Sharia Law in the UK

Interesting piece in The Guardian today, sure to enrage the Muslim hating right, about the reality of Sharia in the UK. I'm guessing Melanie Phillips' head nearly exploded over this one. Here's a quick extract:

In the back room of a converted corner shop in east London, Sheikh Maulana Abu Sayeed is trying to save another marriage. He stretches across his desk and gently holds the hand of a young man with five o'clock shadow, whose eyes are red and swollen from crying. For more than an hour the man has been pleading with Sayeed to ask his ex-wife to give him a second chance. And for more than an hour, Sayeed has been quietly telling him that if his ex-wife does not want him back, there is nothing he can do. As the fraught meeting continues next door, one of Sayeed's colleagues at the Islamic Sharia Council in Leyton explains with a shrug, "He has come to us to ask for help, but if the woman is adamant and she doesn't want to reunite, what can we do?"

The image of a Muslim man pleading with his imam for a second chance with his wife, only to be told that it is his wife's decision, is not what most people would expect from a sharia court. But his case is typical of hundreds each year dealt with by a group of scholars who provide judgments on sharia law for Muslims across the country.

Read the full article here.