Engeland: One Law for All campagne

Head960s

Engeland: Op 10 december jl. werd in het House of Lords de aftrap gegeven voor de One Law for All campagne. De campagne keert zich tegen sharia’rechtbanken’ in Engeland.


Initiatiefneemster is de linkse activiste Maryam Namazie: ‘De sharia is ook in uitsluitend civiele zaken discriminerend. Sharia is oneerlijk en onrechtvaardig, vooral ten opzichte van vrouwen en kinderen. Bovendien is het vrijwillige karakter ervan een voorwendsel: veel vrouwen worden gedwongen zich tot een shariahof te wenden en accoord te gaan met de uitspraak. Deze shariahoven zijn een snelle en goedkope route naar onrecht en doen helemaal niets om de rechten van minderheden en sociale cohesie te versterken. Het maatschappelijke belang met betrekking tot vrouwen en kinderen vereist beëindiging van sharia en van alle rechtbanken en tribunalen die zijn gebaseerd op geloof’.
Voornaamste initiatiefnemer voor de campagne is de National Secular Society. De campagne wordt gesteund door onder meer: Children First Now, Equal Rights Now – Organisation against Women’s Discrimination in Iran, European Humanist Federation, International Committee against Stoning, International Humanist and Ethical Union, Lawyers Secular Society.


Meer over de sharia in praktijk in Engeland, zie:
Sharia-rechtbanken brengen vrouwen in het gareel
Eerste ‘officiële’ sharia-rechtbank in Engeland
Vijf Sharia’rechtbanken’ krijgen officiële status
40% van de Britse moslims steunt invoering van de sharia
Diverse moslimorganisaties pleiten voor shariarecht in Engeland
Er zijn tientallen niet-officiele sharia-hoven in moskeeën, islamitische centra en scholen
Voormalig voorzitter van de orde der advocaten Stephen Hockman pleit voor integratie van sharia in het Britse rechtssysteem
Volgens aartsbisschop Rowan Williams is invoering van de sharia in Engeland onvermijdelijk
De Church of Scotland staat positief tegenover sharia’rechtspraak’

Ook in andere landen krijgt sharia 'rechtspraak' steeds meer mogelijkheden en pleitbezorgers.
Er was sprake van dat de sharia in de Canadese staat Ontario zou worden ingevoerd.
In Nederland pleitte toenmalig minister van justitie Donner voor een islamitische zuil en zei invoering van de sharia geen probleem te vinden. Volgens islamologe Maysam Al Faruqi van de Georgetown University in Washington, zou Nederland zonder probleem de sharia kunnen invoeren.
In Duitsland baseerde een rechter een uitspraak in een echtscheidingszaak op de koran. Rechter Matthias Rohe vindt dat delen van de sharia toepasbaar zijn in Europa.

Aankondiging op website van National Secular Society
IPS, 2 december 2008
Pickled Politics, 10 december 2008

6 opmerkingen:

  1. In Amerika is een andere actiegroep opgericht: Mslims against sharia:

    islamic reform movement:

    islamic reform movement

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  2. Bizar is vooral dat de zogenaamde 'progressieven' ook zo'n voorstander zijn van deze apartsheidswetgeving die de positie van vrouwen volledig uitholt. Als SGP-wetgeving zo zou worden toegepast zouden dezelfde nepprogressieven moord en brand schreeuwen.

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  3. De invoering van de Sharia is onvermijdelijk, zegt aartsbisschop Rowan Williams.
    Door deze uitspraak wordt het karakter van een van de leiders van de Anglicaanse kerk glashelder.
    De onderdrukking van vrouwen, het uitschelden van Christenen en Joden heeft dus zijn volledige instemming. Daar staat hij helemaal achter.
    Ook de barbaarse straffen, die de Sharia mensen oplegt, kunnen, wat hem betreft, volledig door de beugel.
    Een wrede man, die ook nog discrimineert.
    Wat dat betreft hoort hij dus thuis bij de Islam. Die werkt bij veel mensen als een katalysator.
    Karaktertrekken, die latent aanwezig waren, konen door de invloed van deze ideologie, sneller aan de oppervlakte.

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  4. Ter aanvulling:

    Press Release
    CALL FOR END TO SHARIA COURTS AFTER REPORT SHOWS WIDESPREAD INJUSTICE
    December 16, 2008
    A new report showing that Muslim women are discriminated against and encounter gross bias when they subject themselves to Sharia adjudications was welcomed today (news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7783627.stm) by The One Law for All Campaign, which is supported by a variety of organisations and individuals.
    The campaign’s spokesperson Maryam Namazie said: ‘This research reinforces our own findings that Sharia Councils and Muslim Arbitration Tribunals are discriminatory and unfair. However, the solution to the miscarriages of justice is not the vetting of Imams coming to the UK as the report has recommended but an end to the use and implementation of Sharia law and religious-based tribunals.’ She added: ‘At present these Sharia-based bodies are growing and appear to have some sort of official backing. But they are leading to gross injustices among women who are often unaware of their rights under Britain’s legal system.’

    This perspective was reiterated in the One Law for All Campaign’s launch on December 10, 2008 in the House of Lords at which Maryam Namazie and campaign supporters Gina Khan, Carla Revere, Ibn Warraq and Keith Porteous Wood spoke; the meeting was chaired by Fariborz Pooya, head of the Iranian Secular Society.

    Gina Khan, a secular Muslim, said: ‘Under British law we are treated as equal and full human beings. Under the antiquated version of Sharia law that Islamists peddle, we are discriminated against just because of our gender. These Islamists use our plight by meddling in issues like forced marriages, domestic violence and inheritance laws for their own political agenda. To allow them to have any sort of control over the lives of Muslim women in British communities will have dire consequences.’ She added: ‘Sharia courts must be a pressing concern not just for Muslims but for all those living in Britain. Anyone who believes in universal human rights needs to stand united against the discrimination and oppression visited upon Muslim women.’

    Carla Revere, Chairperson of the Lawyers’ Secular Society, said: ‘Such self-appointed, unregulated tribunals are gaining in strength; they increasingly hold themselves up as courts with as much force as the law of the land, but are not operating with the same controls and safeguards. They appear to be operating in the area of family law and some even in criminal matters, where they have no right to make binding decisions as they claim to do. Even if the decisions were binding, UK courts do not uphold contractual decisions that are contrary to UK law or public policy. We call on the Government and legal establishment to stand up for the vulnerable and tackle this significant and growing problem, rather than ignoring it.’

    Writer Ibn Warraq said: ‘Sharia does not accord equal rights to Muslim women- in regards to marriage- she is not free to marry a non-Muslim, for instance; in regards to divorce, custody of children, inheritance, the choice of profession, and freedom to travel, or freedom to change her religion. In other words, Great Britain in allowing Sharia courts has contravened the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, and all the other more legally binding United Nations’ Covenants on Discrimination and the Rights of Women... Multiculturalism is turning communities against each other, it is fundamentally divisive. We need to get back to the principles of equality before the law, principles that so many people fought so hard to achieve for so long.’

    Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, said: ‘Sharia is becoming a growth industry in Britain, putting growing pressure on vulnerable people in the Muslim community to use Sharia councils and tribunals to resolve disputes and family matters, when they could use the civil courts. Sharia law is not arrived at by the democratic process, is not Human Rights compliant, and there is no right of appeal.’

    Writer Joan Smith who was unable to speak at the launch sent the following message: ‘This campaign is very important because many people in this country - including politicians - have yet to realise the isolation of many Muslims, particularly women, from the wider society. Some of them are already under intolerable pressure from their families, and the principle of one law for everyone is a protection they desperately need. That's why I give this campaign my whole-hearted support.’

    To find out more or support the One Law for All Campaign against Sharia Law in Britain visit www.onelawforall.org.uk.

    You can also listen to Maryam Namazie’s debates with Sidiqqi, head of the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, on BBC 5 Live and with Muslim lawyer Aina Khan on BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour here: http://www.onelawforall.org/mediacoverage.html

    To listen to Gina Khan’s speech at the December 10, 2008 One Law for All Campaign against Sharia law in Britain launch, click here: http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=J6mvv2ZCTKs&feature=channel_page

    To listen to Maryam Namazie’s speech at the December 10, 2008 One Law for All Campaign against Sharia law in Britain launch, click here: http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=I_GIdnJGKEQ

    To listen to Carla Revere’s speech at the December 10, 2008 One Law for All Campaign against Sharia law in Britain launch, click here: http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=gDgMB6URugg&feature=channel

    To listen to Ibn Warraq’s speech at the December 10, 2008 One Law for All Campaign against Sharia law in Britain launch, click here: http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=Nx8sO6c5JcY&feature=channel_page

    To listen to Keith Porteous Wood’s speech at the December 10, 2008 One Law for All Campaign against Sharia law in Britain launch, click here: http://de.youtube.com/watch?v=CMg49Smhj1k&feature=channel_page

    Some of the signatories to the Campaign

    Nazanin Afshin-Jam, Coordinator, Stop Child Executions Campaign, Canada
    Mina Ahadi, Spokesperson, Council of Ex-Muslims of Germany; Coordinator, International Committee against Stoning, Köln, Germany
    Sargul Ahmad, Activist, Women’s Liberation in Iraq, Canada
    Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Writer, Washington, DC, USA
    Mahin Alipour, Coordinator, Equal Rights Now - Organisation against Women's Discrimination in Iran, Stockholm, Sweden
    Homa Arjomand, Coordinator, International Campaign against Sharia Courts in Canada, Toronto, Canada
    Farideh Arman, Coordinator, International Campaign in Defence of Women’s Rights in Iran, Malmo, Sweden
    Abdullah Asadi, Executive Director, International Federation of Iranian Refugees, Sweden
    Ophelia Benson, Editor, Butterflies and Wheels, USA
    Susan Blackmore, Psychologist, UK
    Nazanin Borumand, Never Forget Hatun Campaign against Honour Killings, Germany
    Roy Brown, Past President, International Humanist and Ethical Union, Geneva, Switzerland
    Ed Buckner, President, American Atheists, USA
    Marino Busdachin, General Secretary, Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, Netherlands
    Center for Inquiry, USA
    Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, UK
    Council of Ex-Muslims of Germany, Germany
    Council of Ex-Muslims of Scandinavia, Sweden
    Caroline Cox, Peer, House of Lords, London, UK
    Austin Dacey, Representative to the United Nations, Center for Inquiry-International, USA
    Shahla Daneshfar, Central Committee Member, Equal Rights Now - Organisation against Women’s Discrimination in Iran, London, UK
    Richard Dawkins, Scientist, Oxford, UK
    Patty Debonitas, TV Producer, Third Camp against US Militarism and Islamic Terrorism, London, UK
    Deeyah, Singer and composer, USA
    Nick Doody, Comedian, UK
    Sonja Eggerickx, President, International Humanist and Ethical Union, Belgium
    Afshin Ellian, Professor, Leiden University Faculty of Law, Leiden, Netherlands
    Equal Rights Now – Organisation against Women’s Discrimination in Iran, Sweden
    European Humanist Federation, Belgium
    Tarek Fatah, Author, Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State, Toronto, Canada
    Caroline Fourest, Writer, France
    Tahir Aslam Gora, Writer and journalist, Canada
    AC Grayling, Writer and Philosopher, London, UK
    Maria Hagberg, Chair, Network against Honour-Related Violence, Gothenburg, Sweden
    Johann Hari, Journalist, London, UK
    Christopher Hitchens, Author, USA
    Farshad Hoseini, Activist, International Campaign against Executions, Netherlands
    Khayal Ibrahim, Coordinator, Organization of Women's Liberation in Iraq; Arabic Anchor for Secular TV, Canada
    International Committee against Executions, Netherlands
    International Committee against Stoning, Germany
    International Humanist and Ethical Union, UK
    Iranian Secular Society, UK
    Shakeb Isaar, Singer, Sweden
    Maryam Jamel, Activist, Women’s Liberation in Iraq, Canada
    Keyvan Javid, Director, New Channel TV, London, UK
    Alan Johnson, Editor, Democratiya.com, Lancashire, UK
    Mehul Kamdar, Former editor of The Modern Rationalist, USA
    Naser Khader, Founder, Association of Democratic Muslims, Denmark
    Hope Knutsson, Chair, Sidmennt, Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association, Iceland
    Hartmut Krauss, Editor, Hintergrund, Germany
    LAIQUES - Région PACA, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
    Stephen Law, Editor, Royal Institute of Philosophy journal, London, UK
    Shiva Mahbobi, Producer, Against Discrimination TV Programme, London, UK
    Houzan Mahmoud, Abroad Representative, Organisation of Women’s Freedom in Iraq, London, UK
    Doreen Massey, Peer, House of Lords, London, UK
    Anthony McIntyre, Writer, Ireland
    Caspar Melville, Editor, New Humanist magazine, London, UK
    Bahar Milani, Activist, Children First Now, London, UK
    Tauriq Moosa, Writer, Capetown, South Africa
    Reza Moradi, Producer, Fitna Remade, London, UK
    Douglas Murray, Director, Centre for Social Cohesion, London, UK
    Taslima Nasrin, Writer and activist
    National Secular Society, London, UK
    Never Forget Hatun Campaign against Honour Killings, Germany
    Samir Noory, Writer; Secular TV Manager, Canada
    David Pollock, President, the European Humanist Federation, London, UK
    Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, Pakistan
    Fahimeh Sadeghi, Coordinator, International Federation of Iranian Refugees-Vancouver, Vancouver, Canada
    Michael Schmidt-Salomon, Chief Executive Officer, Giordano Bruno Foundation, Germany
    Udo Schuklenk, Philosophy professor, Queen’s University, Canada
    Sohaila Sharifi, Editor, Unveiled, London, UK
    Issam Shukri, Head, Defense of Secularism and Civil Rights in Iraq; Central Committee Secretary, Left Worker-communist Party of Iraq, Iraq
    Bahram Soroush, Founding member, Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain, London, UK
    Peter Tatchell, Activist, London, UK
    Hamid Taqvaee, Central Committee Secretary, Worker-communist Party of Iran
    Union des Familles Laïques - section Arles-Istres, France
    Union des Familles Laïques - section Marseille-Aix-en-Provence, France
    Afsaneh Vahdat, Coordinator, Council of Ex-Muslims of Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden
    Marvin F. Zayed, President, International Committee to Protect Freethinkers, Ottawa,
    Canada

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  5. En de tekst/link uit de tekst van Maryam Namazie



    A mosque dome
    Many women felt they did not get a fair hearing under Sharia law

    A Muslim think tank has found some UK Imams discriminate against women when enforcing Islamic Sharia law.

    Scholars at the Centre for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) interviewed 90 Muslims in London, the West Midlands, Lancashire and West Yorkshire.

    They found some women did not get fair hearings in forced marriage, arranged marriage and domestic violence matters.

    It comes after an NHS doctor was freed in Bangladesh following claims she was being held there for a forced marriage.

    Sharia law governs every aspect of a Muslim's life, and Imams or scholars give out rulings on how to live by God's wishes. Some mosques hold Sharia courts.

    The CIP's international director and its report's author Dr Irfan Al-Alawi said women seeking help in situations like forced marriages often turned to Imams for a ruling on what to do.

    Some ladies have approached the Imams and the Imams... have encouraged the ladies to stay with their husband or with their in-laws
    Dr Irfan Al-Alawi

    "Our research shows that domestic violence and forced marriages seem to be the dominant problems that women are facing and seeking Sharia rulings on.

    "In every case it is a male who is the defendant coming from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh.

    "Some ladies have approached the Imams and the Imams... have encouraged the ladies to stay with their husband or with their in-laws, whereby they have a duty bound under the Sharia."

    He said he knew of a 15-year-old girl in Pakistan who was tricked into marriage over the telephone with a 40-year-old man from Sheffield, who had the mental age of a four-year-old child.

    "The Home Office refused to recognise the validity of the marriage but the Islamic Sharia Council in Britain accepted it," said Dr Al-Alawi.

    He said Imams should be working at the heart of their communities showing leadership, but some were failing to do so.

    He accused some Imams of "cashing in" on the Sharia system.

    On average it may cost someone £250 to go and get an Islamic divorce, he said.
    Doctor Humayra Abedin
    Dr Abedin's return has been ordered by the High Court in Dhaka

    "There are Pirs [Muslim holy men] and Imams who come here from south Asia and charge people for charms, holy water... how is this helping anyone?" he asked.

    "They should be putting back something useful into society."

    The spotlight has been on forced marriages in recent weeks, with the introduction of new laws designed to help victims, and a high-profile case in Bangladesh.

    Lawyers for trainee NHS GP Humayra Abedin, 33, from east London, said her family planned to force her into marriage after she travelled to Dhaka.

    She had travelled there as she thought her mother was ill, and then was held against her will for months, they said.

    Ms Abedin is due to arrive back in the UK later, after London's High Court ordered her return under the new Forced Marriage Act and the High Court in Dhaka also ruled she must be freed.

    Thirty-year-old Sophiya (not her real name) from West Yorkshire, was 13 when her father arranged her marriage to a distant cousin in Pakistan.

    I saw three Imams but they all ruled that I was legally married according to the Sharia
    Sophiya, 30

    Q&A: Sharia law explained

    She said that after much resistance she was forced to marry a man she did not want to, but decided to go through with it so she could get back to the UK and put her case to a local Imam.

    "I saw three Imams but they all ruled that I was legally married according to the Sharia. I told them I had been forced but they said that did not change anything."

    Sophiya decided to try and please her parents and her new husband and carry on, but three years later she sought an Islamic divorce.

    "I met some more Imams and said that we had been separated now for nearly two years but instead of giving me guidance with my divorce, they suggested I had to go for counselling or therapy.

    "I told them I had been forced and this was not Islamic, but they disagreed."

    A few months later Sophyia's husband wrote and gave her the Islamic divorce she longed for.

    "I went through the proper Islamic way and these men told me to go away."

    Sophiya said she wants the government to send Imams back to their countries of origin if they cannot uphold the true values of the Sharia.

    'Grey area'

    Ishtiaq Ahmed, is a spokesperson the Council for Mosques, a Bradford-based group which represents over 90 mosques and religious schools.

    "We have in Britain... Muslims from all over the world, people are practising their own cultural, their social, kind of way of life.

    "We have looked into this issue on many occasions and have found that for some Imams a grey area can form where the rulings of the Sharia finish and long-held cultural practices start.

    "Imams do need more training and help; we also need lots more female scholars, ulemas, to work with our communities and try and help women."

    "I feel Imams are not trying to deliberately discriminate against anyone we just have to be more open in how we pass judgements so everyone is happy and understands the process."

    The report is due to be published next month and will be sent to the government and agencies.

    It will recommend that Imams coming to the UK from south Asia and Africa need to be vetted to ensure they have a broad knowledge of Islam and a good command of English, so they can carry out their duties in a professional and competent way.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7783627.stm

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