Sharia marriages not legally recognised
by Tim Dieppe, Christian Concern:
The Court of Appeal has ruled that Islamic marriages, or Nikahs, are not valid under English Law. This clarifies that sharia marriages are not legally recognised at all in the UK. It also means that Muslim women have no legal protection if their husband divorces or leaves them, or even seeks another wife.
Islamic marriage with witnesses
Back in December 1998, there was an Islamic marriage ceremony, or Nikah, between Nasreen Akhter and Mohammed Khan in the presence of an Imam and about 150 guests. The partners knew that this was not a legal marriage, and the ‘wife’, Akhter, claims that they intended to follow up with a civil marriage ceremony, but that her ‘husband’ Khan refused to fulfil this promise. In the event, no civil ceremony ever took place. The couple have four children and were widely recognised as married in Britain and recognised as lawfully married in the UAE where they lived between 2005 and 2011. The couple separated in 2016 when, it is alleged, he wanted to take another wife.
Married ‘under sharia law only’
Akhter filed for divorce in November 2016, and her ‘husband’, Khan, responded that they were married “under Sharia law only” which meant that she had no legal rights as wife. Akhter then claimed that the Nikah was a void marriage in law because of failure to comply with procedural requirements. Khan contended that the Nikah was of no legal effect. The question matters because if the Nikah has no legal effect then there is no right for the woman to apply for financial provision. On the other hand, if the Nikah has legal effect then the woman has right of financial provision. Another consequence of the Nikah having legal effect would be that UK law would then effectively recognise sharia marriages by default thus giving Islamic law a foothold in English law.
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