Australia Ruled by Islam's laws
Channel: Samueldeeb
Date: 2011-07-11

Aspects of Sharia law are being practiced across Australia.

Sheikh Moussaab Leghe, in Sydney's West, presides over hundreds of Sharia divorces each year, and adjudicates on financial disputes.

According to the Sheikh, "This is Islam - Islam is to live your life in a happy way, in justice, in equity. Everybody is taking his share, everybody is happy and satisfied."

Sheikh Moussaab Leghe offers Muslims Sharia law from his base at the Islamic Welfare Centre at Lakemba, in Sydney's West.

"Well when you have women that are having their babies out of the marriage, some people they will say we need something to find a solution. And this is something," said Sheikh Leghe.

Sheikh Leghe says he believes Australian law rules our land, though, like his predecessor, he does feel there is room for men to have multiple wives.

"Well the problem (is) with this thirteen per cent extra women in Australia.

"I don't go for (polygamy), but I call the Australian law to give the women rights to find a man, when you have (less men than women)."

According to News Limited columnist Miranda Devine, such ideas are "terribly disempowering of women, and very disruptive of our social fabric, for that reason."

"I think it's seditious. It undermines Australian law, and really, if we're going to have separate laws and separate societies, we can only expect to have more division and more lawlessness," said Vicky Janson.

Vicky Janson, and her husband Michael, live in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West. They have joined a community group named The Q Society - aimed at stopping what they call the 'Islamification of Australia'.

According to Vicky "it's the way we're meant to be treated. We are truly treated as second-class citizens. Under anything to do with Islamic law, women are not treated equally, non-Muslims are not treated equally."

For some, the issue that's causing concern and division is whether or not Sharia law can co-exist with Australian law, so that we still have one law for all.

In Britain, Islamic courts have operated for nearly four years under the Arbitration Act, and their rulings are legally binding.

Under Sharia law, a woman's testimony is worth half a man's; a daughter can only inherent half as much as a son; guardianship of children automatically goes to the father; and men can summarily divorce their wife, while a woman must fight for a divorce, even if her husband is abusive.

"We don't want it. We do not want Sharia law. It's a system that has a completely different idea of what is right and wrong, what is good and evil, and it just undermines our democratic rule of law.