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Dr Ahmad al-Dubayan, chairman of the UK Board of Sharia Councils – a body set up to standardise the administration of Islamic law – said unregulated Sharia law courts exist “everywhere in the country”. He told the Home Affairs Select Committee, on Tuesday, that the self-appointed courts are performing marriages and handing out divorces. Although the unregulated bodies have no legal force or jurisdiction in the UK, they are regularly used by Muslim families to adjudicate on personal matters, the Committee heard. Many courts reportedly charge for their services, with fees for divorce proceedings often higher than British courts.

SKY•GETTY A Muslim activist claims Sharia courts have a place in Great Britain

People want to inact their right to religious life without interference from secularists Abdullah al-Andalusi

The doctor warned that the exact number of Sharia courts operating across Britain is unknown. He said: “We don’t know how many councils there are. “Some people talk about 80 or 30 or 50, I don’t know. There is no record for this and no studies, unfortunately.” He added that he could think of only two or three cases which had been unfair to women out of “hundreds” handled by Sharia councils.

PARL.TV Ahmad al-Dubayan is advising the Home Affairs Select Committee on Sharia law

The Select Committee heard that if Sharia courts are banned, backstreet courts will continue to operate but will slip even further under the radar. Labour MP Naz Shah, who also giving evidence, admitted the councils could be used to “oppress” women. She added: “Sharia itself is actually a code of conduct and the fundamental principal of Sharia is that the law of the land proceeds anything. “You cannot enforce and have a second parallel legal system in this country.

“As a British lawmaker I’m very clear, we have one law and that law is of the British court.” Abdullah al-Andalusi, co-founder of The Muslim Debate Initiative hit out at the Committee’s inquiry, claiming the “private or independent” bodies have the right to operate in Britain without “interference”. Speaking on Sky News, he said: “All I would say is all this really amounts to is interference by a supposedly neutral body – the UK Government – into people’s religion and private affairs. “If anyone is being discriminated against by intimidation or threats of violence, then the police and courts should enter into that and prevent that from happening.