Islamic Law in the Context of Legal Pluralism in England

Abstract

This study examines the search for solutions to legal disputes of Muslim minorities living in England, which develop due to their desire to comply with Islamic law. An answer was sought to the issue of evaluating Islamic law practices in England within the scope of legal pluralism, which means “the co-existence of more than one legal system”. Originally known as England but officially known as the United Kingdom includes three other countries. The United Kingdom, which has four separate legal systems, already has a legal pluralist structure. England; It is distinguished from other countries in Europe by continuing the monarchy system politically, being affiliated with an official church religiously and therefore not adopting the idea of secularism. The distinction in the field of law is that while the Continental European legal system is valid in the European continent, England continues to apply the Anglo-Saxon legal system that emerged on its own soil. Muslim migrations, which began in the second half of the 19th century, increased rapidly after World War II and caused the presence of a significant Muslim population in England. In the early days, migrant Muslims, whose aim was to return to their country after making a temporary financial gain, eventually adopted England as their homeland. Systematic solutions for legal disputes, they had previously evaded with simple methods began to be discussed. The practice of arbitration, which began with associations consisting of mosque imams and congregations, developed into professional institutions based on needs. The economical needs of British Muslims began to be regulated by official institutions in accordance with Islamic law, but in addition, they were granted partial autonomy, especially in the field of family law. The priority given to arbitration in English law, in order to lighten the burden on the judicial system and also to save time and money, facilitated the application of Islamic law in England. British Muslims try to resolve their family law disputes through institutions or, to the extent permitted by English law, in the official judicial system. The institutions are grouped under two main roofs: informal Sharia Councils and the Muslim Arbitration Board operating under the Arbitration Act, which came into force in 1996. The fact that the arbitration law is binding on Sharia Councils is highly debatable. This is because both parties in a dispute must be willing to compromise in order for the arbitration law to become effective. However, in family law matters, the litigation process is usually carried out at the request of one party. In the event that British Muslims apply to official courts, some laws allow them to comply with Islamic law there. While some of these laws are specifically aimed at religious law, some have opened up space for the application of Islamic law since they are not prohibitive restrictions. However, the biggest problem that Muslim minorities face when trying to solve their problems through official channels is the custody authority of non-Muslim judges and the lack of sufficient knowledge of Islamic law by official legal professionals. In preparing the study, books, theses, scientific articles, UK laws, and official and unofficial reports on the subject were examined. The Inductive reasoning method was applied using document review, content analysis, case study methods, and the observed facts were evaluated as a whole. The increase in Islamic law discussions in the UK is directly proportional to the increased population of Muslims in the country and is a result of their permanent settlement. The United Kingdom’s granting of partial freedom to Muslim minorities in the field of family law should be considered as “weakl- structured legal pluralism – state legal pluralism” when evaluated in the context of legal pluralism. As a result, it has been determined that the purpose of protecting state interests lies behind the relatively tolerant approach of the United Kingdom towards Muslim minorities. For this reason, the legal areas tolerated by the state are almost exclusively limited to commercial and partly family law.