Proposal to use Shari’ah for family disputes in Canada
Both the CCMW’s opposition and the Muslim community’s surprise are based on a lack of understanding. The CCMW is an organization comprised mostly of secular women for whom Islam is a matter of personal choice and a label. The Muslims’ bafflement is increased when they consider that proponents of the Shari’ah have pledged to operate within the framework of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Canadian law, yet even this is not acceptable to the CCMW, the self-styled representatives of Muslim women in
Concerned about the alarming rise in problems and difficulties among Muslim families in Canada, and the escalating associated court costs, a group of Muslims decided to create a body, the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice (IICJ), to mediate in family disputes. Led by one Syed Mumtaz Ali, a retired lawyer, the group announced that it would operate under the Ontario Arbitration Act of 1991. Used by Catholics and Hassidic Jews as well as Ismailis since it came into force 13 years ago, the Arbitration Act has been used successfully to mediate in family disputes in various faith-communities. But when some Muslims announced that they too would use the Act, it provoked strong opposition from the CCMW.
The CCMW argued that applying the Arbitration Act would be detrimental to the interests of Muslim women because they will be coerced by family and community into joining a process without being properly aware of their rights under Canadian law and the Canadian Charter of Rights. Non-Muslim feminists also jumped on the bandwagon, conjuring up images of the Taliban coming to
The current anti-Shari’ah rage has much to do with the post-911 Islamophobia that grips much of the western world; it has been boosted by the secular Muslims’ desire to appear modern and “moderate” by condemning everything Islamic; for the same reason they are vocal in support of ‘gay and lesbian rights’ under the pretext of freedom of _expression_. Such ‘freedom’, however, is not available to Muslims who wish to live in accordance with Islamic law. Many secular “moderates” have seldom set foot inside a mosque, much less prayed there (
The issue got headlines last June when the IICJ announced that it planned to use the Ontario Arbitration Act to help resolve family disputes. Although participation is completely voluntary, it provoked heated debate, with people’s prejudices coming to the fore. Sally Armstrong, author of Veiled Threat, described the Muslims’ plan to be treated equally under the law as a “human rights catastrophe”. Alia Hogben, president of CCMW, said: “For all of us the word Shari’ah brings out a lot of emotions”; one wonders why. Hogben, the daughter of a former Indian ambassador, insists that no religious community should be above the law when it comes to ensuring that women’s rights are not being usurped.
“Very simply we’re living as Canadians and the laws of
Yet no new laws are being enacted; Muslims simply want to use existing laws. Besides, nobody is obliged to use the arbitration process; it is completely voluntary. Most mosques and Islamic centres have over the years mediated family disputes successfully, without costing the parties a single cent. In
The dispute is not merely between secular and devout Muslims, although opponents of the extension of the Arbitration Act to Muslim family disputes clearly believe that they have found their nirvana in
The dispute may also have another angle. Both the CCMW and IICJ emerged from two other organizations: the Council of Muslim Communities of Canada (CMCC) and the Canadian Society of Muslims, a Sufi group. The founders of the two organizations—Moinuddin and Dr Qadeer Baig—though now long dead, were bitter rivals, vying with each other for leadership of the Muslim community. Their conflict came to a head in 1976, when the Canadian Society of Muslims led a campaign against textbooks being used in schools in
The current dispute, however, is much broader; it reflects an attempt by secular Muslims to arrogate to themselves the right to determine how most Muslims, who still hold Islamic values dear, should conduct their affairs. The secularists despise everything Islamic; they reject virtually all Islamic texts and have little or no contact with the broader Muslim community, the vast majority of whom are still quite conservative on social issues; yet despite their distance the secularists insist that they alone must have the last word on all matters. On what basis they make such a claim is hard to comprehend, apart perhaps from the fact that they receive government funding for most of their activities. It is a safe assumption that, were a referendum to be held among the Muslims in
Proponents of the Arbitration Act are also not without fault. Without doing their homework they got carried away with rhetoric. For instance, the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice has not even formulated a format under which the Arbitration Act would apply. Similarly, it has given little thought to how the mediation process will work, apart from stating that the arbitrators will be “qualified”. This betrays sloppy thinking and sloppy procedures. Why announce something with fanfare when the basic groundwork has not been done? And why was no thought given to possible opposition from various groups? True, opposition from the Canadian Council of Muslim Women has shocked most Muslims, but venturing into the sensitive area of applying Islamic law to resolve family disputes should have been preceded by identifying the likely sources of opposition and deciding how best to deal with them. Nor have IICJ spokespeople been articulate on the rare occasions they have appeared on television to debate the issue. A good case can be lost by poor representation.
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