Mary, thanks for your reply. It’s not often that the authors take the time to respond to the comments.
HA: At what point can a person say “I don’t like Sharia laws anymore and I want English laws and procedures”?
MJ: At any point. Read the article. English law has primacy.
HA: Your view on the subject is not realistic.
Firsly, we must clarify something here. The Sharia law cannot be the same as the English Law – as the English Law is understood today. The rulings that the British Courts would render on a particular case must be different than the ones given by the Sharia-following mullahs. Otherwise, the idea of having the Sharia LAW would be completely non-sensical. Why the need to duplicate the existing system? A moslem can simply add a post-it on a court decision, with the words “Sharia law” and be done with this.
Of course, the British Law is changed to state that some legal disputes for some people can be decided based on a new set of legal procedures and rules, a set which may not be the same as it for all other people – but such a change would not mask the underlying difference in real British Law and Sharia Law.
Once we agree on this, we can discuss some details. Say, two people agreed to have the mullahs to decide on their dispute. After the decision is given, one of the parties disagrees with the ruling and demands that their case to be reheard and redecided by the British Courts and thte Sharia decision were to be immediately declared null and void. Would such a move work? Are the litigants guaranteed the immediate access to the British courts without any prejudice based on what the Sharia Court decided?
