AROUND THE WORLD

Canadians Protest Islam-Based Shariah Courts

Protestors gathered outside the Ontario legislature in September to oppose a proposal that would allow for the formation of Islamic shariah courts.

A group called the International Campaign Against Shariah Courts in Canada (ICASC) has worked to spur opposition to the proposal, saying it would lead to courts, based on certain readings of Muslim scripture, that would be used to oppress women.

Currently Ontario's Arbitration Act provides for voluntary faith-based arbitration, which allows Muslims, Jews and members of other faiths to use the guiding principles of their religion in settling private disputes such as divorce, custody issues and inheritances outside the court system.

Groups, such as the ICASC, maintain that women will be coerced and pressured into settling disputes in the male-dominated religious courts.

"I know firsthand about shariah," Homa Arjoman, spokesperson for the ICASC, told the Religion News Service. "These women (would) live under the hand of mullahs and sheiks."

Arjomand, who the RNS described as fleeing her Iranian homeland on horseback, now counsels abused women and children in Toronto's Muslim community. She told the news service that many of her clients had been victims of shariah.

"I have helped some to escape abusive relationships, polygamy and child marriages."

Turkey Touts secular Rule In EU Bid

In an effort to bolster its bid for entry into the European Union, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has assured EU officials that his government would not move the country away from its secular traditions.

Turkey has participated in many European institutions for more than 40 years, but its efforts to become an EU member have been arduous. Erdogan has lobbied for full membership status in the EU, claiming that his nation has made significant progress toward protecting freedom of expression and human rights.

But in September, some EU members were taken aback when Erdogan announced his support for a law decriminalizing adultery. His support of the proposal sparked ire at home and abroad, with some EU members grousing that the prime minister had stepped back from his public commitments to alter the nation's constitution and laws promoting human rights and democracy.

In late September, The New York Times reported, Erdogan met with EU officials in Brussels to assure them that his party was not abandoning its commitment to ensuring the nation's laws upheld secular ideals.

Copyright Americans United for Separation of Church and State Nov 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved