Choosing Sharia?

Introduction vii

1 The Multiculturalist Ideology 1
Introduction 1
Identity Theory 4
From Identity Theory to a ‘Politics of Difference’ 11
Breaking Down Multiculturalism 17
1. Who Someone Authentically Is, Is Given by His Minority Cultural Identity 20
2. Nonrecognition of Cultural Minority Identity Constitutes Psychological Harm 24
3. Culture Is Good 29
4. Cultures Are Equal 31
5. Cultural Differences Are Good, But If Not, They Should At Least be Tolerated 33
6. Minority Cultures Must Not be Criticised by the Dominant Culture which Has the Positive Obligation to Preserve These 40
Conclusion 48

2 Islamic Fundamentalism 51
Introduction 51
Sharia as the Sacred Law of Islam 52
Political Islam Part I: Wahhabism 56
Political Islam Part II: The Muslim Brotherhood 59
Jahiliyyah 61
Sharia State Example I: Theocratic Saudi Arabia 64
Sharia State Example II: Islamisation in Malaysia 73
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Cairo Declaration 79
Islamophobia 85
Political Islam Part III: The Middle Way to Establishing a Sharia State in Europe 87
Conclusion 92

3 When Multiculturalism and Islamic Fundamentalism Coincide: Sharia Councils in the United Kingdom 95
Introduction 95
Distinguishing positions in the debate 98
Multiculturalists’ view of Sharia 100
The Relationship between Multiculturalism and Islamic Fundamentalism 108
Behind the Islamic Sharia Council 111
Sharia and Alternative Dispute Resolution 118
What Happens at Sharia Councils? 123
Marital Captivity 140
Sharia Councils and Human Rights 143
Batei Din: Jewish Councils 149
The Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill 152
Secular Alternatives to Sharia councils 155
Conclusion 158

Concluding Remarks 161
Bibliography 165
Video Material 191
Case Law 191
Acknowledgements 193
Index 195