain. Though sharia law—the Islamic code of justice—has no legal authority in Britain, some Muslims are sidestepping the English criminal justice system in order to have their cases tried by Islamic judges.
SDLqSharia courts now operate in most larger cities,” said the director of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity, in a Nov. 30, 2006, Telegraph article. He says these sharia councils “cater to [sectarian and ethnic groups’] specific needs according to their traditions” and offer an “alternative parallel unofficial legal system.”
Polls indicate significant support among British Muslims for the sharia system. In a report in the Aug. 7, 2006, edition of the Scotsman, one third of British Muslims said they would prefer living under Islamic law—in England—rather than British law.
The Telegraph article cited a specific case where a group of Somali youths, arrested over suspicion of stabbing a Somali teenager, were released on bail when the victim’s family said they wanted to settle the case out of court. The matter was decided by an unofficial Somali court in southeast London.
Britain has done a terrible job of assimilating its burgeoning immigrant population. Embarrassed by its own imperial history, Britain is eager to accommodate the eccentricities of whatever foreign cultures may choose to plant their flags on British soil. It provides immigrants no sense of pride in Britishness, nothing positive to identify with. It is afraid to insist on migrants giving up anything of their own cultural identity, even when that may pose a threat to other Britons.
This fact has resulted in Britain, particularly London, playing host to an astonishing wash of anti-British attitudes and activities. Numerous radical groups—including arms of al Qaeda—have planted their headquarters or significant operations there.
The existence within British cities of courts judging British citizens who commit crimes by foreign laws is yet another example of how Britain’s unquestioning devotion to the principles of multiculturalism is eroding its sense of national identity and endangering its people.