Islamic Marriages in the United Kingdom - Essay Example

?Islamic marriages in the United Kingdom Marriages are regarded as one of the long-standing and crucial s’ of human living. The traditions and ceremonies involved in a marriage may differ from one religion to another but the notion behind a marriage is the same throughout the world and that notion is conception of a relationship and family. Each religion lays down some rules regarding marriage and the members of that particular religion are expected to follow those rules. Religion is regarded by majority of the population has an omnipresent entity, which will impact and dictate their day-to-day living, and other key events of their life. Marriage is one such key event and the religion impacts and dictates that event as well. This is particularly applicable to Islamic marriages, with all aspects of the union based and dictated by the religion of Islam and its teachings. In United Kingdom (UK) also, Islamic marriages are conducted on those lines, with the marriage or nikah being conducted with or without official registration under UK laws. When the marriage is not registered under UK laws, its validity is questioned, leading to host of problems for the women. With those Islamic marriages being considered null and void under the UK laws, a Muslim man have the dubious advantage of marrying more than once without officially divorcing his wife and also denying his wife various rights and benefits. This paper focusing on the existence of Islamic marriages and the maximal non-registration of those marriages in the United Kingdom, will discuss how those marriages have no official or legal recognitions, thereby leading to many legal and personal problems for the Muslim women or in particular wives. Arranged marriages are more common in the Islamic religion, and that is visible in the Islamic community in UK as well. The arranged marriages are closely related to the “closed system” because it kind of helps to preserve the family traditions, rituals and the maintenance of kinship among the relations. Even if a Muslim man and woman decides to get married, without the initiation done by the parents, then also marriage is arranged according to Islamic customs. However, the basic Islamic viewpoint is, Islamic families in UK or in any country has to follow conservative norms regarding the marriage and the resultant evolution of family, thereby avoiding same-sex marriage, living together outside marriage, etc., for them to be constituted as a family. In an Islamic perspective, a family should normally consist of a legally married couple, their children, their parents, other relatives, etc. The emphasis is that a family comes into existence only through two means: blood relationship and importantly Islamic authorized marriage. This is mentioned in the religious texts as well, “And it is He Who has made man from water: The He has set up relationships of family and marriage: And your Lord is ever All Powerful (over things). [Surah AI Furqaan: 54]1. This focus on marriage being a relationship between an heterosexual man and woman forms a key part of Islamic marriage. Mernissi further validates this by stating, “The dynamics of shared spaces between the sexes can best be understood by analysing the functioning of the conjugal unit, the only model of heterosexual relationships that Muslim society …offers to its children.”2 However, all Islamic marriages are not similar, with the actual wedding ceremonies minimally or maximally differing according to the culture or nationality of the Muslim people involved in it. For example, a Pakistani Muslim wedding could be different from the Malaysian Muslim wedding in certain aspects. “Many of the Muslims who marry are from widely different cultures - for example European, Turkish, African, Malaysian, and so on.”3 Another key or even anti-feminine aspect of the Islamic marriage is polygamy, with Muslim men being allowed to marry more than one woman at a time. “Man may have more than one wife, up to the limit of four wives simultaneously - so long as it is not done to the detriment and hurt of the existing Muslim partner(s).”4 However, Muslim women are stipulated to have one husband at a time, although, if any eventuality happens, they are allowed to marry more men but in a consecutive manner only. When these Islamic marriages are viewed from the perspective of UK laws, there are some shortfalls, particularly regarding its registration process in line with the English laws. That is, when these Islamic marriages takes places, sizable number of couples and even their parents carry out only the religion based rituals in the Mosque, and does not take initiatives to register or confirm in the registry officers. “A growing number of young Muslims in the UK are entering marriages that are not legally recognised, BBC Asian Network has found. This is because couples are having an Islamic wedding without the civil ceremony needed for the marriage to be recognised under British law.”5 At the same time, if the Mosque is registered under the Marriage (Registration of Buildings) Act, 1990, then they can conduct both the religious ceremony as well as the civil ceremony, in the presence of an official of the local registry office.6 As all the mosques are not carrying out this process, it is imperative on the part of the couples to register their marriage. In additions, Islamic marriages are not registered, when it is a forced marriage. During those marriages, due to the non-cooperation of the brides, the families and the husbands do not take the initiatives to register it, because of the fear that if the reluctant brides are taken to the civil offices, they might turn against them. Although, non-registering of the marriage may not be problem for the married couples if they live a contented married life and does not need married certificates for any official purposes, it may causes serious problems in other cases. Women face most of these problems, as there is a view that men does not insist on registering due to certain ulterior motives. That is, as the Muslim men have the religious right to divorce their wives just by uttering the word, Talaq or Divorce, thrice, they may feel that if their marriage is registered, it may impede their dubious right and could lead to various legal problems when they decide to divorce. Thus, if the marriage is not registered according to the UK laws, the men can walk out of the marriage anytime due to one reason or other, and the women will be left in the lurch. This is what a Muslim woman, Shaheeda (name changed) who did not register her marriage and who was divorced by the husband, had to say – “I was homeless. I took legal action but I got nothing," explained Shaheeda. “I had been paying the mortgage on our home but the house was not in my name so I lost everything.”7 Thus, when the non-registered marriages ends due to divorce by the husband or even due to the death of the husband, the women may not be entitled to many benefits, and even if they try legally to get those benefits, it would not be successful, only leading further financial burden. “Because the couples only have co-habitant rights, it is extremely expensive and complicated to use the law to get the individuals any justice once the marriage ends.”8 Thus, when the validity of the Islamic marriages in relation to UK laws is focused, it is clear that is of paramount importance to register those marriages. As pointed out above, one of the main negative effects of conducting Islamic marriages without official sanction is, it is easy for the men to divorce their wives, thus making them vulnerable to more problems. Actually, as mentioned earlier, men do not take the initiative to carry out the registration during or after the marriage, mainly with the ulterior intentions. Non-registration allows “Muslim men to control their wives because they can threaten to leave them and end the Islamic marriage by just saying the words 'divorce, divorce divorce' to her,”9 That is, men might severely control the women by threatening to divorce them, because of which the women will live a suppressed existence, bearing all the physical and mental assaults. Even when the Muslim men decide to divorce, it will result in troubles for the women. However, sizable Muslim women are now taking the initiatives to get divorce from their abusive husbands, but in that case also due to non-registration, women face tough problems in getting their divorces. Thus, in both the scenarios, women will be the victim in serious crisis, because of the non-validity of their Islamic marriage. This predicament of the women can be understood from the case Al-Mudaris v Al Mudaris ([2001] 2 FLR 6). In 1980, an Arab couple married in an Islamic marriage ceremony in London, and did not participate in the civil ceremony. Then late 1990’s, the marriage ran into problems and the couple decided to separate. The wife petitioned the Family Division of the High Court for divorce and for the grant of other benefits. However, the husband pointing out the lack of registration “argued that there was no marriage to speak of and the wife should therefore not have recourse to any remedies offered by English law.”10 The Judge Hughes J ruled against the wife’s petition by stating that the 1980 Islamic ceremony cannot be considered as a marriage under the English law. “Hughes J was clear that the only way that a marriage valid in English law must be carried out was through the methods prescribed in the Marriage Acts, and one which did not purport to do so, as the London ceremony in question, could not be considered a marriage for the purpose of matrimonial relief.”11 Thus, it is clear that non-registration did give the women a favourable divorce under the English laws. Therefore, although the UK courts of law can deal range of disputes including domestic violence, child custodial rights, etc., involving the Muslim parities, as being discussed, without valid marriage registration, it would be difficult for the Muslim women to approach it. Thus, it is clear that even when Muslim women try to escape from an abusive marriage through divorce, there will be legal obstacles. From the above analysis, it is clear that marriages based on Islamic principles and rituals are an integral aspect of Muslim community and their lifestyle in UK. At the same time, it is giving rise sizable legal issues. As Pearl (1972) states the among the many mid-1980s immigration cases, the one relating to matrimonial particularly relating to polygamous marriages and social security cases represented the majority.12 In addition, the role of Sharia Council is prominent, when it comes to marital disputes, although Baroness Cox’s The Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill safeguards women rights in the council.13 Importantly, with the Muslim men having free hand when it comes to marriage and divorce, it is becomes very crucial for the Muslim women to insist on the registration of their marriages or nikah, immediately after the ceremony in the Mosque. This provides strong legal backing for them, when marital problems arise. The mosques for their part should also have provisions to carry out the registration in their premises. These steps can elevate the image of the Islamic marriages, and importantly facilitate legally backed marriages. Read More