Our old friend the homophobic Norman Tebbit – sorry, Lord Tebbit – has put the right-wing cat among the Muslim pigeons with a remark about the hideous sharia law that is creeping into Britain.
The Daily Mail tells us how Tebbit has likened sharia tribunals to the kind of arbitration run by the Kray twins.
He told the House of Lords, “Are you not aware that there is extreme pressure put upon vulnerable women to go through a form of arbitration that results in [their] being virtually precluded from access to British law?”
Five sharia courts currently operate mediation systems approved under the 1996 Arbitration Act. Although their rulings are not legal under British law, once they’ve been through these kangaroo courts they can merely be approved by a proper judge.
As you would expect, Muslims don’t agree with Tebbit’s comment. The Mail says they’ve called it “baseless and ignorant”.
Well take a look a this post, and make up your own mind about sharia law. If they want to practise it, they know where they can bugger off to.
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FOOTNOTE: It may be necessary to explain for the benefit of non-UK readers the reference to bikes below by one of our commenters. Tebbit once notoriously suggested that people out of work should do what his father used to do, which was get on his bike and look for work. "On yer bike" became a catchprase associated with Tebbit after that.
