Islam, Sharia and Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mechanisms for Legal Redress in the Muslim Community: 06

In this pioneering study of the Muslim community in the London borough of Hounslow, Mohamed Keshavjee, a British-trained barrister, explores the way the Sharia law can exert a positive role in Britain’s Muslim communities through its emphasis on mediation and conciliation in resolving personal and family disputes. With clarity and sensitivity he examines the interface between the British legal system and the informal Sharia-based models adopted by the Muslims as they navigate the difficult waters between the majority culture and the divine imperatives of Islam with its manifold local traditions. His book, which does not hesitate to venture into problematic areas such as forced marriages and domestic violence, is a valuable antidote to the hysteria surrounding much of the media comment on the introduction of Sharia law in Britain. –Malise Ruthven, Author, Islam in the World

‘This pioneering work by Dr Keshavjee highlights a number of issues that diasporic Muslims have to grapple with to resolve their family disputes. The book demonstrates how traditional methods of dispute resolution can be judiciously combined with modern dispute resolution processes. Appropriate training programmes that respect the cultural sensibilities of the immigrant community and the public laws of the host countries where Muslim minorities are settled today are particularly effective in this respect. The book makes a major contribution to greater cross-cultural understanding. –Makhdoom Ali Khan, Constitutional lawyer, author, former Attorney General of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

In this pioneering study of the Muslim community in the London borough of Hounslow, Mohamed Keshavjee, a British-trained barrister, explores the way the Sharia law can exert a positive role in Britain’s Muslim communities through its emphasis on mediation and conciliation in resolving personal and family disputes. With clarity and sensitivity he examines the interface between the British legal system and the informal Sharia-based models adopted by the Muslims as they navigate the difficult waters between the majority culture and the divine imperatives of Islam with its manifold local traditions. His book, which does not hesitate to venture into problematic areas such as forced marriages and domestic violence, is a valuable antidote to the hysteria surrounding much of the media comment on the introduction of Sharia law in Britain. –Malise Ruthven, Author, Islam in the World

‘This pioneering work by Dr Keshavjee highlights a number of issues that diasporic Muslims have to grapple with to resolve their family disputes. The book demonstrates how traditional methods of dispute resolution can be judiciously combined with modern dispute resolution processes. Appropriate training programmes that respect the cultural sensibilities of the immigrant community and the public laws of the host countries where Muslim minorities are settled today are particularly effective in this respect. The book makes a major contribution to greater cross-cultural understanding. –Makhdoom Ali Khan, Constitutional lawyer, author, former Attorney General of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan