This event was hosted by GLOCUL: Centre for Culture and Law, School of Law, Queen Mary University of London.
Contemporary European societies are multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, certainly in terms of the diversity stemming from immigration of workers and refugees. There is widespread, often acrimonious, debate about ‘other’ cultural and religious beliefs and practices and limits to their accommodation. This book focuses principally on Muslim families, and how gender relations, and associated questions of (women’s) agency, consent and autonomy, have become the focus of political and social commentary, with Muslims coming under constant public scrutiny and criticism. Islam generally and the Muslim family in particular have become highly politicised sites of contestation, and the book considers how, why and with what implications for British multiculturalism, past, present and perhaps future. The book includes a detailed overview of the public debate about the application of Islamic legal and ethical norms (Shari’a) in family law matters, especially marriage and divorce, and the associated role of Shari’a councils.