Quebec rejects sharia for legal system

Thursday, May 26, 2005 Updated at 1:21 PM EDT

Canadian Press

Quebec — Quebec has rejected the use of Islamic tribunals, which can be used to settle family disputes, in the province.

In a unanimous vote Thursday, the Quebec legislature passed a motion against allowing sharia to be used in the legal system.

“The application of sharia in Canada is part of a strategy to isolate the Muslim community, so it will submit to an archaic vision of Islam,” Fatima Houda-Pepin, a Liberal member of the legislature, said as she introduced the motion against use of the Islamic law.

“These demands are being pushed by groups in the minority that are using the Charter of Rights to attack the foundation of our democratic institutions.”

The debate over sharia surfaced in Canada two years ago when a Muslim group in Ontario proposed the arbitration of family disputes according to Islamic law.