AFP•GETTY Sharia courts rule on everything from divorce to crime

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And the all-male courts are rigged against women fuelled by “a toxic mix of religious fundamentalism, culture and tight-knit communities”, according to an explosive new book set to go before parliament in the new year. Writer and researcher Machteld Zee, a Dutch academic, said: ”Sharia councils uphold the theory and practice of the strong hold men have over women.” Her new book offers an insight into how the sharia courts operate under the radar of English law and rule on everything from relationships and divorce to crime.

The book Choosing Sharia? Multiculturalism, Islamic Fundamentalism and British Sharia Councils was written after she was given unprecedented access to Sharia courts in England including 15 hours of hearing at Sharia courts in Leyton, east London and Birmingham Central Mosque. The legal scholar at Leiden University in the Netherlands, was able to scrutinise more than a dozen cases and then went on to interview a variety of Shaira experts including nine Islamic judges (qadis).

Her findings are due to be unveiled in the Houses of Parliament next month and are the first detailed analysis of the workings of British sharia courts ever undertaken by an independent researcher. Ms Zee said: “There are, in fact, two separate legal orders functioning in the UK of which one currently operates in the shadow of the law. Sharia is the basic Islamic legal system derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith, and while it is practised by many, has no standing within English law.

GETTY A woman wears traditional Muslim dress

Ms Zee said judges "uphold the theory and practice of the strong hold men have over women". One judge is said to have laughed at a woman who claimed she was being abused by her husband, asking: "Why did you marry such a person?" And several women were reportedly shackled by their husbands' debts being asked for "large sums of money" for their divorce requests. Ms Zee said sharia judges are "not a neutral third party" but are "always in favour of the man" – and sometimes even give custody of children to fathers.

AFP•GETTY The Sharia Council of Great Britain look at some case files

She added: "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. Khola Hasan of the Islamic Sharia Council branded Zee's allegations of bias towards men as "absolute rubbish". She told the Independent: "We certainly don't condone domestic violence or force women to go back – we are there to get women out of religious marriages.

GETTY Birmingham Central Mosque