FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REJECTS PUSH FOR SHARIA LAW

May 2011

The Gillard Government has quickly moved to block calls for sharia law to be introduced in Australia. In a submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the government's new multiculturalism policy, The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils has argued that a mild brand of sharia should be allowed in family law and divorces, promising it would fit in with Australian values. But Attorney-General Robert McClelland stomped on the request arguing there was no "place for sharia law in Australian society" and that the government strongly rejected any proposal for its introduction.

"As our citizenship pledge makes clear, coming to Australia means obeying Australian laws and upholding Australian values,'' Mr McClelland said. "If there is any inconsistency between cultural values and the rule of law then Australian law wins out," he said. Mr McClelland is keen to assert Australia's position as a "stable democracy'' where "rule of law'' underpins society. "People who migrate to Australia do so because we have a free, open and tolerant society where men and woman are equal before the law irrespective of race, religious or cultural background.''

The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) had argued that Muslims should enjoy "legal pluralism". The organisation's president, Ikebal Adam Patel nominated family law and specifically divorce as an area where moderate interpretations of sharia could co-exist within the Australian legal system. A reading of sharia law however confers unilateral divorce rights on men, while women who initiate divorce are stripped of their property and financial entitlements, a position that is not compatible with Australian law or values.

Source: Compiled by APN from media reports