Hans Rustad Sharia-lover og utenomrettslige oppgjør vinner stadig større innpass blant muslimer i Storbritannia. BBC Radio 4 forteller om en knivstikkingssak som er blitt behandlet av en uoffisiell somalisk «domstol» i Woolwich i London. Enkelte advokater hilser det de kaller «rettslig pluralisme» velkommen.
Mr Yusuf said a group of Somali youths were arrested on suspicion of stabbing another Somali teenager. The victim’s family told the police it would be settled out of court and the suspects were released on bail.
A hearing was convened and elders ordered the assailants to compensate their victim. «All their uncles and their fathers were there,» said Mr Yusuf. «So they all put something towards that and apologised for the wrongdoing.»
Although Scotland Yard had no information about that case yesterday, a spokesman said it was common for the police not to proceed with assault cases if the victims decided not to press charges.
(…)Mr Yusuf told the programme he felt more bound by the traditional law of his birth than by the laws of his adopted country. «Us Somalis, wherever we are in the world, we have our own law,» he said. «It’s not sharia, it’s not religious — it’s just a cultural thing.»
Sharia’s great strength was the effectiveness of its penalties, he said. Those who appeared before religious courts would avoid re-offending so as not to bring shame on their families.
Some lawyers welcomed the advance of what has become known as «legal pluralism».
Dr Prakash Shah, a senior lecturer in law at Queen Mary University of London, said such tribunals «could be more effective than the formal legal system».
In his book Islam in Britain, Patrick Sookhdeo, director of the Institute for the Study of Islam and Christianity, says there is an «alternative parallel unofficial legal system» that operates in the Muslim community on a voluntary basis.
«Sharia courts now operate in most larger cities, with different sectarian and ethnic groups operating their own courts that cater to their specific needs according to their traditions,» he says. These are based on sharia councils, set up in Britain to help Muslims solve family and personal problems.
