Muslims vow fight to keep sharia law
Group urges Premier to reverse decision Considering court challenge to change
Islamic groups vow to keep fighting to have decisions by sharia tribunals backed by Ontario law. A coalition of groups claiming to represent 20,000 Muslims in Canada urged Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty yesterday to rescind his decision to remove the authority of faithbased tribunals in settling family disputes from the 1991 Arbitration Act.
If intense lobbying doesn’t succeed, the groups will consider launching a court challenge to the proposed change in legislation under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Katherine Bullock of the Islamic Society of North America said at a media conference at the group’s Mississauga headquarters.
Bullock was also speaking on behalf of the Islamic Circle of North America, the Islamic Social Services Association, the Muslim Association of Canada and the Federation of Muslim Women. McGuinty has caved into a public backlash with his decision, she said.
“ We are deeply concerned about the level of Islamophobia that has been expressed by the Canadian public during this debate, including the role of the media for perpetuating negative stereotypes of Islam as oppressive to women,” Bullock said.
McGuinty’s decision also has been opposed by the Canadian Jewish Congress, but strongly supported by the No Religious Arbitration Coalition of about 100 women’s groups, unions and various other organizations as well as some Muslim groups. Munir Pervaiz, a director of the Muslim Canadian Congress, an observer at yesterday’s media conference, said in an interview that his group represents the “silent majority” of Muslims in Canada who are opposed to faith- based arbitration.
“ An orthodox Muslim minority is saying one law for all is not good enough for us,” Pervaiz said.
His group has about 300 members “ strongly committed to the principles of equality,” he said. The controversy erupted after former NDP attorney general Marion Boyd submitted a report to the provincial government in December recommending that faith- based arbitration be permitted with some regulations and monitoring. Decisions would have to conform to Ontario law.