Panorama or Paranoia – The issue of Shariah Courts

The recent BBC Panorama program on shariah councils demonstrated yet another ‘straw man’ argument being used against the Muslim community. Muslims are introducing a parallel legal system alongside British legal system the viewers were warned. The second point being asserted was that shariah courts were being used as a mechanism to oppress women and keep them bound into loveless marriages. Neither of these contentions are true. As regards to the first point then the so called ‘parallel legal systems’ already exists in Britain. Except of course the incendiary terminology of ‘parallel legal system’ is not used, rather they are called…