According to several Danish imams, English sharia courts are often the ruling authority in Danish Muslim divorce cases.
If a Muslim man denies his wife a divorce, the Danish imams can’t do anything about it and refer many of the cases to the Islamic courts in England
Waseem Hussain, the imam and chairman of the Islamic Centre in Copenhagen, is highly critical of the practice, which he deems inappropriate as it sends off women in weak positions to a foreign country with a different culture and language.
“As Muslims, we can and must solve and take responsibility for these issues ourselves. We don’t know enough about the English courts and we are unaware of what they do and why,” Hussain told DR Nyheder.
READ MORE: Female imams precipitating discussion about the role of women in Islam
Fearing retribution
Fatih Alev, one of the imams who refer the women to the English courts, argues that he does so because he doesn’t dare to cross a potentially violent husband.
Alev contends that cancelling someone’s marriage as an individual would endanger his and his family’s safety.
