Legal Pluralism dan Sharia Council di Inggris

Abstract

This article examines the phenomenon of sharia councils in England within the framework of legal pluralism. As a country with a unitary legal system, England faces sociological and juridical challenges as the Muslim community's demand for Islamic law–based resolution of family disputes increases. This study uses a socio-normative method with a conceptual approach to analyze how sharia councils operate in the private sphere of citizens without formal authority from state law. The findings show that the existence of sharia councils reflects a form of legal pluralism that functions de facto within English society. Although sharia councils have successfully resolved critical issues such as limping marriages (marriages left in limbo because of divergent religious and civil divorce statuses), their position has sparked intense debate concerning women’s rights and equality before the law. The article concludes that the informal accommodation of sharia councils in England demonstrates a complex and dynamic relationship between the state's secular law and religious law, in which social integration often requires tacit recognition of the reality of plural legal orders.