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Islamic Shariah law stipulates that custody of children in divorce generally goes to the father, according to a Canadian immigration department report.

That is creating headaches for Canadian customs officials in the Middle Eastand elsewhere. The internal report shows many are being put on the spot to decide edgy custody conundrums, such as whether Syrian-Canadian children are permitted to travel to the Middle East with their mothers.

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Shariah rulings on divorce have legal status in Middle Eastern countries such as Syria, from which Canada has recently accepted25,000 refugees, as well as in Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt, where tens of thousands have dual citizenship in Canada.

An internal department report obtained by the Canadian immigration newsletter, Lexbase, illustrates how Shariah divorce law contrasts sharply with Canadian family law, which tends to give custody of children to the mother, or to share it.