Religious tribunals tend to slink around out of the spotlight of public interest, unless they are Islamic, in which case they tend to sound like a bit of a dirty word in the western world. And so it was in Canada; this week the government of Ontario, Canada’s largest province, decided to ban all religious arbitration and tribunals, which have been permitted since 1991 with the region’s Arbitration Act. Catholic and Jewish methods of arbitration drew little interest, and the religious courts arbitrated family law for those who opted for their affairs to be dealt before a religious committee, until proponents of Sharia law lobbied for the same privileges.

Dalton McGuinty, Ontario’s Premier, explained his about-face: “Ontarians will always have the right to seek advice from anyone in matters of family law, including religious advice… But no longer will religious arbitration be deciding matters of family law.” Most offensive to the Canadian government are likely the interpretations of Islamic law in which women are incapable of divorcing their husbands, in which polygamy is sanctioned, and in which girls are permitted to marry at younger ages than secular law permits.

Sharia opponents are gloating over their legal victory, while Christian and Jewish groups are adamant that they retain their privileges, and their Muslim counterparts insist that they will continue to lobby for Canada to sanction Sharia law on behalf of the nation’s approximately 600,000 Muslims. The UN tallied Canada’s total population at around 32 million in 2005.
  

Mimi Hanaoka