Sharia in Canada

Now, Religion in the News, a report and comment on religious trends and events being covered by the media. This week’s item is from the Asian Pacific Post, December 18, 2003, with the headline, “Sharia in Canada—Muslims in Canada want the government to recognize Sharia, the Islamic legal system that has been interpreted in some countries to include penalties like whipping, amputation, and stoning to death.

“Muslim leaders in the country recently elected a 30-member council to establish a judicial tribunal for Muslims, in what is described as the latest effort in a long struggle to have Sharia recognized in Canada. The move is designed to persuade Canadian courts to up hold decisions made under the Muslim law by the so-called Darul Qada, or the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice, Canada.

“The proposed tribunal, if ratified, would set up committees across the country to arbitrate in marital breakups and other civil or business disputes, and then submit the agreements under Sharia law to secular courts for ratification. What makes it possible for Muslim committees to get Canadian legal recognition of settlements according to Sharia is the recent changes in provincial arbitration acts, which make it possible for Muslim committees to enforce settlements, and Ottawa newspaper said.

“Canada’s population has climbed to 600,000, and Islam has become the number one non-Christian faith in Canada. The plan has come under fire from a national Muslim women’s organization, which says it is gravely concerned that women’s rights will not be protected.

“Alia Hogben, president of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women, expressed reservations about the arbitration committees. ‘Who will represent the rights of women?’ she asked. ‘We are gravely concerned because there are lots of questions, and we don’t understand, from a Canadian Muslim’s viewpoint, why another system is being applied.”

Tom: Dave, I’ve got a theory. My theory is the farther north you go, the thinner the air, okay? By the time you cross the border, you don’t have enough oxygen in the brain. Now, no offense to the people in Canada, but Dave! You know, think about it. We’ve got Vermont, we’ve got New Hampshire—things that are going on there. We do have our beloved state of Oregon, and so on, but these are some strange things. And Canada is leading the way. You say something that’s somewhat derogatory, or even quote scriptures, you end up with a fine, and you’re put in jail. I mean, what’s going on? See? What do you think? It’s probably the oxygen! Don’t you think?

Dave: No, Tom, we pegged it in the last segment. It’s the heart of mankind. I know you’re kidding…

Tom: But the northern part—I’m thinking….All right, go ahead.

Dave: Well, of course, I don’t know what is actually behind this news article. The Muslims in Canada—sure, they want all kinds of things. They want you to recognize Sharia, but whether that is even close, I doubt that that is even close to happening.

It’s interesting to me, Tom, that Muslim women are a little frightened. You would think…

Tom: Dave, I have to interject this, because we only had time for the first part of the article. Here’s a quote—this is part of the article: “Canadians have allowed their laws to be replaced by the whim or tradition of the homelands of any immigrant community that lands there. Jamal Badawi, the spiritual leader of the Islamic Association of the Maritime Provinces, said, ‘Muslims in the US and Britain already have similar juristic councils that render decisions which are routinely upheld by the courts.”

So there’s a practical side to this.

Dave: Ooh. I’ve never heard of that. I don’t believe it.

Tom: Well, no, there’s a practical side: if you can get people to mediate below the court level and it saves the court money, time—you know, our courts are already overwhelmed—why not?

Dave: But, Tom, they would have to agree to it. And there’s no way that Islam can get jurisdiction.

Tom: Really? You know, one of—when we did our live program, I mentioned that already in Iowa at the caucuses in Iowa, you have a lobbying group, Arabic Americans.

Dave: Oh, I understand. They’re lobbying. They’re trying to work their way in legitimately, and as soon as they get enough power…

Tom: Because this is a democracy—it’s can’t be done in other Islamic countries.

Dave: ....as soon as they get enough power legitimately—however, you cannot tell me that some Islamic group has jurisdiction. Not even over Muslims, that the court would then uphold? No, no, the court upholds past judicial decisions—as well as the laws of our land. And the Islamic laws are not anything like what our laws are.

For example, just because a Muslim tribunal says this guy ought to have his hand cut off? Or this Muslim—ex-Muslim, now—became a Christian. He ought to have his head cut off? As happens in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries. That then our courts are going to honor that? I don’t think so. I think these guys are whistling “Dixie.” They’re hoping that they’ll get something like this, and they’re going to try their very best to do it.

But Tom, I don’t know that we mentioned it on this program, for example, last time I was in South Africa, at that time, a few years ago, 3 percent of the populace was Muslim. They have managed to take over control of the food industry, if you can imagine that. For example, if you’re a chicken farmer, you can’t sell your chickens. No distributor, no grocery store would buy them, no butcher shop would buy them, unless you’ve got a Muslim imam there supervising the slaughtering of these—and he stamps it to certify that this meets Islamic standards. You’ve got that on cereal boxes, all through the grocery store. Can you imagine? Three percent of the populace has taken over and forced—it’s like homosexuals in America—have forced their agenda on the rest of South Africa. Now, this is what they’re trying to do.

Tom: Yeah, well, if it could happen in South Africa, and lots of things are going on in Canada—that’s how we started…at least, I started this. It can happen. This…one of the defenders of this says, “In order to create such a society, Islam provides a complete roadmap. This roadmap is called Sharia.” He said, “Stories about amputations, honor killings, and whippings are confined to Muslim countries where there is a lack of democracy and sense of accountability.”

Dave: Oh, yeah, but wait a minute, but there they have the very Sharia in practice that these people are talking about. And we have these Muslim women on TV who say, “Oh, Islam is great! It’s wonderful for women!” Then how come these women don’t want Sharia to be put into practice? That’s Islamic law.