As a paid up lickspittle of George Galloway’s, poor old brain-dead Charley cannot do much other than vaingloriously to attempt to castigate those who oppose his masters. Put yourself in the position of a middle-aged man who goes to sleep at night knowing that only Dirty European Socialist is lower in the evolutionary scale than he. Can’t you find it in your heart to forgive the poor deluded fool?

The way the legal system works is, if some judge screws up on a legal point, you appeal, all the way up to the Lords, until either precedent is set or the law is upheld.

I’m sure the jewish courts follow the law of the land and if the sharia courts contravened the law, it would be appealed and their system would be laughed at by anyone who can read and by those who look at the pictures in the Daily Mail.

Also, does criminal law not have precedence over civil law?

The problem with this is that Sharia law allows for all sorts of barbaric punishments, against non-believers and women in particular. If this was some pre-trial arbitration service (along the lines of ACAS, perhaps) then it wouldn’t be so bad. The issue is that these “courts” now have the power to pass sentence, and such sentences could contravene English law; indeed there have been cases of Sharia courts passing sentences that have resulted in the deaths of individuals to “save family honour”.

Further to this of course is the issue that, eventually, Muslims will more than likely want to put Sharia law on an equal footing to English law, giving them jurisdiction over criminal as well as civil matters. How this would work with English law, and which legal system would be used, are entirely open subjects.

The fact is that this is England. If you want some kind of pre-trial arbitration, then fine. You don’t need a court system to do that. If you want your own legal system then no: you live in our country, you work and operate under our legal system. If that grates with you, then pack your bags and clear off.

As far as I see it, under cases of civil law, in england there is an option to go to pre trial arbitration. Everyone has access to this. The jews have their own wee variant and now the muslims will get their own wee variant.

If they are unhappy with the results, they as indeed anyone else can too, can reject the decision of this comittee and go for a full court case with lawyers and men in wigs.

Is that it? Or am i missing something?

The difference between Jewish courts and Sharia courts is that, to the best of my knowledge, there isn’t a vocal and forceful movement to have Jewish law established alongside and then over and above English law and Jewish law doesn’t allow beatings, stonings and other bararic acts of violence against women.

As for your vicious characterisation of Muslims, Wonko, can I tell you that a few years ago I was acquainted with an asylum seeker from Iraq – the first Muslim person I got to know really well. He could not get a job because the govt forbids it – he wanted to work. He didn’t much want to come to live here, but seeing as how his country was being invaded at the time… He didn’t blame ordinary English people, knowing the great majority opposed the war. He learned the language, had gay friends and Chistian friends, took part in social activities.

Most Muslims in England originate from Pakistan, a former British colony, where the UK government has propped up a brutal military dictator and is now silent on the planned US invasion. No doubt the terror threat would be lessened if the UK govt sided with the new democratic govt and brought our troops home from Iraq and Afghanistan…

Maybe some native englandshiremen could elucidate?