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Fiel a Verdad
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Ontario, Canada has been considering legislation that would give government recognition to arbitration decisions of Muslim tribunals on family matters (e.g. divorce, inheritance), it being understood that the parties appeared before the tribunals voluntarily. These decisions would be based on the traditional Islamic "sharia" law.
Ontario already recognizes decisions of Christian and Jewish tribunals.
The present decision, just announced by provincial Premier McGuinty, is NOT to proceed to recognize sharia law, and-- to be fair--to strip Christian and Jewish tribunals of any secular (provincial) backing, treating all religious groups the same.
England and France are dealing with similar matters because of the large Muslim population. In simple terms, Would these Western societies--if they recognized sharia, be sacrificing hard fought principles of egalitarianism in the name of multiculturalism.
This is an update to an earlier thread, in case someone wishes to find and post its url.
www.thestar.com
McGuinty says 'No' to sharia law
PRITHI YELAJA AND ROBERT BENZIE
STAFF REPORTERS
In a surprise announcement that caught both supporters and opponents of sharia law off guard, Premier Dalton McGuinty says he will move quickly to ban all religious arbitration in the province.
McGuinty made the announcement in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press yesterday after months of debate and controversy surrounding use of Islamic sharia law in family arbitration.
"I've come to the conclusion that the debate has gone on long enough," the premier told the news agency.
"There will be no sharia law in Ontario. There will be no religious arbitration in Ontario. There will be one law for all Ontarians."
The announcement prompted tears of joy and cartwheels among opponents of sharia who say they suffered constant harassment, including verbal taunts, physical attacks and even death threats by fundamentalist Muslims because of their stance.
"I'm just thrilled! It validates what we've been saying. It's a big victory for separation of religion and state and a huge defeat for Islamic fundamentalism," said Tarek Fatah, of the Muslim Canadian Congress, adding the group feared McGuinty would allow sharia after receiving a report recommending it by former NDP attorney-general Marion Boyd.
"I want to congratulate the premier for taking such a bold and courageous decision. It restores my faith in politicians," said Fatah.
Boyd could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Proponents of sharia expressed shock and disappointment at what they call McGuinty's "flip-flop" on the issue, and the fact that he went against the recommendations of Boyd's report.
"He is misguided and will alienate many people of faith in this province," said Mohammed Elmasry, head of the Canadian Islamic Congress.
"He obviously caved in to political pressure from a minority with a loud voice. Not only will it cost him at the polls in the next election, the problem won't go away ... Arbitration will continue anyway, because it is part of our social fabric."
"If McGuinty is worried about women abuse," Elmasry said, "then recognizing and regulating arbitration is much better than the ad hoc procedure that is currently happening because, when you regulate it, there is transparency and accountability."
A representative from Ontario's Jewish community also expressed surprise at McGuinty's decision.
"We're stunned," said Joel Richler, Ontario region chairman of the Canadian Jewish Congress.
"At the very least, we would have thought the government would have consulted with us before taking away what we've had for so many years."
Richler said the current system — in place since 1992 — has worked well and he saw no reason for it to be changed for either his or other religious communities.
"If there have been any problems flowing from any rabbinical court decisions, I'm not aware of them," he said.
The decision likely will not affect marriage tribunals of the Catholic Church, which simply decide whether a marriage was "sacramentally valid," said Suzanne Scorsone, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Toronto. Such tribunals do not access the Arbitration Act because they do not deal with issues such as custody, property division or support payments, she said.
Members of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women who had met just yesterday to plot their next move in fighting further legalization of sharia law, were overjoyed at McGuinty's decision.
"We're still in disbelief. But it's such good news. It's remarkable. We're very happy because it's been a difficult fight. We got a lot of flak from other Muslims who called us Islamaphobic," said Nuzhat Jafri, a spokeswoman for the group.
"It was way too complicated for the government to allow faith-based arbitration. Most faiths, whether we like it or not, are not fair to women because they are based on a patriarchal tradition."
Banning all religious arbitration is an "equitable move," Jafri added. "To single out Muslims would have been discriminatory."
=====
Religious groups say they'll fight to keep tribunals
Jewish, Muslim organizations upset after premier scraps faith-based arbitration
FROM CANADIAN PRESS
Jews and Muslims vowed today to fight for faith-based tribunals to settle family law disputes such as divorce after Premier Dalton McGuinty's surprise announcement that Ontario will outlaw all religious arbitration in the province.Religious groups are complaining they had no input before McGuinty announced Sunday that Ontario will not allow Muslim rules known as Sharia law to be used to settle family cases through arbitration, and will also end all faith-based arbitration."Why destroy something that's working in this province?" asked Frank Dimant, executive vice-president of B'nai Brith Canada. "Why would you penalize Judaism and Christianity?"McGuinty insisted Sunday his government wasn't
Ontario already recognizes decisions of Christian and Jewish tribunals.
The present decision, just announced by provincial Premier McGuinty, is NOT to proceed to recognize sharia law, and-- to be fair--to strip Christian and Jewish tribunals of any secular (provincial) backing, treating all religious groups the same.
England and France are dealing with similar matters because of the large Muslim population. In simple terms, Would these Western societies--if they recognized sharia, be sacrificing hard fought principles of egalitarianism in the name of multiculturalism.
This is an update to an earlier thread, in case someone wishes to find and post its url.
www.thestar.com
McGuinty says 'No' to sharia law
PRITHI YELAJA AND ROBERT BENZIE
STAFF REPORTERS
In a surprise announcement that caught both supporters and opponents of sharia law off guard, Premier Dalton McGuinty says he will move quickly to ban all religious arbitration in the province.
McGuinty made the announcement in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press yesterday after months of debate and controversy surrounding use of Islamic sharia law in family arbitration.
"I've come to the conclusion that the debate has gone on long enough," the premier told the news agency.
"There will be no sharia law in Ontario. There will be no religious arbitration in Ontario. There will be one law for all Ontarians."
The announcement prompted tears of joy and cartwheels among opponents of sharia who say they suffered constant harassment, including verbal taunts, physical attacks and even death threats by fundamentalist Muslims because of their stance.
"I'm just thrilled! It validates what we've been saying. It's a big victory for separation of religion and state and a huge defeat for Islamic fundamentalism," said Tarek Fatah, of the Muslim Canadian Congress, adding the group feared McGuinty would allow sharia after receiving a report recommending it by former NDP attorney-general Marion Boyd.
"I want to congratulate the premier for taking such a bold and courageous decision. It restores my faith in politicians," said Fatah.
Boyd could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Proponents of sharia expressed shock and disappointment at what they call McGuinty's "flip-flop" on the issue, and the fact that he went against the recommendations of Boyd's report.
"He is misguided and will alienate many people of faith in this province," said Mohammed Elmasry, head of the Canadian Islamic Congress.
"He obviously caved in to political pressure from a minority with a loud voice. Not only will it cost him at the polls in the next election, the problem won't go away ... Arbitration will continue anyway, because it is part of our social fabric."
"If McGuinty is worried about women abuse," Elmasry said, "then recognizing and regulating arbitration is much better than the ad hoc procedure that is currently happening because, when you regulate it, there is transparency and accountability."
A representative from Ontario's Jewish community also expressed surprise at McGuinty's decision.
"We're stunned," said Joel Richler, Ontario region chairman of the Canadian Jewish Congress.
"At the very least, we would have thought the government would have consulted with us before taking away what we've had for so many years."
Richler said the current system — in place since 1992 — has worked well and he saw no reason for it to be changed for either his or other religious communities.
"If there have been any problems flowing from any rabbinical court decisions, I'm not aware of them," he said.
The decision likely will not affect marriage tribunals of the Catholic Church, which simply decide whether a marriage was "sacramentally valid," said Suzanne Scorsone, spokesperson for the Archdiocese of Toronto. Such tribunals do not access the Arbitration Act because they do not deal with issues such as custody, property division or support payments, she said.
Members of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women who had met just yesterday to plot their next move in fighting further legalization of sharia law, were overjoyed at McGuinty's decision.
"We're still in disbelief. But it's such good news. It's remarkable. We're very happy because it's been a difficult fight. We got a lot of flak from other Muslims who called us Islamaphobic," said Nuzhat Jafri, a spokeswoman for the group.
"It was way too complicated for the government to allow faith-based arbitration. Most faiths, whether we like it or not, are not fair to women because they are based on a patriarchal tradition."
Banning all religious arbitration is an "equitable move," Jafri added. "To single out Muslims would have been discriminatory."
=====
Religious groups say they'll fight to keep tribunals
Jewish, Muslim organizations upset after premier scraps faith-based arbitration
FROM CANADIAN PRESS
Jews and Muslims vowed today to fight for faith-based tribunals to settle family law disputes such as divorce after Premier Dalton McGuinty's surprise announcement that Ontario will outlaw all religious arbitration in the province.Religious groups are complaining they had no input before McGuinty announced Sunday that Ontario will not allow Muslim rules known as Sharia law to be used to settle family cases through arbitration, and will also end all faith-based arbitration."Why destroy something that's working in this province?" asked Frank Dimant, executive vice-president of B'nai Brith Canada. "Why would you penalize Judaism and Christianity?"McGuinty insisted Sunday his government wasn't