News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

An Islamic judge "laughed" at a domestic violence victim who had gone to him seeking help and asked her "Why did you marry such a man?", it has been claimed.

The shocking allegations have been revealed in a report into the use of sharia councils in the UK which also claims men only need to say "I divorce you" three times to separate from their wives while women need the sanction of clerics.

Dutch scholar Machteld Zee managed to get unparalleled access to a number of the religious courts currently operating in the UK - thought to number around 30.

Her report, entitled Choosing Sharia? Multiculturalism, Islamic Fundamentalism and British Sharia Councils which has been seen by the Independent newspaper, also claims one judge, known as a qadi at a sharia council also said UK law did not matter in cases of divorce.

In one court in east London, it is claimed the qadi told a couple who had already obtained a civil divorce that the paper counted for nothing.

Read more:Theresa May demands new powers to shut down extremist mosques in hard-hitting review

According to the report, when asked by the husband about Muslims abiding by the laws of the land when living in a non-Muslim country, the judge replied: "Secular judge does not do religious divorces.

"We have Islam. Secular courts do not have Islamic laws. Can a kaffir [non-Muslim] come in and judge Islamic matters?"

Ms Zee was granted access to two 'courts' - one at the Islamic Council in Leyton, east London, and another at the Birmingham Central Mosque.

Attending around 15 hours of hearings the researcher was able to examine more than a dozen cases and got to interview nine Islamic judges.

In one case the Independent reported the council in east London, Ms Zee claims to have witnesses a woman asking a qadi if he could intervene to stop her husband physically and verbally abusing her.

Ms Zee said: "She says: ‘He oppressed me to the maximum, he is violent, [and] physically treats me like a dog’. She wears a headscarf on his request.

"With ‘every little thing’ he threatens to divorce her. He is abusive both verbally and physically.

Read more:Boris Johnson: Sharia law is completely unacceptable in the UK

"She says he might have 10 wives for all she knows. He is currently in Tunisia. [The qadi] laughs a bit: ‘Why did you marry such a person?’."

According to the report, one qadi told Ms Zee that the council in east London deals with around 600 to 800 cases each year of women seeking divorce who are on the receiving end of "violence or maltreatment".

The qadi said: "As long as marriage is sacred, reconciliation is our job."

(Image: Getty)

The findings from the report are due to go before Parliament in the new year.

In her report, seen by the Independent, Ms Zee claims judges at the religious courts “uphold the theory and practice of the strong hold men have over women”.

She also claims the courts do little more than set out to frustrate the wives of men who do not want them to leave - keeping the woman in an unhappy marriage.

In another incident, Ms Zee claims she saw another woman ask for a religious divorce from a husband she had not seen for four years.

The woman had allegedly already handed back an £8,000 dowry and £30,000 on top.

It is claimed the qadi responded: "Debt is not a cause for divorce. You should help him. Why don’t you pay him more?”.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

Read more:Anjem Choudary says woman who organised Muhammed cartoon contest should face death penalty under Sharia Law

In her report, Ms Zee tells of having a completely different experience in Birmingham and when she recounts her time there to the qadis in the Midlands, they reacted with horror.

She said: "I told them about the Islamic Sharia Council case where the qadi told a couple that kaffirs cannot rule on Islamic matters and that the woman’s civil divorce means nothing under Islam.

(Image: Getty)

"They seemed to be appalled. ‘We totally disagree. We cannot have two laws. This is totally wrong. We live as British citizens and accept the law of the land'."

According to the Independent, the Islamic Sharia Council in London strongly disputes the findings in the report.

Mirror Online has contacted them for comment.

Khola Hasan, a scholar at the council who has worked there for six years, said: “We are there for a reason, and people come to us.

"We show them sympathy, we certainly don’t condone domestic violence or force women to go back: we are there to get women out of religious marriages.”

The council also prominently displays anti-domestic violence messages and links to support networks on its website.

Writing in the report, Ms Zee claims Sharia councils do little more than support men.

(Image: Getty)

She said: "In a toxic mix of religious fundamentalism, culture and tight-knit communities, sharia councils uphold the theory and practice of the strong hold men have over women.

“Sharia councils may ‘help’ women who want a divorce, but it is a solution to a problem that they fuel and one that they seek to preserve.

"Moreover, that religious divorces are sharia councils’ ‘core business’ does not in the least bit mean that they are actually willing to help women obtain one.

"In fact, they are known to frustrate women in their requests, especially if the husband is unwilling to co-operate.

She concludes: "There are, in fact, two separate legal orders functioning [in the UK], of which one currently operates in the ‘shadow of the law’."