Authored By: Lamisha Hasan
ABSTRACT
The intertwined existence of religious heterogeneity and state law has been a unique feature of the UK’s legal system. Among the most antagonistic of this pluralism are Sharia councils which is an organisation established for British Muslims that provide legal rulings and advice on family matters such as marriage and divorce. It may be useful to note that they also advice on finance and businesses; however to a lesser extent.1 Whilst these councils aim to serve positively within the Muslim community, many critics argue whether it is fair to women as it risks weakening women’s rights, fairness within state law and the reliability of the secular justice system. This article aims to explore the legal, statutory and human rights aspects of the Sharia councils in the UK by analysing case laws, statutes and policy reviews.
INTRODUCTION
The UK’s legal justice system is built upon the basis of a single, secular rule of law; this is relevant equally to all citizens of the UK regardless of different faith or belief. Nonetheless, in a progressively diverse country, religious practices predictably overlap with the current state law, particularly in matters such as marriage, divorce, finances and inheritance. Within these intersections, the role of Sharia councils has been a subject of intense debate within the legal and political section.2
This is due to the fact that the operation of Sharia councils raises vital questions about religious freedom, gender equality and state authority. Advocates within the British Muslim community regard these resources as essential for the community to help them navigate through decisions under the UK law.
Additionally, in 2018, the UK government held an Independent Review into the application of Sharia Law, directed by Professor Mona Siddiqui. This was used to acknowledge the positive contributions made by the Sharia councils whilst simultaneously indicating the heightened concerns involving gender inequality and lack of transparency.3
This article investigates the legal implications, status and operation of Sharia councils in the UK, whilst scrutinising significant case laws, statutes and propose reforms that respect religious sovereignty while ensuring equality in the rule of law.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This article aims to touch upon the doctrinal and analytical methodology, aiming to examine statutes, judicial guides and official reports. It embraces a comparative and reasonable socio legal approach, drawing upon secondary resources such as academic literatures and policy reviews. And primary resources like the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998), Arbitration Act 1996 and Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 (MCA 1973), as well as significant European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) jurisprudence. The final aim of this article is to assess how the United Kingdom balances the variations between religion and legitimate equivalence in family law.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
Family law in the UK is a respected statutory that expresses the doctrines of justice, equality and state control over legal adjudication in private and personal matters. Important acts like the MCA 1973 and the Equality Act 2010 reflect the Parliament’s target to assemble an identical legal order to regulate family relationships. These statutes guarantee fairness and justice by safeguarding women’s rights to marriage, divorce, finances and inheritance through civil law.
To balance religious freedom and the law, the UK implements constitutional framework. But the growth of informal religious organisations like the Sharia councils implement a real world challenge to the boundaries of a secular family law.4It is estimated that 30-85 Sharia councils currently operate in the UK, although no official registry exists. The Sharia institution offers faith-based dispute resolutions which particularly are deemed as controversial as they regularly address matters such as divorce, marriage and inheritance; this is a direct overlap with statutory family rights in the UK.5
In real life practice, they manage divorce like talaq (husband initiated first) and khula (wife initiated first) and if needed, they mediate domestic disputes. Nevertheless, their judgments carry no legal entitlement unless the Arbitration Act comes into force; and even then, this is not absolute.6 The presence of Sharia councils raises a critical question: does cultural and
religious diversity risk damaging coherence of the UK’s justice system?
JUDICIAL INTERPRETATION
Courts in the UK have constantly confirmed that a secular law in matters of family and personal status is superior. In the case of ‘Akhter v Khan’7, the High court concluded that a Nikah ceremony (Islamic marriage) without a civil registration will create a void marriage, giving the wife access to financial aid.8 On the other hand, in ‘Attorney General v Akhter’9, the Court of Appeal disputed to the extent of classifying a Nikah as a ‘non-qualifying ceremony’ under the MCA 1973, and thus outside the access of family law courts.10
This outcome indicated a significant gap in legal protection for Muslim British women who marry only through religious ceremonies. Although Sharia councils usually allow religious divorces, they do not present legal rights to women such as property division and financial remedies which usually leaves them reliant on informal procedures rather than reliable legal remedies.
It is necessary to note that some Sharia councils have attempted to validate their decision making, through the Arbitration Act 1996. Nonetheless, this approach is seen as limited because the Act only allows varying considerations; only if it does not conflict with the statutory rights or public policy.11 This is further supported by the Court of Appeal in ‘Kohn v Wagschal’12, where it was concluded that religious arbitration cannot overrule basic values of fairness.13
Notably, the courts have also reinforced that religious use and belief cannot overrule the best interests of the child present in such matters. In ‘Re Al and MT (Children)’14, the High Court emphasised that they respected the parents’ religious identity, however still prioritised the child’s welfare more than anything else. As seen, this shows that all religions are respected, but they must function within the established UK justice system.15
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The Sharia council debate exists in a complex area between faith and the law; it is not an official part of the legal influence but still has a big impact on an individual’s or family’s life. Their authority is only ongoing due to societal pressures and religious validity but not still recognised legally. Consequently, this stand raises essential questions on whether access to gender equality, justice and the state’s duty to protect individual rights is still available.
Fortunately, for many Muslim women in the UK, those who are in religious-only marriages are provided a practical way to obtain a divorce (khula) when their husbands are refusing to grant them one.16 However, relatively recent studies still imply that some Sharia councils still operate inconsistently, hence not being fully trustworthy which still discourages women from approaching civil courts themselves.17 Ultimately, what this does is leave many Muslim women at risk, leaving them dependent only on religious amendments rather than legal resolution. This demoralises their protection under the Equality Act 2010 and Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA 1998).
In 2018, the Home Office Independent Review gathered some vital information regarding the Sharia council’s approach in family disputes. It has been said that they ‘undermine the rights of women’ by urging compromise in cases where women are being domestically abused instead of helping them to initiate divorce.18 These approaches only battle with the government’s legal devotion to gender equality and discrimination.
It is necessary to mention that from a human rights perspective, Article 9 of the ECHR states that freedom of religion needs to be protected, yet freedom is still not absolute. The ECHR has allowed states to intervene to control religious practices when they conflict with democratic values and gender equality, further supported in ‘Refah Partisi v Turkey.’19
Some feminist scholars such as Samia Bano and Aisha Gill argued that whilst some Sharia councils empower women by granting them religious identification for divorce, simultaneously it also reinforces patriarchal norms by using Islamic law through a conservative, male-dominated approach.20
This analysis highlights that the issue with Sharia councils is not due to the existence of it, but their absence of accountability and regulations. Without surveillance, their approach will impose a risk of creating an unauthorized parallel system that operates below the standard of justice in the UK.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Recently, the work of Sharia councils in the UK has come under intense public eye and political inspection. Following the growing concerns of women’s rights and fairness, the Home Office and the Parliament have taken several inquiries to access their role.
In 2016, the Home Affairs Select Committee gathered evidence that some Sharia councils persuaded women to stay in abusive marriages or acted without proper records of the work they did, thus lacking transparency in the services they provide. The report emphasised that whilst Sharia councils may have some sort of positive impact, it still cannot work alongside the UK legal system without it being unfair.
In response to that, in 2018, the Home Office’s Independent Review chaired by professor Mona Siddiqui acknowledged that the councils were helpful to a certain extent but found more inconsistencies that needed attention.21 The Review then mentioned that a regulation scheme (voluntary)with training, keeping records of the work done by these councils and keeping equality should be implemented. Additionally, it also urged the civil registration of marriages to protect women’s legal rights by the UK law.22
Likewise, in 2022, the Law Commission significantly executed with the debate over how marriage should reflect the UK’s religious diversity. Instead of inhibiting religious marriages, the proposal sought to interlink the two matters together so that it both satisfies the religion and the state; by allowing religious marriages to gain legal status.23 This method mirrors a shift viewing religious marriages as a threat to now seeing it just as an issue of inclusion and equality within the law. If the law excludes faith-based ceremonies, it will only cause harm as it is not protected under the law. By regulating the framework, the state can maintain legal certainty and permitting women to have protection under the law.
On the other hand, reactions to these alterations exposed a deeper divide ideologically. Supporters of a faithful “one law for all” approach argue that any arrangement with religious tribunals impose a risk with the authority of the law.24
Eventually, these developments aim to shift from a moral panic to a more measured and inclusive debate. The challenge the state has to deal with is to find balance between culture/religion and the law making sure that diversity in the UK is supported as long as it does not fragment the rule of law.
SUGGESTIONS/ WAY FORWARD
This debate is needed to protect individual rights in a multicultural democracy. For the approach to be maintainable, it requires education and constant regulation instead of prohibition. The following reforms and proposals seek to balance freedom within religion and equality before the law.
(a) Statutory Registration:
This system would enhance transparency and accountability without legitimising parallel law. Approval should require gender-balanced representatives, training within UK law and keeping records of their work which need overseeing by an external regulator.
(b) Civil Registration of Religious Marriages:
Religious marriages, including a Nikah, needs to be registered civilly to be recognised in the UK.25 This will ensure that women bound in religious marriages have protection in terms of finances after their divorce.
(c) Education and Legal Awareness:
Many Muslim women only approach Sharia councils due to the lack of awareness of what the law could do for them rather than genuinely wanting to approach the councils.26 Creating a space where Muslim women could learn about remedies through the formal UK law means that they would be less reliant on unregulated bodies such as the Sharia councils creating a safer future for themselves.
(d) Comparative Models:
Some countries such as Germany and Canada have controlled religious mediations which illustrate that structured diversity can be protected without compromising the justice system in the UK.27
To summarise, the best way to promote fairness and inclusion in the UK is by adjusting Sharia councils and improving awareness.
CONCLUSION
The connection of religion and family law in the United Kingdom mirrors a broader challenge: sustaining legal unity in a growing diverse society. The Sharia council aims to aid individuals from a religious perspective by trying to fill a pastoral gap, however, have inadvertently caused a parallel normative space that is causing conflicts within the law and justice.
Eradicating these councils would ignore reasonable religious needs but allowing them to operate in an unregulated manner would threaten women’s rights . To approach this problem appropriately, reforms have been suggested by combining statutory administration, education and civil registration so that it maintains peace within cultures by following a single, secular legal order.
Ultimately, it is necessary to mention that the Sharia councils’ debate is not about religion versus the law, but about guaranteeing that all citizens in the UK, despite of belief, enjoy equal safety under the same legal justice system.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CASES
Akhter v Khan [2018] EWFC 54
Attorney General v Akhter [2020] EWCA Civ 122
Kohn v Wagschal [2007] EWCA Civ 1022
Re Al and MT (Children) [2013] EWHC 100 (Fam)
Refah Partisi v Turkey (2003) 37 EHRR 1
STATUTES
Arbitration Act 1996
Equality Act 2010
Human Rights Act 1998
Matrimonial Causes Act 1973
WEBSITES
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, ‘Akhter v Khan’ (Judiciary.uk 2018)
https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/akhter-v-khan-31.7.18.pdf accessed 7 November 2025
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, ‘Attorney General v Akhter and Khan’ (Judiciary.uk 2020) https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/hm-attorney-general-v-akhter-and-khan/ accessed 7 November 2025
Sharia Council, ‘The Muslim Law (Sharia) Council UK’ (Sharia Council, 2022) https://www.shariahcouncil.org/ accessed 6 November 2025
BOOKS
Bano S, Muslim Women and Sharia Councils: Transcending the Boundaries of Community and Law (Palgrave Macmillan 2017)
Boyd M, Dispute Resolution in Family Law: Protecting Choice, Promoting Inclusion (Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General 2004)
Sandberg R, ‘Religion, Law and Society’ (Cambridge University Press 2014)
JOURNALS
Gill K. A, ‘Empowerment through Education: Addressing Gender Inequality in British Muslim Communities’ (2019) 32 Journal of Social Policy
Gill K. A and Bano S, ‘Gender, Religion and Law: Muslim Women’s Rights in the UK’ (2012) 24 International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family
ONLINE JOURNALS
Arbitration Law Reports and Review, ‘Chaim Kohn v Sheva Wagschal and Ors’ (2007) 1 (Oxford University Press, 2012) https://academic.oup.com/alrr/article abstract/2007/1/523/170196?login=false accessed 9 November 2025
Arlow R, ‘AI v MT’ [2013] 15| Ecclesiastical Law 374,375
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ecclesiastical-law-journal/article/abs/ai-v mt/9BDB3505C3E7345ACF93C60A584EFC11 accessed 10 November 2025
REPORTS
Cox C. B, ‘A Parallel World: Confronting the Abuse of Many Muslim Women in Britain Today’ (The Bow Group 2015)
LAW COMMISSION REPORTS
Law Commission, Weddings: A New Regime (Consultation Paper No 247, 2022)
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Southall Black Sisters, Submission to the Home Affairs Select Committee Inquiry on Sharia Councils (2016) < https://southallblacksisters.org.uk/news/home-affairs-select-committee-on inquiry-into-sharia-councils/> accessed 8 November 2025
1 Sharia Council, ‘The Muslim Law (Sharia) Council UK’ (Sharia Council, 2022) https://www.shariahcouncil.org/ accessed 6 November 2025.
2 Home Office, Independent Review into the Application of Sharia Law in England and Wales (2018) 10.
3Ibid.
4 Russell Sandberg, ‘Religion, Law and Society’ (Cambridge University Press 2014) 128.
5 Samia Bano, Muslim Women and Sharia Councils: Transcending the Boundaries of Community and Law (Palgrave Macmillan 2017) 52–55.
6 Kohn v Wagschal [2007] EWCA Civ 1022.
7[2018] EWFC 54.
8 Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, ‘Akhter v Khan’ (Judiciary.uk 2018) https://www.judiciary.uk/wp content/uploads/2018/08/akhter-v-khan-31.7.18.pdf accessed 7 November 2025. 9[2020] EWCA Civ 122.
10Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, ‘Attorney General v Akhter and Khan’ (Judiciary.uk 2020) https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/hm-attorney-general-v-akhter-and-khan/ accessed 7 November 2025.
11 Arbitration Act 1996, s 46(1)(b).
12 Kohn (n 6).
13 Arbitration Law Reports and Review, ‘Chaim Kohn v Sheva Wagschal and Ors’ (2007) 1 (Oxford University Press, 2012) https://academic.oup.com/alrr/article-abstract/2007/1/523/170196?login=false accessed 9 November 2025.
14 [2013] EWHC 100 (Fam).
15 Ruth Arlow, ‘AI v MT’ [2013] 15| Ecclesiastical Law 374,375 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/ecclesiastical-law-journal/article/abs/ai-v mt/9BDB3505C3E7345ACF93C60A584EFC11 accessed 10 November 2025.
16 Bano (n 5) 92–96.
17 Southall Black Sisters, Submission to the Home Affairs Select Committee Inquiry on Sharia Councils (2016) < https://southallblacksisters.org.uk/news/home-affairs-select-committee-on-inquiry-into-sharia councils/> accessed 8 November 2025.
18 Home Office, ‘Independent Review into the Application of Sharia Law in England and Wales’ (2018) 34– 35.
19 (2003) 37 EHRR 1.
20 Aisha K Gill and Samia Bano, ‘Gender, Religion and Law: Muslim Women’s Rights in the UK’ (2012) 24 International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family 167.
21 Home Office (n 18) 26–30.
22 Ibid 41–44.
23 Law Commission, Weddings: A New Regime (Consultation Paper No 247, 2022) 56–58.
24 Baroness Caroline Cox, ‘A Parallel World: Confronting the Abuse of Many Muslim Women in Britain Today’ (The Bow Group 2015) 3–6.
25 Law Commission (n 23).
26 Aisha K Gill, ‘Empowerment through Education: Addressing Gender Inequality in British Muslim Communities’ (2019) 32 Journal of Social Policy 112.
27 Marion Boyd, Dispute Resolution in Family Law: Protecting Choice, Promoting Inclusion (Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General 2004) 92–97.
