In Canada, the government of Ontario is considering whether to allow Muslim Courts to resolve civil law disputes by arbitration.
That means Canadian Courts would uphold decisions made by Sharia Law on divorce, inheritance and business wrangles, provided those rulings did not violate Canada's charter of rights.
But such a move would create enormous controversy because critics, claim Sharia discriminates against women, and that it does not accord them the same rights as men.
Laura Trevelyan reported from Toronto.
Symbols of modern Canada, where the cultures
of Islam and fast food co-exist. In the daily rush
for the subway, the diversity of the nation is on
display. This country is defined by its tolerance.
The rights of French Canadians, one minority,
written into the constitution. But now an attempt
by Muslims to get government backing for Islamic
law is proving highly contentious.
SYED MUMTAZ ALI:
(Founder, Islamic Institute of Civil Justice)
If I pray, if I do business, if I interact with other
people, every act of your life is to be governed
and you have to obey the law in that respect.
That was Islam and that's what being a Muslim is
all about. If you are not obeying the law, you are
not a Muslim. That's all there is to it.
It scares me. I feel betrayed if that happens in
Canada because I came to Canada to escape
from that. I know what it means to live under
Shari'a law, for a woman.
Right now in Toronto, the spirit of multiculturalism
is being tested to its very limit. The question
being asked here is, can this tolerant society trust
Islamic religious law to protect the rights of
everyone? The issue is so controversial because
of the legacy of 9/11. Any attempt by Muslims to
assert their rights can be misinterpreted by those
who fear the rise of Islamic fundamentalism.
Friday prayers at a Toronto mosque draw several
thousand. Muslims are a fast-growing minority in
Canada. So an Islamic group in Ontario wants
Shari'a courts, whose judgments are based on
the Koran, to settle civil disputes by arbitration.
Other religions already settle divorce and
inheritance wrangles under and arbitration act
passed in this province. Canadian courts have to
uphold decisions provided they don't conflict with
the charter of rights. There is the rub. Critics
claim Islam discriminates against women.
In this Toronto suburb, with all the trappings of
comfortable North American life, is the man who
wants to bring Shari'a law to Canada. Indian born
Syed Mumtaz Ali was the first ever Muslim lawyer
to qualify here and he swore his oath on the
Koran. Now there are 600,000 Muslims in
Canada, he says it's time for Shari'a to be
SYED MUMTAZ ALI:
The pressure is building up now for the people
who are getting frustrated, and they feel we
cannot live out our own religion. We have to do
Why are you doing this now?
SYED MUMTAZ ALI:
It is being done behind the scenes, in the ghettos
in the back alleys. Why not bring it into the open?
At least it can have some sort of regulation and
discipline brought to it.
But there are those who shudder when they hear
the word "Shari'a". These two women are Iranian
exiles campaigning against the courts. To them
Islamic law is repressive.
It means a woman is not a full person. At best, it's
half a man. Doesn't have right to divorce.
I was arrested by the Islamic regime. I was
tortured physically, emotionally, mentally for
years. I was in a solitary cell for 14 months itself,
and I had to escape the Islamic regime. I had to
escape. I know what is the women's situation
under the Islamic situation, under Shari'a law. I
don't want it in Canada.
Decorative copies of the Koran pull in the visitors
in a Toronto museum. There is a desire to know
more about Islam. Supporters of the arbitration
courts say their opponents are ignorant of how
Shari'a law would be practised in Canada, but the
hostility has provoked the Ontario government to
review the Arbitration Act. It looks as though the
courts will be allowed, with safeguards, to ensure
Muslim women know their rights under Canadian
law as well as the Koran. The woman in charge
of the review told us the government would find it
hard to stop Muslims from having their own
(Leader, Ontario government review)
Our constitution guarantees equity on ethnic
grounds, on religious grounds, on racial grounds,
as well as gender grounds. If we are saying to
groups that have been in existence for a long
time, "It's OK to have rabbinical courts for this
particular group" but it's not OK for an avenue for
private resolution of disputes in the Muslim
community, what are we saying?
An argument echoed by orthodox Jews here.
Followers of the Torah and Koran are not obvious
allies, but over this, the right of religious groups
to have their own courts, there is an outbreak of
RABBI REUVAN TRADBURKS:
(Secretary, Toronto Beth Din)
I think it's critical that the government find a
balance between allowing religious people to do
what they feel they need to do religiously. A
religious Jew feels he wants to have his dispute
settled in a Jewish court, so he has to have the
right to do that. The Muslim world, people want
the same thing.
But what about the rights of Muslim women in all
this? Only a man can pronounce a divorce under
Islam, and women inherit less money than men. I
asked a group of Muslims who want to take part
in the courts how women would be treated?
We have certain models in Pakistan and Nigeria
where, unfortunately, the practice of Muslims has
been that women have been discriminated, but
my view is that it doesn't have to be that way, and
Shari'a is not carved in stone. It's not rigid. It's not
intrinsically misogynist and it can be brought in
line with modern notions of gender equality.
Are you saying it would be possible for a woman
to get as much money from a divorce settlement
as a man?
Absolutely, if not more.
What is equality? There are many definitions of it.
I think the main issue is that the Western, secular
version of equality is not what you will find with
If you take my word for it, I think women will be
better off actually, going through the Shari'a
tribunals, because according to Islam women are
supposed to keep their property.
Maybe, but what about daughters who inherit
money? Why do they get less than the sons, I
In Islam, every right has a corresponding
responsibility. So the man has the responsibility
to provide for his, not only his immediate family,
but in case he has a widowed sister or widowed
aunt, he has to provide for them as well. So there are many claims on his income, whereas there
are no claims on the woman's income.
It all seems perfectly reasonable to believers in
Islam, but what impact is this impact having in the
wider Canadian world? At the University of
Toronto, Middle Eastern studies is growing more
popular. Here they are debating political Islam.
(University of Toronto)
The way it comes into the factor is because of the authoritarian aspect of the state crushing secular civil society.
There was concern here about how Islamic
arbitration courts might go down with non-
UNNAMED STUDENT 1:
If we were to introduce Shari'a law, that would be
a plus for the Muslim community, but then there
are also instances, in Toronto in particular, where
you can't call it a Christmas tree any more. It's a
"holiday tree" now. Just things like that where
they need to find a balance.
UNNAMED STUDENT 2:
Once you start applying different rules to different
people, that could be problematic. There could be
backlash. Muslims are running into the problem,
instead of integrating into the Western society,
they are now just standing out more. There could
be a point of conflict.
UNNAMED STUDENT 3:
If it does remain a choice for them to be
arbitrated, I don't see it as a problem, nor do I
see a conflict with Canadian values.
UNNAMED STUDENT 4:
It comes back to basic essentialised versions of
what the Middle East and Muslims are. They
wear the burka, follow Shari'a law they
authoritarian. That negates a more progressive
image of Muslims in North America.
That's not how their lecturer sees it, though. If the
Shari'a courts are a success, he believes this
could be a defining moment for the future of
(University of Toronto)
There is a possibility for the development of a
progressive theology within the Muslim world for
perhaps the first time. That will, I think, force the
Muslim community in Canada to really examine a
set of issues that previously have not been
examined. To put it in a nutshell, that would
effectively be due the judgments that are
rendered in a court based on Islamic principles,
do they meet with modern standards of justice
compatible with a liberal democracy in the
beginning of the 21st century. There is a potential
here for something positive to come out in terms
of a Canadian contribution to an Islamic
What happens next is a test of the multicultural
ideal. Muslims have been under siege since 9/11,
blamed, bewildered and beleaguered. Shari'a
courts in Canada are an opportunity to show the
world a modern face of Islam. If the religious
courts operate as their detractors expect,
Muslims will have lost a chance to demonstrate
that Shari'a can operate without threatening the
West and its values.
This transcript was produced from the teletext subtitles that are generated live for Newsnight. It has been checked against the programme as broadcast, however Newsnight can accept no responsibility for any factual inaccuracies. We will be happy to correct serious errors.