By Claire Gilderson
Lapido Media
15 August 2008

These stories were told by Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, Director of the Muslim Institute at the launch of the new model Muslim marriage contract.  Names have been omitted or disguised in order to protect identities.

Soraya, 28, is from Birmingham and studying pharmacy

“The first time his family asked for my hand in marriage was during my exams.  I wasn’t ready for that commitment during such a stressful time, so they agreed to come back.  Like me he was educated, brought up in Britain and practiced law.  He sounded liberal and I thought we had something in common.  So I said yes.  I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.

Following a short engagement, we had a traditional Islamic wedding.  The Muslim priest came to my house and married us and then I was taken to the groom’s home to complete the ceremony.  We both signed a Muslim marriage certificate.  That’s how people ‘tie the knot’ Islamically.  My parents assumed at some point we would legally register the marriage in order for it to be recognised by British law.  That never happened.  When I got married, I expected to be with my husband for the rest of my life.  I expected a normal relationship between a husband and a wife.

The trouble started when I wanted to pursue my pharmacy career which I’ve always dreamed of.  Prior to the marriage, my parents discussed this with his parents and he was made fully aware of my intention to study.  He agreed, but once we were married and I started applying to universities, he wasn’t happy.  Instead of enrolling, I decided to defer for a year to give him time to think about it.  He didn’t change his mind, so I applied for my degree without his permission.  During enrollment, I stated my marital status as ‘married’.  As standard procedure of proof of identity, the university requested a British civil marriage certificate.  I didn’t have one.

Emotional and financial investment

I asked my husband to provide me with a civil marriage certificate but he told me we didn’t need one.  He said although our Muslim marriage was ‘common-law’, it was legally recognised.  Unconvinced, I did some research and realised we had to register the marriage at a registry office in order for it to be legal.  The certificate given to me by the Muslim priest was invalid in the eyes of the law.   Had I not enrolled at university, I would have been none the wiser.  I asked him to officially register our marriage, but he refused.

My dad had invested over £7,000 in our marriage in terms of the ceremony and gifts.  He paid for my gold and gave us household appliances.  He also gave us money to refurbish the house because it was in a terrible state.  My husband boasted he’d bought us a nice place in London, but it was absolutely disgusting.  It was dirty, totally bare and infested with mice.  It was an empty shell – a complete tip.  The day after we got married, he went to work and left me all alone.  I cleaned the entire house and painted it. I decorated it and furnished it with my dad’s money plus my wages from shop work which was tiding me over until I went to university.  He didn’t help me whatsoever and told me I was lucky to have a house at all.

Initially he paid the mortgage and most of the bills.  I always paid for the food.  When I started my shop work he expected me to pay half the mortgage even though his salary was over £40,000 and I was on £6 per hour.  I simply couldn’t afford it.  Although we were supposedly married, he lived like he was still single.  We hardly saw each other because he was ‘on duty’ most nights. He also suggested I look after his mother in Birmingham while he lived in London during the week, so we would only see each other at weekends.  I said no.   He forbade me to go to university and the fighting continued.  His behaviour became threatening.  He turned violent and put his hands around my neck.  Once he even tried to push me down the stairs.

Family feud

Neither of our parents knew what was happening, but I couldn’t take it anymore.  Eventually I told them that he refused to register the marriage and how he’d completely changed.  It was as if he had a split personality.  At first they didn’t believe me and my mum encouraged me to make the marriage work.  It didn’t take her long to realise I was going through hell.  I only wanted him to meet me half way, but he never compromised.  I asked myself if I could take this for the rest of my life and have his children.

We had a big family meeting in Birmingham.  My dad lost his temper and my husband got up and left the house.  He’d returned to London with his family and I stayed in Birmingham with mine.  After giving him a couple of days to cool down, I went back to London, put my key in the lock, but couldn’t get into the house.  How can a husband lock his wife out of their home?  I told the police my husband had changed the locks.  They said it was a civil matter and that I had to sort it out myself.  I felt so helpless.  I had no choice but to leave all my belongings behind and go back to Birmingham.

I pleaded with my husband to sort things out and asked him whether we had a future. He was still adamant that I shouldn’t go to university, but I wasn’t prepared to give that up. I no longer trusted him and couldn’t imagine having a family with him.  I knew we had no future whatsoever.  It was over.  The police accompanied me to my home and my husband looked on while I collected my things.  He arranged for a total stranger to drop off the remainder of my belongings.

No help

My dad hired a solicitor which cost £5,000.  Even though my solicitor was threatened by my husband’s family, the case still reached the courts.  The judge threw it out because my marriage wasn’t recognized by British law and I therefore wasn’t entitled to anything.  I went to the Shari’ah Council and they couldn’t help me either.  My mum sought help at several mosques, but there wasn’t anything anybody could do.  I still haven’t been compensated for what I’ve lost and it’s unlikely I ever will be.  I had no idea my marriage would end like this.  As a legal practitioner, he knew exactly what he was doing and led me to believe that our marriage was legal.  I didn’t have a leg to stand on.

After the marriage ended I was quite depressed.  It hasn’t been easy for my family either.  I’ve lost a lot of time and money and I could’ve qualified as a pharmacist sooner.  The worst thing was being deceived from day one, entering into a marriage which I thought was legal.  After everything I’d invested in the relationship – emotionally and financially, I thought I’d be entitled to something, but he didn’t even care.  He was happy to see me walk away with nothing.

Although I’ve picked myself up and moved on, I’ll never forget it.  It will always be at the back of my mind.  It’s been a struggle, but my family has supported me throughout.  I’ve had to show the Muslim community I don’t need him and that I’m strong enough to come through this.  I will qualify as a pharmacist next year.”

Aisha’s story

GS: ‘One day I received a call from a revert (former non-Muslim). She said, “My husband has disappeared, abandoned me. I want help to have a divorce.”

GS: ‘Was your marriage through a nikah  or a civil ceremony?

“Nikah”, she said.

GS: ‘Do you have the certificate?

“No. My husband had it and he has gone away.”

GS: ‘Who was the qadi?

“A friend of my husband.”

GS: ‘Do you remember who the witnesses were?

“They were all friends of my husband.”

GS: ‘There was no way we could help her.’

Leila’s story

‘A very intelligent woman telephoned asking for help.

‘She said, ‘I was married through an Islamic ceremony.  I knew it was not recognized. My husband and family insisted: “Let us first marry in the eyes of Allah. Perhaps later on we can have a civil ceremony as well.”

‘After the marriage she reminded him of his promise. He said “We are only married a couple of months ago. Let’s see if it works out then we will.” So after that, she knew she was on trial.

‘Because of her constant insistence on a civil ceremony, things became tense and one day, when she came home, the locks had been changed and there was a note from her husband to say, “It’s all over. Your things are with my sister.”

‘There are loads of women suffering like that.’

Rhazia’s story

‘There was a very highly qualified woman who went to deliver a talk in the Islamic Academy, where a young trainee solicitor approached her and showed an interest.

‘He started visiting and proposed to marry her after a few weeks. He also insisted that the lady should introduce him to the family – and everybody like him.

‘She was not sure that he was the right man for her.

‘When she met his family she realized that his family was looking for a domestic daughter-in-law.

‘One evening he dropped in, saying, “I have come to persuade you to accept my proposal.”

‘Then he jumped on her and raped her.

‘Now there was a crisis.  In the situation she forgot the first thing she should do was contact the police.  She forgot to have the morning after pill.

‘Because of the shame, the consequences of pregnancy overwhelmed her and she agreed to marry him because she thought that that was the best way. Subsequent to that rape, he said “I really love you.” She believed him and this whole idea of civil ceremony was forgotten at that time.

‘The parents asked the local imam to come and perform the nikah

‘Just before the birth of their second child the husband said to her, I am going to have another wife.

‘This was very shattering.

‘He managed to convince her, “I am going bankrupt.”

‘He convinced her, “I need your money, let me have this property in my name. The next house will be in your name if I go bankrupt.”

‘She put everything in the kitty for the house. When he left this woman for another, the matter went to court.

‘But this man, because he was a solicitor, his plea was that “All along our relationship was very casual.

‘”I only accepted to go through the nikah when she became pregnant and that is the reason for not having a civil ceremony.  We were not sure we were having a permanent relationship.

So this girl lost the house and was left on the streets with two children.

‘The husband sold the house and bought a bigger one for himself and the second wife.’…

‘Shariah Law by the back door’ says barrister

Lapido Media
8 August 2008

Experts are divided about the impact of a proposed new Muslim marriage contract being launched today (Friday) in London with the backing of Ann Cryer MP, that would, claims one, give recognition to shariah law.

The new contract, drafted by the Muslim Institute, launching at the City Circle, would provide women with written proof of their marriage under Islamic law.  It would also outlaw polygamy in the UK.

But discrimination barrier Neil Addison says it would mean shariah law by the back door.

‘With government members approving it, it gives pseudo-legitimacy to Islamic marriage and to shariah by the back door, without giving any real reason why this contract is necessary and what’s wrong with civil marriage.’

Up to now, Muslims, alone among all religious groups, do not register their religious buildings in order to perform marriages that conform to English law. The new contract encourages registration.

The nikah is not recognized by the British courts and shari’ah interpretation has up to now been discriminatory.

As a result, Muslim women who face talaq – Muslim divorce – have no financial redress and become outcast, suffering loss of honour, status and social and financial support.

Dr Ida Glaser, a Director of the Centre for Muslim Christian Studies, and an expert on women’s issues, told Lapido Media:  ‘It can be an unbelievable nightmare, so what is proposed is absolutely revolutionary.

‘It’s advocating recognition of the woman’s role in marriage both in English and Islamic law.  It’s a very, very egalitarian interpretation of Islamic law.  It’s not outside of Islamic law, but it’s a much more modern interpretation of Islamic law and one to be greatly encouraged.’

MP Ann Cryer has also endorsed the contract, describing it as ‘an excellent piece of work’.

She said:  ‘I feel confident in recommending its findings to women (and men) of the Muslim faith contemplating marriage.  The advice contained will, I am sure, help thousands of young people.’

The contract (PDF Download) is the work of Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, Founder Director of the south London-based Muslim Institute, who since 1994 has been working to persuade leading Muslims in Britain including the Muslim Council of Britain and others to reform the written contract that forms the basis of the nikah.

He said:  ‘Now they are realizing the need for this.  I think partly they were living in their own ghettoes.

‘Many young people thought marriage through an imam was acceptable.  Now if the marriage breaks down, it is only then that the woman realizes she has lost everything.’

The reforms in the contract include:

• removing the requirement for a ‘marriage guardian’ (wali) for the bride, who, as an adult, can make up her own mind about whom to marry.
• enabling the wife to initiate divorce and retain all her financial rights agreed in the marriage contract.
• forbidding polygamy whether formally or informally in the UK or abroad
• encouraging mosques to register to perform marriages

Dr Siddiqui said the contract would bring Muslim marriages in Britain into line with positive developments in Muslim family law ‘across the Muslim world.’  It did not however have the support of the salafist UK Islamic Shari’ah Council – or Muslims who are against shariah recognition of any kind.

Other British lawyers were sceptical about the contract.  Discrimination lawyer, Neil Addison author of Religious Discrimination and Hatred Law described it as ‘an encouragement to illegality.’

‘Though I can see that the intention behind this contract is good, it continues the unfortunate trend of separating Muslims from the general community in Britain.

‘The Contract will still permit Imams to perform Muslim Marriage ceremonies when the couple are not married in accordance with British Law; indeed the existence of such a ‘model’ contract endorsed, as this is, by lawyers and MPs gives the seal of approval for the continuation of marriage ceremonies which have no legal legitimacy under British law.

‘It is in fact an encouragement to illegality.’

He said Jews, Catholics, Sikhs, Hindus and Quakers all carried out marriage ceremonies in accordance with British law either by insisting that  the couple had a civil ceremony before the religious ceremony, or by registering for marriages and incorporating the legal requirements for marriage into the religious ceremony.

‘Muslim organisations are the only religious group encouraging their members to ignore the British law of marriage, and that is harmful to Muslims because it deprives them of their legal rights under British law.

He added there was nothing in civil marriage that was contrary to Islam.

‘Shariah Law by the back door’ says barrister

Lapido Media
8 August 2008

Experts are divided about the impact of a proposed new Muslim marriage contract being launched today (Friday) in London with the backing of Ann Cryer MP, that would, claims one, give recognition to shariah law.

The new contract, drafted by the Muslim Institute, launching at the City Circle, would provide women with written proof of their marriage under Islamic law.  It would also outlaw polygamy in the UK.

But discrimination barrier Neil Addison says it would mean shariah law by the back door.

‘With government members approving it, it gives pseudo-legitimacy to Islamic marriage and to shariah by the back door, without giving any real reason why this contract is necessary and what’s wrong with civil marriage.’

Up to now, Muslims, alone among all religious groups, do not register their religious buildings in order to perform marriages that conform to English law. The new contract encourages registration.

The nikah is not recognized by the British courts and shari’ah interpretation has up to now been discriminatory.

As a result, Muslim women who face talaq – Muslim divorce – have no financial redress and become outcast, suffering loss of honour, status and social and financial support.

Dr Ida Glaser, a Director of the Centre for Muslim Christian Studies, and an expert on women’s issues, told Lapido Media:  ‘It can be an unbelievable nightmare, so what is proposed is absolutely revolutionary.

‘It’s advocating recognition of the woman’s role in marriage both in English and Islamic law.  It’s a very, very egalitarian interpretation of Islamic law.  It’s not outside of Islamic law, but it’s a much more modern interpretation of Islamic law and one to be greatly encouraged.’

MP Ann Cryer has also endorsed the contract, describing it as ‘an excellent piece of work’.

She said:  ‘I feel confident in recommending its findings to women (and men) of the Muslim faith contemplating marriage.  The advice contained will, I am sure, help thousands of young people.’

The contract (PDF Download) is the work of Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, Founder Director of the south London-based Muslim Institute, who since 1994 has been working to persuade leading Muslims in Britain including the Muslim Council of Britain and others to reform the written contract that forms the basis of the nikah.

He said:  ‘Now they are realizing the need for this.  I think partly they were living in their own ghettoes.

‘Many young people thought marriage through an imam was acceptable.  Now if the marriage breaks down, it is only then that the woman realizes she has lost everything.’

The reforms in the contract include:

• removing the requirement for a ‘marriage guardian’ (wali) for the bride, who, as an adult, can make up her own mind about whom to marry.
• enabling the wife to initiate divorce and retain all her financial rights agreed in the marriage contract.
• forbidding polygamy whether formally or informally in the UK or abroad
• encouraging mosques to register to perform marriages

Dr Siddiqui said the contract would bring Muslim marriages in Britain into line with positive developments in Muslim family law ‘across the Muslim world.’  It did not however have the support of the salafist UK Islamic Shari’ah Council – or Muslims who are against shariah recognition of any kind.

Other British lawyers were sceptical about the contract.  Discrimination lawyer, Neil Addison author of Religious Discrimination and Hatred Law described it as ‘an encouragement to illegality.’

‘Though I can see that the intention behind this contract is good, it continues the unfortunate trend of separating Muslims from the general community in Britain.

‘The Contract will still permit Imams to perform Muslim Marriage ceremonies when the couple are not married in accordance with British Law; indeed the existence of such a ‘model’ contract endorsed, as this is, by lawyers and MPs gives the seal of approval for the continuation of marriage ceremonies which have no legal legitimacy under British law.

‘It is in fact an encouragement to illegality.’

He said Jews, Catholics, Sikhs, Hindus and Quakers all carried out marriage ceremonies in accordance with British law either by insisting that  the couple had a civil ceremony before the religious ceremony, or by registering for marriages and incorporating the legal requirements for marriage into the religious ceremony.

‘Muslim organisations are the only religious group encouraging their members to ignore the British law of marriage, and that is harmful to Muslims because it deprives them of their legal rights under British law.

He added there was nothing in civil marriage that was contrary to Islam.…

A new Islamic marriage contract sets aside cultural practices

Samia Rahman
Guardian
8 August 2008

Tonight, at the City Circle, the Muslim Institute will launch a radical marriage contract (pdf) it hopes will change the face of British Muslim family life.

Currently, the Islamic marriage ceremony (nikkah), performed by an imam in the presence of two witnesses, is not recognised by British law and often involves little or no paperwork.

If things go awry and the couple divorce, the woman – and it is almost always the woman – experiences great difficulty securing the financial rights guaranteed to her under sharia law. The terms and conditions of this new contract, signed at the nikkah, clarify both husband and wife’s rights and obligations in all eventualities. For example, it ensures that the right to divorce (talaq-i-tafweed), is automatically delegated to the wife, something that is practised in most Muslim countries.

The contract is not just about divorce, though. It seeks to establish healthy relationships by highlighting difficult scenarios the couple may encounter in the future. Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui of the Muslim Institute explains: “By laying out the terms and conditions of the marriage it encourages both parties to establish consensus on issues such as where they will live.”

Many couples bring to a marriage a certain amount of cultural baggage. They can find they have vastly differing approaches to lifestyle, such as the division of housework and personal finances. The architect of the contract, Mufti Barkatulla, has spent the past 25 years presiding over thousands of divorce cases at the Islamic Sharia Council. “Problems arise when couples don’t know what to expect. The lack of respect for each other’s personality and choices is shocking,” he says.

The contract is the culmination of a four-year consultation process to address the pervasive gender inequality in Muslim marriages across the UK – inequalities based not in theology, but in culture.

A major fault line is the role of in-laws. Sharia law explicitly states that a wife has the right to a separate living space, yet some Muslim communities in the UK, such as those from the subcontinent, cherish a rigid cultural attitude that living with in-laws is an Islamic convention. Polygamy is another contentious issue the new contract clarifies, illegal under British law and subject to strict conditions set down in the Qur’an.

The Qur’an has always been translated from Arabic, a language in which words can take on multiple meanings, in a process historically undertaken by male scholars. Islamic law declares a witness to a nikkah must be a sane, responsible adult. This has been culturally interpreted to mean men only. In the new contract women and non-Muslims may be witnesses. In addition, the consent of a wali or guardian of a female adult who wants to marry, becomes optional. Parents attempting to prevent their daughter marrying against their wishes can no longer use this rule.

That the rights accorded by the contract are rooted in sharia law ignites the debate over whether aspects of sharia may be incorporated into UK law. However, if more mosques apply to become sites registered for the solemnisation of marriage, Muslim couples will be able to make their civil ceremony coincide with the nikkah, rendering part of that controversy redundant.

What better way to encourage social cohesion and tackle radicalisation than building families in a context of harmony and cooperation, where the rights of women are not only respected, but valued? Bringing up children in a positive, nurturing environment will do much to combat disaffection and alienation in future generations, and could help cut off the oxygen that fuels extremism.

These are ambitious aims. However, the fact that the contract is endorsed by an unprecedented number of Muslim organisations and the launch hosted by a progressive group of second-generation Muslims, the City Circle, bodes well.

Yet, it remains to be seen whether the Muslim marriage contract will make an impact on more traditional Muslim communities such as those in Bradford and Oldham, and whether it can challenge the widespread misunderstanding of gender roles in Islam.…

The story of my friend Amina highlights the need for a modern Islamic marriage contract. But the Muslim Council of Britain has chickened out.

Ed Husain
Guardian Comment is free
20 August 2008

I used to work with a British-Asian woman from Cambridge. At first sight, she was as free and as liberated as any of her contemporaries at university but as time went by, she seemed increasingly depressed, spending all of her lunch breaks in long telephone conversations, often returning in tears.

Amina (not her real name) had fallen in love with an Asian Muslim man. She was also Muslim and they both came from a similar ethnic background in Pakistan. Like so many of their generation, they were caught between Britain and Pakistan, between their parents and themselves. Amina’s father refused to consent to her marriage and, as a Muslim daughter, she needed him as a “wali” or guardian to oversee her marriage. The local imam refused to conduct the ceremony without her father’s consent and the presence of two male Muslim witnesses.

When I met Amina she was still in love with this man but her father insisted she marry her cousin from Pakistan, who happened, rather conveniently, to be visiting England. Her father also had a heart condition and used his illness to emotionally blackmail her. Eventually Amina gave way. She sacrificed love to south Asian culture and married Mr Pakistan.

White, liberal eyes reading this article will be astounded to know these things happen in Britain. I am sorry, but they do. And it gets worse.

Amina was repeatedly raped by Mr Pakistan, but her mother told her that a Muslim man has such rights over his wife, and in Islam there is no such thing as marital rape.

I wanted to help Amina. I suggested she divorce her husband and marry her true love but she told me her husband would kill her if she even mentioned divorce. Eventually, she risked everything and escaped to a women’s refuge. When she asked for a divorce her husband refused and was supported in this by the Islamic Shariah Council, a powerful all-male outfit controlling women’s lives.

In the light of Amina’s struggle, I was pleased to read Samia Rahman’s article on Cif about a new Muslim marriage contract pioneered by the Muslim Institute and endorsed, much to my surprise, by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) and the men who supported Amina’s husband: the Islamic Shariah Council.

Launching it at a meeting of the City Circle, Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui highlighted other cases of marital abuse among Britain’s Muslims Amina was not alone.

The new Muslim marriage contract sought to update and develop fiqh, or Muslim personal jurisprudence, by shifting the power balance in a marriage to empower women to trigger divorce, feel safe from rape or abuse, prevent husbands from taking second wives, and set up accommodation separated from a husband’s parents.

All common sense, one would have thought. It went further. Witnesses at wedding ceremonies could be women and even non-Muslim, since the Qur’an is gender and faith neutral on this issue. And a Muslim woman does not need a wali, or male guardian (based on Hanafi school of Islamic law, to which the majority of Britain’s Muslims adhere).

Had Amina and her husband signed this contract, she would have had every right to escape her miserable marriage, or even marry her first love. For those who need scriptural justification for every step of their life, the Muslim scholars behind this contract provided evidence and shariah-based arguments.

It was all too good to be true. Misogynist, Saudi-trained clerics don’t simply stand by and watch their last grip over Muslim family life slip away so easily. First, as expected, came an Arab male cleric with extreme Wahhabi leanings, denouncing the contract as kufr, or non-belief. His rant can be watched on YouTube.

Last Friday, after initially endorsing the new contract, the MCB back-tracked and issued a statement to “clarify” is position. It spoke of “misinterpretation of shariah by those who the MCB had trusted to take the lead” and said: “The MCB rejects the misguided and incorrect assertions made by and ascribed to the Muslim Institute.”

This MCB policy is as retrogressive and insular as its previous decision to boycott attending Holocaust Memorial Day. Then, it was the City Circle that pioneered an alternative platform for Muslims to remember the Holocaust, and again, the City Circle is ahead of the MCB in advocating an alternative reading of scripture to facilitate Muslim female power.

And in typical MCB male arrogance, they dismiss the contract and promise to issue their own after “due consultation” with their “affiliates and ulema [religious scholars]”. Why? The shariah is a diverse body of law, can’t the MCB accept another interpretation? How dare they talk of “misinterpretation”? And why consult only clerics and affiliates, and leave out women and human rights groups?

The MCB leadership should be ashamed of itself: ashamed for not having the balls to stand up for Muslim women, and ashamed for bowing to extremist, literalist pressure.

When young Muslim women like Amina and thousands of others cannot trust MCB leaders to stand firm in support of the new Muslim marriage contract, its leaders should take a long look in the mirror and ask themselves: why do we always get it so terribly wrong?…

The Muslim Council of Britain wants a modern Islamic marriage contract, but it needs to be thought through with community buy-in if it is to succeed

Reefat Drabu
Guardian Comment is free
21 August 2008

Yesterday, Ed Husain accused the Muslim Council of Britain of bowing to extremist pressure and succumbing to its alleged male-dominated sensibilities because it withdrew from an initiative to create a Muslim Marriage Contract. Naturally I beg to differ and here are the reasons why.

As chair of the MCB’s social and family affairs committee, I regularly come across very real issues of broken families and loveless marriages. These include the very sad cases of forced marriages and domestic violence. Moreover, when two parties enter into a Muslim marriage (nikah) and then seek arbitration in British courts, there is very little documentation that emanates from unions conducted solely on a religious basis. Of course, these issues are not only pertinent to Muslims, but our community should have the mechanism and the wherewithal to tackle them from within the faith with as wide a consensus as possible.

So when we were asked by the Muslim Institute, also known as the Muslim Parliament, to endorse and promote the Muslim Marriage Contract on behalf of MCB, we readily did. Here was an opportunity to crystallise the rights and responsibilities already enshrined in Muslim marriages into a simple, usable written format. This would document evidence of rights and responsibilities of both parties to a nikah so that the same can, if necessary be used in British courts. Moreover, such a contract – if conducted under the wide parameters of Islamic law -– will re-iterate the free consent of the two parties which is mandatory for a marriage to be valid under Islamic law.

Unfortunately those that the MCB had trusted to take the lead in launching the initiative misrepresented the content and claimed that it was a “re-invention of shariah” or, as Mr Husain puts it, to “develop and update” Islamic jurisprudence without recourse to or the understanding of Islam’s diverse juridical viewpoints. I find it strange that while he hastens to speak out against those who condemn Islam’s diversity, then proceeds to pronounce that all British Muslims must follow one school of thought, as directed by him.

The marriage contract produced by the Muslim Insititute is simply one interpretation of shariah. It is not the shariah that needs to be re-invented, but a change in behaviour among some sections of our diverse Muslim communities. This is an onerous task that cannot be achieved through blustering demands and emphatic slogans that will only resonate in the salons of Islington and Notting Hill.

The allegations that the MCB is “retrogressive and insular” are misguided and malicious. The source of these allegations causes no surprise. The MCB is a broad-based inclusive organisation of Muslim communities living in the United Kingdom. It recognises and respects the choice of Muslims to follow such interpretation of the shariah in relation to marriage as they wish.

MCB represents and serves diverse Muslim communities. The initiative on producing marriage documentation which meets their needs is not motivated only because we feel that Muslim women need protection from abhorrent cultural practices like forced marriages but also to raise awareness about rights and responsibilities of parties under all schools of thought in Islam. Marriage governed by shariah should give women respect, protection and empowerment.

MCB remains non-partisan on issues of theology, respecting diversity and supporting individual choices. Disappointed by the initiative, we would like to start again, create a wider consensus and deliver real change based on traditional scholarship and community buy-in. Rather than playing to the gallery, as our detractors would have us do, we need to take meaningful steps that will safeguard the rights of Muslim women in Britain.…