The Archbishop of Canterbury, WilliamsRowanDr, “Civil and Religious Law in England: A religious perspective’, (Foundation lecture at the Royal Courts of Justice, 7 February 2008). <archbishopofcanterbury.org/1575> at 5 November 2008.
2.
The precise number of Muslims is not known because many do not declare their religious status for census purposes. However, the Australian Bureau of Statistics says the number exceeds 300 000, making Muslims the third largest religious group in Australia after Christians and Buddhists. Two-thirds were born in a country other than Australia.
3.
Shariah, shari'a, syariah, shariat are transliterations from the Arabic script which refers to the divinely ordained law embodied in the Quran (actual word of God as revealed to the Prophet Mohammad), Sunnah (practices and traditions of the Prophet) and fiqh (jurisprudence). Islamic law is derived from the Shariah.
4.
TwiningWilliam, Globalisation and Legal Theory (2000) 51.
5.
Ibid.
6.
One is a government-funded and run Shariah Court with judges/members appointed by the government, as per the Singapore Shariah Court. Another is the former Ontarian model where Muslim scholars established a tribunal/court to make binding rulings on Muslims who chose to bring their family or other interpersonal disputes for determination. The arbitrators' ruling, in turn, was enforced by the Province's civil courts. A third is the English model where Muslims bring cases to unofficial Shari'a Courts which determine outcomes for the parties in accordance with Islamic law, but their decisions are not recognised or enforced by the civil courts.
‘Law lord backs sharia’, The Courier Mail, 5 July 2008, 44.
14.
Ibid.
15.
CostelloPeter, Address to Sydney Institute, ”Worth promoting, worth defending-Australian citizenship, what it means and how to defend it’, 23 February 2006.
DunnKevin, ‘Australian Public Knowledge of Islam’ (2005) 12Studia Islamika, 2.
18.
PoyntingScott, Bin Laden in the Suburbs: Criminalising the Arab “Other’ (2004).
19.
YilmazIhsan, Muslim Laws, Politics and Society in Modern Nation States (2005) 66.
20.
These include that he understands what he is doing (is not insane, intoxicated or asleep); is an adult; has communicated the talaq to his wife; and his wife is not menstruating. The pronouncement severs the marriage. There is a three month revocation period.
21.
BoydMarion, “Dispute Resolution in Family Law: Protecting Choice, Promoting Inclusion’, Report to the Attorney-General of Ontario, December 2004.
22.
Al-AzmehAziz, Islams and Modernities (1996) 1.
23.
HussainJamila, Islam: Its law and society (2004) 203.
24.
Yilmaz, above n 19, 57.
25.
Evident in the internal politics with regard to the position Mufti of Australia and the different Councils, such as ANIC and AFIC.
26.
Family Law Council of Australia, Report on Cultural Community Divorce and the Family Law Act 1975 (2001) 4 (Executive Summary 17).
27.
Quoted in LithwickDahlia, “How do you solve the problem of Sharia?’ (2004) Slate <slate.com/id/2106547/> at 27 October 2008.
28.
KuttyFaisal, “Canada's Islamic Dispute Resolution Initiative Faces Strong Opposition’ (2004) Washington Report of Middle East Affairs <washington-report.org/archives/May_2004/0405070.html> at 5 November 2008.
29.
Yilmaz above n 19, 66.
30.
Report by Ann Black “Determining a Need for Legal Awareness Training for Queensland Imams'’, LPITAF, 2007.
