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Sharia in England: The Marriage Law Solution

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Patrick Nash

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Abstract

This article aims to offer a possible solution to the seemingly intractable problem of sharia within the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It shows that Islamic personal law now operates within the UK as a social fact and discusses the way in which sharia councils have unhelpfully been framed as manifestations of an intractable culture war. By juridifying this issue, however, it demonstrates that the actual problem is unregistered Islamic marriages, particularly transcontinental ones between first cousins. It is argued that Islamic marriages should be viewed as a technical legal problem amenable to targeted law reform. The article proceeds to navigate through longstanding Government priorities concerning marriage law in order to appraise the current literature and recent reform proposals and suggest the most realistic and attractive way forward.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Nash PS

Publication type: Review

Publication status: Published

Journal: Oxford Journal of Law and Religion

Year: 2017

Volume: 6

Issue: 3

Pages: 523-543

Print publication date: 01/10/2017

Online publication date: 12/10/2017

Acceptance date: 02/04/2016

ISSN (print): 2047-0770

ISSN (electronic): 2047-0789

Publisher: Oxford University Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/ojlr/rwx052

DOI: 10.1093/ojlr/rwx052

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