Shariah Divorce Refusal May Be Sentencing Consideration In Canada

In Canada, prosecutors have argued to a Montreal court that a Muslim man's refusal to grant a Shariah divorce to his wife should be considered an aggravating factor when he is sentenced for stabbing her and their baby daughter. Meanwhile, Quebec's ban on the use of religious tribunals to settle family law disputes has placed the wife in a difficult position. She wants to go back to her family in Lebanon, but fears that without an Islamic divorce, if she does she will be forced to return to her husband or be charged with abducting her own daughter. Reporting on the case yesterday, the Montreal Gazette says that Shahina Siddiqui, executive director of the Islamic Social Services Association suggested the woman obtain a civil divorce in Canada and then ask an imam or a panel of Muslim scholars to acknowledge the court divorce.