"Shari`ah Gave Me Freedom"

Sholars at the East London's Islamic Shari`ah Council address thousands of cases every year.

"I have one more meeting, then in three months I will be a free woman," Khan, 38, told the Independent in an interview published on Sunday, February 24.

The mother of two is seeking the assistance of Muslim scholars sitting on the East London's Islamic Shari`ah Council to divorce her husband back in Pakistan.

Khan, who was brought up in England, met her husband during a holiday in her home country.

She left her accounting job in London to live with her husband in a remote village in Pakistan.

Despite her sincere efforts to save the marriage, which saw her forgive the husband for having an affair, differences proved too strong to overcome.

Khan finally decided to return to Britain and seek a divorce.

The Islamic Shari`ah Council is very close to a ruling in her divorce request while the case she filed with a civil court is still in its early stages.

The British court wants the husband back in Pakistan petitioned in order to proceed with the case, and it is up to Khan to ensure that.

"I have to find someone in Pakistan to send the petition to, and get them to take it to my husband, take a photograph of him, and sign an affidavit," Khan fumed.

"But I don't know where he is."

Under British law, people may devise their own way to settle a dispute in front of an agreed third party, such as Shari`ah courts and the Jewish Beth Din, as long as both sides agree to the process.

The rulings of Shari`ah courts, however, are not recognized by the law and thus Muslims, estimated at nearly 2 million, would have to seek settling their disputes through civil courts.

Flaw

Khan says her case illustrates a serious flaw in Britain's legal system.

"Even though my marriage was never registered here, and my husband has never even been to the UK, my solicitor tells me the Islamic marriage certificate is recognized by the British government as legitimate, but the Islamic divorce certificate is not," she told the Independent.

She laments that if it had been to the Shari`ah court, her case would have been resolved in few months.

"The only thing holding me up now is the British court. It's causing so much stress," Khan complained.

"I don't know where to go, who to ask or why this is happening."

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams recently recommended that the British law should recognize some aspects of Shari`ah to resolve Muslim civil matters.

His remarks ignited an extraordinary political and religious storm that still rages on, with politicians united in denouncing the proposal.

Leading newspapers and tabloids launched vitriolic campaigns against the spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans, some even calling for his resignation.

Khan believes the fuss was much ado about nothing.

"It's sad to see people saying anti-Islamic things when they haven't read what the Archbishop's lecture was about."

She insists that, unlike what many in the West think, Shari`ah is not all about stoning and cutting hands.

"People who have a negative attitude say that it is barbaric, but really, it is moderate Muslims, rather than the extremists, who are the ones who turn to it."

For Khan, Shari`ah is helping turn a new page in her life.

"The Shari`ah council has been brilliant – they've really helped me, and I'm relieved someone out there is listening.

"It has allowed me to have the chance of freedom, to take up teaching, and start being happy with my life again."