Source: CNews

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2004/08/22/597420-cp.html

On August 22, 2004 CNews reported, "A Canadian Islamic group is trying to prevent the word shariah from being included in Ontario's Arbitration Act on the grounds it creates a 'slippery slope' that blurs dangerously the lines between family and criminal law. Currently, the law provides for voluntary faith-based arbitration, which allows Muslims, Jews and members of other faiths to use the guiding principles of their religion in settling private disputes such as divorce, custody issues and inheritances outside the court system. But the Council on American-Islamic Relations Canada is worried that including the word shariah in the legislation would enshrine in law so-called shariah tribunals, which they say are a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Critics of sharia tribunals say they permit Islamic jurisprudence to swell beyond the scope of family law, potentially exposing vulnerable groups, particularly women, to unjust treatment in the eyes of the Charter... The scope of a traditional shariah tribunal is extensive and includes a canon of criminal law which, for the most part, is incompatible with the Charter, Saloojee said. The debate has polarized Canada's Muslim community, he added."