Great Britain has just committed suicide...

...by giving sharia law legal status

And thus collapses one of the oldest systems that claimed that everyone was equal before the law.

It's an arbitration only court, isn't it? So, both parties should agree to the arbitration.
Though, yeah, it's somewhat disappointing news. Instead of assimilating the newcomers Britts seem to assimilate themselves to accommodate their guests. Sorta backwards, like the kidney pudding...

I don't follow politics to any great extent. So I acknowledge that I am not very knowledgeable in these areas.

But this article makes it sound like the Sharia courts are an extension from Muslim countries to Muslims in other countries, and that their jurisdiction over Muslims is all-powerful. If I was a Muslim, moving to a non-Muslim country where I was supposed to be "equal", then have this happen, I'd be beside myself. Basically, this means that Muslims refugees are unable to escape their government.

Am I correctly identifying this?

No, it means that these types of people want to turn whatever country they live in, like some kind of caliphate, or an extension of one. At the one hand, I am all for rights of others, but this goes far beyond that. If you are a muslim living abroad, you are subject to said country's laws, and should not be able to incorporate some of your own. Yet if you travel to one of these muslim countries, you are obligated to follow THEIR laws no matter what. Even religious minorities in muslim countries (christian, jew, zoroastrian(Iran)), are sidelined, and yet these people come into other countries, and then DEMAND to have their own laws!? I am sorry, I am pretty open to some ideas, but you are now in someone else's country, so you are expected to integrate somewhat. Nobody is saying they must renounce their islamic faith, but this goes waaayy too far, and is dangerous as far as I'm concerned.

From the same article:
We've had an "alternate" system in place for some time. I don't know the status of the Beth Din courts or how they act, but if the Jewish religion can have their own system of arbitration why not let the Muslim community do it too?

Dunno why you would let anybody have a private court systems based on religion or anything else.

That's just BS and shows that the western societies have degenerated into kissing anybody's ass for matter of 'integration' that won't be integration at all if everybody ends up with his own justice system.

Heck - why stop there? Let everybody have their own government,too.

It's not like the citizens of the country wouldn't get special treatment.

Arbitration systems make a lot of sense. They take a lot of the burden of mediating disputes out of the hands of the formal courts.

But any such arbitration system has to comply with the law of the land. I offer no opinion at all on the Beth Din courts because until this article I had never heard of them. Are these "courts" free to come to decisions that are contrary to British law? If so, then I will condemn them as quickly as I am condemning the sharia courts.

There is no doubt that, in very many areas that would be defined as civil, sharia courts will decide in a fashion that contradicts British law. Further, certain sharia "civil" issues would without doubt be defined as "criminal" under British law. But Great Britain has now set itself up so that its formal court system will enforce this parallel system's rulings. Want to bet that this enforcement will be a rubber-stamp type of thing, rather than involving extensive review of individual cases?

Also, according to Islam, if you are a muslim, then that is what you are and you cannot change your mind. What if one party to a dispute does not want to submit to sharia? Consider the social pressure to be brought to bear on that person; will that person have a realistic choice? And if sharia has the force of law in Britain, then what is that person to do?

No, I think that this is perhaps the worst thing that Great Britain has done in the last few centuries. Your nation is committing suicide.

That's a very good point.

I agree that this is a very odd system, to carry over religious laws to other countries so that people of that religion can be tried by their own courts. What's wrong with the standard judicial court ? Why they have to have special Muslim or Jewish courts is beyond me, but then religion never made any sense to me, so I don't even want to know the reasoning they might come up with on this one.

Exactly!

I think the more appropriate question would be: Why come into said country, if you want to setup a system like whatever country you came from? In that case, just stay the hell in your country, where you are guaranteed sharia law. Maybe some folks leaving from said countries, don't want sharia, otherwise they wouldn't have left. If some do have such longings for sharia, go back to where you come from. Its that simple.

There is an implication to this that just occurred to me.

There is a growing trend in the US for courts to look to foreign courts for direction and precedent...

Hmmm...

How soon before sharia courts get set up here?

The real problem with these arbitration courts in my opinion is that the government is enforcing its decisions. You can have a religious, political or some other group in any country that has some rules different from the customs of other people. That goes for Jewish or Muslim groups and such. But the government can not enforce their decisions and you should be free to leave these groups if you disagree with their practices at once. Otherwise all these Scientology groups, Mormon Fundamentalists, who knows what else, will be free to insist on their "way of life" and the government will enforce their decisions. That's the recipe for a disaster. There can be only one law in the land, same for everybody... Isn't that right?

In some ways that has already happened. Look at the FLDS group. They essentially are a whole town in one area in the US, and have been skirting US laws rather blatantly. If they were to be given such rights, then effect they would be given a license to marry underage girls, and sexually abuse them, and nobody can do a thing about it. Not to mention practice polygamy. (muslims also practice polygamy, but so far at least they have dropped that kind of practice when going into a non muslim country, but who knows...)

To me this is not a question of freedom of religion, because nobody is opposing the building of a mosque, cathedral, church, or synagogue, this is preferential treatment over others.

Dunno - probably has to do something with money in most cases.

I've been a foreigner for the last 20 years of my life in various countries.

Why? Because I pack my shit and leave if I don't like it where I am.

Didn't get any special treatment anywhere either and even kind of had to learn the local languages because those suckers wouldn't change the official language for me anywhere.

There's got be something other foreigners figured out that I have still to learn.

As long as they don't and can't forcibly extend it to non-Muslims what's the problem? It's not like they're forcing everyone in the nation to comply with their beliefs.

And we're talking about civil cases here not criminal, and in the case of arbitration both parties must agree to the arbitration at the onset or it's invalid. There are arbitration hearings held in a great many countries around the world every day and they are just as legally binding.

Ever see those tv judges? Those are all arbitration hearings, not formal courts. Pretty much the same thing.

I think Judge Judy would look better in a burka