Who controls Britain?

Two press items in the last week of April demonstrated that our government bows to pressure from Saudi Arabia.

Clearly this is a finance-driven control (as effectively admitted by the politicians), but it means we are now under the influence of Muslim principles rather than Christian, or even, at a basic level, traditional British moral values. This raises a serious question of who influences British policy.

Islamic banking

The first item reported concerned the issue of shari’a-compliant bonds. Britain is the first Western country to issue these and reflects the Chancellor (soon to be PM) Gordon Brown’s desire to make London the centre of Islamic finance. Writing to The Financial Times, Andrea Williams of the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship pointed out that the implication of this action is far-reaching as it stipulates a number of areas in which this money cannot be used.

The press also picked up again on the shameful dismissal of a fraud case against BAE in order to maintain good relations with Saudi Arabia.

One item that did not reach the media coverage was the suppression — it seems at the instigation of the same authorities — of a high-level meeting to launch the publication A Proposed Charter of Muslim Understanding.1 This had already been successfully launched in the European Parliament but the Muslim authorities put pressure on politicians and media not to support it here. The document is a powerful and reasonable medium to enable moderate Muslims to oppose terrorism and killing of ‘apostates’. The opposition of these leaders to this document shows that, in spite of claims to the contrary, they do not oppose such murderous actions.

April closed with two newspapers taking up the broader and more fundamental issue of appeasement of the Muslim authorities. The Daily Express gave three full pages to the matter, including the front page. The next day, Melanie Phillips had a full-page article in The Daily Mail. Other papers, such as The Daily Telegraph and The Times, have previously covered similar issues.

Shari’a courts are here

The Daily Express article concentrated on the existence of shari’a courts across the country. These are allowed to impose Islamic law and so by-pass the UK system. Things not permitted under British law are given the green light under this system, so undermining our justice system and establishing inequality under law which is contrary to all principles of fairness. It is believed that these courts are even registered as charities and receive British tax benefits! The government has done nothing to stop this system.

Many consider the human rights legislation that the government hastily introduced has prevented true justice for the British people. For example, two terrorists were sentenced to be deported to Libya, but the human rights legislation was enacted to prevent this and they are to be allowed to stay here, even though they are known to be a real risk to our society. A stabbing case was decided by an unofficial Somali ‘court’ sitting in Woolwich, SE London, and was never dealt with under our legal system.2

Appeasing radicals

As Melanie Phillips says, the government ‘is appeasing radicalism’. Even supposedly moderate mosques are preaching and disseminating ‘such horrors as the murder of homosexuals, the beating of women and hatred of Christians and Jews’. The UK law has ignored the polygamous marriages which are contrary to British law; it refuses to take action against ‘honour killings’. What about the implications of the SORs? We know their probable implications for the church; what about for Muslims? We understand that the government minister has assured the Muslim community that they will be exempt from these regulations.3

Women’s rights

Shari’a has large implications for marriage. The rights, for example, for women in UK legislation are contradicted under the Muslim laws. The Islamic courts will dissolve and nullify marriages outside the British legal system. Women can be divorced merely by their husbands reciting ‘I divorce you’ three times; their testimony is worth less than that of men. The rights of the wives will be rejected. In recent decades the British governments have taken steps to protect our women in a more biblical way. That will be ignored under the Muslim regulations. A report also reveals how Muslim girls are being forced into child marriages permitted under shari’a law.

Where non-Muslim men marry Muslim women, they will be pressurised to convert or be divorced as the Muslim leaders enforce their authority on the community. Conversely, if a Muslim man marries a non-Muslim woman, their children must be raised as Muslims no matter what the mother’s faith may be.

Polygamous marriages

David Davies of the Conservatives has already raised questions in the House regarding polygamous marriages and state benefits. These marriages will be further legitimised through the shari’a courts. The next step under shari’a law is to allow mistresses or concubines! Under age marriage is permitted under the same laws.

Islamic inheritance laws also supersede UK laws for the Muslim. So, a male inherits twice as much as a female (Sura 4.11). The Qu’ran specifies strict rules for this division of one’s estate. Even a man’s written will cannot supersede this rule. This may seem trivial and the person’s right, but clearly this exposes injustice within the family.

Where is this unchecked surrender to Islamic influences (from inside and outside the country) going to end? Are there to be no-go areas for the UK police? It seems that these already exist in practice.

And what about the effect on our churches? We see the pressure to permit an unnecessarily large mosque to be built in the east end of London and yet churches are not being given building permission. There must be a strong risk that evangelism will be banned in Muslim-dominated areas. So much for free speech!

A report4 last year outlined areas where hard-line shari’a law conflicts with Britain's justice system and warns of attempts to include parts of Islamic law in British law. It says: ‘Since shari’a has some regulations which relate to non-Muslims such changes in British law could impinge on non-Muslims too.’

Though the press has covered several of these issues over recent months, the government has ignored them. What is its agenda?

Some well-meaning folk dismiss this issue as a matter for an individual’s preference. However, one only has to listen to individuals within these communities to realise that this is not necessarily their preference. Because of the family and religious structures of the society in which they live, they are not free. If folk want to live within these restrictions, which are contrary to our laws, why don’t they go and live in countries where these laws are practiced?

Head in the sand?

As Christians, we cannot dismiss these matters as irrelevant. Aside from the fact that these issues eventually will be imposed on us if we do not take a stand, we should be concerned for our neighbours. We are our brother’s keepers! We must seek to lift people from their bondage to unchristian laws.

So, how should we respond? We need to mobilise ourselves to respond to this situation. Many of our Muslim neighbours would seem to share our concerns. We must, therefore, not do anything to marginalise them or make them unwelcome in our society. We must press our politicians to recognise the dangers to which we are exposed if they give more ground to the extremists.

We must pray. Pray for our leaders to have wisdom from above. Pray for the Muslim community that they will recognise that peaceful coexistence means that we must have equality in law. Pray for our Muslim contacts that they will receive the gospel. Pray for Muslim converts that they will not suffer because they have come to faith in Christ. It is a battle for Britain — not with force but with prayer and reason — so that our heritage will be preserved for generations to come.

References

1. A representative from Muslim World League was at the meeting on March 22. The rest comes from sources we cannot identify at this time.
2. See The Times, December 2 2006.
3. Private conversation with Ruth Kelly. If this were not the case, the Muslims would have been up in arms by now.
4. Patrick Sookhdeo, The Daily Express, December 1 2006.