Islamic marriage, English divorce: For growing numbers of British Muslim women, the results can be devastating

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Rising divorce rates among British Muslim communities have prompted questions over the status of Islamic marriage.
Updated 19 May 2018
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Islamic marriage, English divorce: For growing numbers of British Muslim women, the results can be devastating

  • Rising divorce rates among British Muslim communities have prompted questions over the status of Islamic marriage — known in Arabic as “nikah” — in the UK.
  • In 2017, a survey by UK TV station Channel 4 of 1,000 British Muslim women found that almost two-thirds had a nikah-only marriage.

LONDON: Farida Miah was still reeling from the shock of learning that her husband had taken a second wife when she found out he had divorced her and ended their 18-year marriage.

Miah, a British citizen of Bangladeshi origin, contacted a UK civil court and learned that her husband had managed to bypass the dowry settlement due to her under the terms of their Islamic marriage, leaving her with nothing.

“He has all we owned,” said Miah, who lives in London and whose name has been changed to protect her identity. 

Her problems arose because — like many Muslim women in the UK — she had “an Islamic marriage, but an English divorce” via a British civil court. More than a decade later, she is still struggling to put her life back together after finding herself stuck between these conflicting cultural and legal codes.

“The UK courts say there is nothing they can do — there is no law to help. Everywhere I turned was blocked to me,” she told Arab News. 

Rising divorce rates among British Muslim communities have prompted questions over the status of Islamic marriage — known in Arabic as “nikah” — in the UK. Lacking formal legal recognition, it denies couples the protections available in civil unions if the relationship breaks down.

“The state only affords you rights through the institution of marriage, without that you have no access to support,” said Samia Bano, a senior lecturer specializing in Muslim family law at SOAS University of London, a leading institution for Middle East studies. While the fallout can negatively affect both parties, women, in particular, are “often left in precarious situations,” she said.

In 2017, a survey by UK TV station Channel 4 of 1,000 British Muslim women found that almost two-thirds had a nikah-only marriage and that more than a quarter did not realize this meant they would be denied rights and protections they would have had for a marriage union that was legally recognized.

For these women, the discovery can be “devastating,” said Sarah Khan-Bashir, a lawyer specializing in sharia divorce. “They think they’ve got all the rights that husbands and wives should have, but they don’t, and they find out when it’s far too late.”

One client faced losing her home after her husband of 23 years died as she was unable to produce proof that he had divorced his first wife. Khan-Bashir had to explain to her that she was effectively a cohabitee with a nikah, news that left the client shaking visibly. 

Family lawyer Siddique Patel said that nikah-only marriage is becoming more popular. “Among the under-30s, a lot of Muslim men and women who were born and bred in the UK are coming to us with unregistered marriages.” 

Lack of awareness is a major factor, but sometimes the wealthier partner — usually the man — bypasses a civil ceremony to escape equal division of assets in a civil divorce. “They’re scared 50:50 splits will happen,” Patel said, adding that “women lose out more (often) than men.” 

Patel is part of the team behind the Register Our Marriage campaign, which is calling for compulsory registration of all marriages and the reform of the 1949 Marriage Act to cover all faiths. This 69-year-old law is no longer “fit for purpose” in a modern multicultural society, said Islamic law expert Aina Khan, who launched the campaign. The Act only recognizes religious ceremonies conducted in the Anglican, Quaker Christian and Jewish traditions.

Although people of all other religions are affected, others tend to register, while the campaign estimates that around 80 percent of newly married Muslims do not.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Dubayan, director general of the Islamic Cultural Center and the London Central Mosque, said UK Muslims need to have both ceremonies. “As British citizens, or people living in the UK, we make the civil marriage a condition because it’s required by law,” he said. 

Some couples prefer the nikah-only marriage, which can be resolved without recourse to the courts if the relationship breaks down.

“The Islamic marriage is easy. We don’t need an imam, we don’t need a registry office, we don’t need a specific building, it’s simple,” said Dr. Haitham Al-Haddad, a British Muslim scholar who sits on the board of the Islamic Sharia Council. “The civil relationship, if they want to end their marriage, is a nightmare for both sides,” he added.

Couples seeking an Islamic divorce can arrange their affairs through sharia councils or local imams. Contrary to concerns that they provide a “parallel legal system,” these bodies have no jurisdiction in the UK, but have significant sway among British Muslim communities.

Waiting outside Dr. Al-Haddad’s office above the East London Mosque to discuss dissolving her 18-year marriage, Sumaiya Ali, whose name has also been changed to protect her identity, said this route is “a lot easier” and cheaper than going through the UK divorce courts. “It’s good for me because I don’t have to do that,” said Ali.

In Islam, husbands can divorce their wives by saying the Arabic word “talaq” — meaning repudiation or divorce — three times, but wives are required to obtain consent from their husbands to end the marriage. Failing that, the sharia council is a woman’s only recourse for pursuing “khula” — the Islamic procedure in which the wife initiates the divorce.

Based on personal experience, Dr. Al-Haddad estimated that 75 to 80 percent of cases heard by Islamic councils in the UK are granted, but in other European countries where sharia councils are not available, women are “really suffering because there are no bodies to end their marriages,” he said.

With cuts to legal aid increasing the cost of civil divorce ceremonies, more British Muslim couples than ever are turning to sharia councils. In December 2016, the Casey Review on integration in UK communities suggested that the influence of sharia councils was growing and highlighted concerns over their “discriminatory practices against women.”

Across the UK, “experiences of sharia courts vary vastly” and while some provide the support women seek, there are “undoubtedly instances” where women’s rights are compromised, said Sajda Mughal, CEO of the JAN Trust, a non-profit organization supporting marginalized women.

Southall Black Sisters, a non-profit organization representing ethnic minority women in London, believes there should be one law for all marriages in England and Wales. It cites “incompetence”, “maladministration” and “flagrant human rights abuses” among the problems faced by women who use religious forums and tribunals to resolve family disputes.

When Miah, 44, told her story to an east London sharia council, hoping it would help her retrieve the money due under the terms of her nikah marriage, she said the response was “appalling.” She was advised her to go back to the husband as the divorce had been “English” rather than Islamic.

Having used Miah’s documents to secure his right to remain in the UK and lived off her earnings during their marriage, her husband — a cousin on her father’s side — began proceedings to bring a new wife over from Bangladesh. 

“He invited a relative to the wedding — that’s how I found out he had a second wife,” said Miah. This was the last straw after being forced to marry a man 13 years her senior who she accused of marrying her to get a UK passport.

Feeling let down by the law in the land of her birth as well as representatives of the faith she grew up with, Miah suffered a series of health and psychological setbacks.

Working with counsellors at Southall Black Sisters helped her to find stability, but she still feels hurt that her parents forced her to marry at the age of 12 when she was “still a little girl playing with my dolls.” 

More than 13 years after the divorce came through on March 16, 2005 — Miah’s birthday — she is still trying to put the past behind her. “When I see the date on the certificate, I think, that day I was born free and now on my birthday I am free again. I just look at it like that.” 


Israel steps up Gaza bombardment ahead of White House talks on ceasefire

Updated 14 min 7 sec ago
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Israel steps up Gaza bombardment ahead of White House talks on ceasefire

  • Israel’s Dermer due in US for talks on Gaza, Iran, wider deals
  • Israeli tanks push into Gaza City suburb, residents say

CAIRO/JERUSALEM: Palestinians in northern Gaza reported one of the worst nights of Israeli bombardment in weeks after the military issued mass evacuation orders on Monday, while Israeli officials were due in Washington for a new ceasefire push by the Trump administration.
A day after US President Donald Trump urged an end to the 20-month-old war, a confidant of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected at the White House for talks on a Gaza ceasefire, Iran, and possible wider regional diplomatic deals.
But on the ground in the Palestinian enclave there was no sign of fighting letting up.
“Explosions never stopped; they bombed schools and homes. It felt like earthquakes,” said Salah, 60, a father of five children, from Gaza City. “In the news we hear a ceasefire is near, on the ground we see death and we hear explosions.”
Israeli tanks pushed into the eastern areas of Zeitoun suburb in Gaza City and shelled several areas in the north, while aircraft bombed at least four schools after ordering hundreds of families sheltering inside to leave, residents said.
At least 38 people were killed in Israeli strikes on Monday, health authorities said, including 10 people killed in Zeitoun and at least 13 killed southwest of Gaza City. Medics said most of the 13 were hit by gunfire, but residents also reported an airstrike.
The Israeli military said it struck militant targets in northern Gaza, including command and control centers, after taking steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.
There was no immediate word from Israel on the reported casualties southwest of Gaza City.
The heavy bombardment followed new evacuation orders to vast areas in the north, where Israeli forces had operated before and left behind wide-scale destruction. The military ordered people there to head south, saying that it planned to fight Hamas militants operating in northern Gaza, including in the heart of Gaza City.

NEXT STEPS
A day after Trump called to “Make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back,” Israel’s strategic affairs minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu’s, was expected on Monday at the White House for talks on Iran and Gaza, an Israeli official said.
In Israel, Netanyahu’s security cabinet was expected to convene to discuss the next steps in Gaza.
On Friday, Israel’s military chief said the present ground operation was close to having achieved its goals, and on Sunday, Netanyahu said new opportunities had opened up for recovering the hostages, 20 of whom are believed to still be alive.
Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said that mediators Qatar and Egypt have stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but that no date has been set yet for a new round of truce talks.
A Hamas official said that progress depends on Israel changing its position and agreeing to end the war and withdraw from Gaza. Israel says it can end the war only when Hamas is disarmed and dismantled. Hamas refuses to lay down its arms.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel has agreed to a US-proposed 60-day ceasefire and hostage deal, and put the onus on Hamas.
“Israel is serious in its will to reach a hostage deal and ceasefire in Gaza,” Saar told reporters in Jerusalem.
Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger, speaking in Jerusalem on Monday alongside her Israeli counterpart, told reporters that Vienna was very concerned about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which she described as “unbearable.”
“Let me be frank, the suffering of civilians is increasingly burdening Israel’s relations with Europe. A ceasefire must be agreed upon,” she said, calling for the unconditional release of hostages by Hamas and for Israel to allow the uninterrupted flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israel says it continues to allow aid into Gaza and accuses Hamas of stealing it. The group denies that accusation and says Israel uses hunger as a weapon against the Gaza population.
The US has proposed a 60-day ceasefire and the release of half the hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and the remains of other Palestinians. Hamas would release the remaining hostages as part of a deal that guarantees ending the war.
The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack that led to Israel’s single deadliest day.
Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the whole 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.
More than 80 percent of the territory is now an Israeli-militarized zone or under displacement orders, according to the United Nations.


EU warns Armenia about Russian ‘hybrid threats’

Updated 16 min 19 sec ago
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EU warns Armenia about Russian ‘hybrid threats’

YEREVAN: The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas urged Armenia to protect its democratic values amid “hybrid threats” from Russia on a visit to Yerevan on Monday.
Ties between Armenia and its traditional ally Russia have been strained since Azerbaijan’s 2023 offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh, in which Moscow did not intervene.
Russia has for years been the main mediator between Armenia and Azerbaijan. But Brussels has played a stronger role recently, with Russia tied up with its Ukraine invasion.
Kallas visited several days after Armenia arrested a powerful cleric accused of plotting a coup against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
She said she discussed “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and specifically Russian hybrid activities in all countries” with Armenia’s foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
“Armenia’s commitment to democracy and freedom is key. These values must be protected, especially in the face of hybrid threats, disinformation, and foreign interference,” she said.
Mirzoyan warned Moscow against interfering in its internal political affairs after the arrest of powerful cleric Bagrat Galstanyan.
But speaking in Kyrgyzstan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned Armenia against turning away from Moscow and against “attacks on the canonical, millennia-old Armenian Apostolic Church.”
“We do not put any pressure on Armenian authorities, we will wait for clarity on all these issues,” Lavrov said according to Russian news agencies.
“But we all understand that if Armenia turns away from its allies, its closest partners and neighbors, it will hardly be in the interests of the Armenian people,” he added.
Mirzoyan said Lavrov “would do better not to interfere in Armenia’s internal affairs and domestic politics,” calling on Russian officials to “show greater respect for the sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia.”
Kallas said “the EU and Armenia have never been as close as we are now.”
She announced a new EU-Armenia partnership and a 270-million-euro “resilience and growth plan for 2024-2027.” She also welcomed Armenia’s move to initiate an EU accession process earlier this year.
Kallas re-affirmed the EU’s support to normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.


Egypt exceeds growth forecasts with 4.77% quarterly expansion, fastest in 3 years

Updated 21 min 45 sec ago
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Egypt exceeds growth forecasts with 4.77% quarterly expansion, fastest in 3 years

RIYADH: Egypt’s economy expanded 4.77 percent in the third quarter of fiscal year 2024/2025, its fastest pace in three years, as growth rebounded across non-oil manufacturing, tourism, and telecommunications, official data showed. 

According to preliminary figures released by the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, the acceleration — up from 2.2 percent a year earlier — lifted average growth for the first nine months of the fiscal year to 4.2 percent, surpassing earlier expectations and signaling growing resilience amid global uncertainties. 

The ministry added that full-year growth may exceed the government’s 4 percent target. 

This comes as Egypt’s economy has navigated significant turbulence and transformation over the past five years. After pandemic disruption and rising foreign debt, the overnment secured an $8 billion International Monetary Fund-backed rescue package in early 2024, floated its currency — triggering a 38 percent depreciation — and raised interest rates sharply.  

In its quarterly GDP note, the ministry stated: “Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, highlighted that the Egyptian economy continued its robust recovery in the third quarter of the current fiscal year, demonstrating growing resilience amid mounting global uncertainties.” 

It noted that higher-than-expected GDP growth was driven by strong performance in key sectors, reflecting the impact of Egypt’s macroeconomic policies and structural reform agenda. 

“Dr. Al-Mashat emphasized that this momentum builds on the solid recovery observed since the start of the fiscal year and aligns with the government’s broader strategy to promote private sector–led growth and advance the transition toward a more competitive, export-oriented economy focused on tradable goods and services,” the release added. 

Egypt’s Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat. moic.gov

Growth is expected to rebound from around 3 percent in 2023 to an estimated 4.2 percent by 2025, driven by private investment, infrastructure projects, and tourism recovery, according to World Bank projections.  

Inflation, peaking near 38 percent in late 2023, cooled to approximately 12 percent to 13 percent by early 2025.  

Persistent challenges include energy deficits, waning gas production, substantial external debt, and widening current-account and budget deficits 

“The strong outturn also reflects the continued implementation of the reform agenda, under the National Structural Reform Program, which is instrumental in maintaining macroeconomic stability, improving the governance of public investment, enhancing economic competitiveness, and expanding private sector participation,” the report stated. 

The program, launched in 2021, aims to diversify the Egyptian economy and enhance its competitiveness by focusing on strengthening key sectors, improving the business environment, and promoting sustainable and inclusive growth. 

The report noted that non-oil manufacturing output grew by 16 percent in the quarter, reversing a 4 percent contraction a year earlier.  

The industrial production index excluding crude oil and petroleum products expanded by 16.03 percent, led by significant gains in motor vehicles, which grew by 93 percent, ready-made garments by 58 percent, beverages by 34 percent, paper by 20 percent, and textiles by 17 percent. 

The sector contributed 1.9 percentage points to overall GDP growth. Exports of finished goods rose by 12.7 percent year on year in the quarter. 

The tourism sector also posted a strong performance, growing by 23 percent. Visitor arrivals reached 4 million, with tourist nights increasing to 41 million.  

Telecommunications expanded by 14.7 percent, while financial intermediation grew by 17.34 percent, insurance by 7.7 percent, electricity by 5.76 percent, and construction by 3.13 percent. 

On the expenditure side, net exports contributed approximately 2.7 percentage points to growth, as exports rose by 54.4 percent, outpacing an 18.7 percent increase in imports.  

Private investment increased by 24.2 percent year on year at constant prices, accounting for 62.8 percent of total implemented investments excluding inventory, and surpassing public investment for the third consecutive quarter.  

However, public investment contracted by 45.6 percent, resulting in a negative overall contribution of investment to GDP growth, estimated at minus 2.44 percentage points. 

Some sectors continued to decline. Suez Canal activity fell by 23.1 percent, reflecting ongoing geopolitical disruptions, while extractive industries contracted by 10.38 percent due to reduced oil and gas output. Petroleum activity declined by 9.52 percent, and natural gas extraction by 20.5 percent. 

Looking ahead, the government projects GDP growth of 4.5 percent for fiscal year 2025/2026 under the Economic and Social Development Plan approved by Parliament in June.  

The plan caps public investment at 1.158 trillion Egyptian pounds ($24.64 billion) and allocates about 47 percent of treasury-funded investments to health, education, and social services.

Despite regional instability following the outbreak of conflict between Israel and Iran, the government has maintained its growth outlook, citing relatively contained effects on global markets. 


Cyprus invites Turkiye’s Erdogan to summit despite long rift over 1974 invasion

Updated 32 min 47 sec ago
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Cyprus invites Turkiye’s Erdogan to summit despite long rift over 1974 invasion

NICOSIA: Cyprus said on Monday it would invite arch-foe Turkiye to a summit during its European Union presidency next year despite a decades-long rift over Ankara’s 1974 invasion and its backing of a breakaway state on the divided island.
Nicosia will hold the rotating EU presidency in the first six months of 2026 and plans a summit of regional leaders, including Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, on issues related to the Middle East, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said.
“You can’t change geography — Turkiye will always be a neighbor state to the Republic of Cyprus .. Mr.Erdogan will of course be welcome to this summit to discuss developments in the area,” he told journalists in Nicosia.
Christodoulides had earlier said the same in a British podcast aired on Monday in response to a question, saying the summit was planned for April 2026.
The Turkish presidency did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the invitation to Erdogan.
Cyprus and Turkiye have no diplomatic relations and hosting a Turkish president might prove challenging both because of the diplomatic tightrope arising from past conflict and logistical issues.
The eastern Mediterranean island was partitioned by a Turkish invasion in 1974 sparked by a brief Greek-inspired coup, and Ankara supports a breakaway, unrecognized state in north Cyprus where it stations thousands of troops.
Christodoulides heads a Greek Cypriot administration that represents all of Cyprus within the EU but with its powers stopping at a ceasefire line splitting the island into northern and southern sections. Erdogan has never visited the south.


Karachi TacoCop: Senior police officer runs Mexican food cart after dark

Updated 39 min 23 sec ago
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Karachi TacoCop: Senior police officer runs Mexican food cart after dark

  • DIG Usman Siddiqui Sombrero is behind the counter at taco cart in Bukhari Commercial Area and Seaview
  • Tacos, corn or flour tortillas filled with meat, vegetables, condiments like salsa or sour cream, are a novelty Pakistan

KARACHI: As evening settles over Karachi, a white and green rickshaw-turned-food truck named Sombrero parks quietly on the city’s bustling Seaview beach. 

Soon, the aromas of spiced meat and soft corn tortillas begin emanating from the cart, suggesting a seasoned chef at work.

But the man behind the counter is a top police officer with bullet wounds and decades of service in Pakistan’s most volatile regions.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Usman Siddiqui has spent 23 years chasing kidnappers, leading raids on criminal hideouts and running anti-corruption and narcotics operations across Pakistan’s Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Now, in a surprising second act, Siddiqui and his wife run a food cart, serving Mexican tacos, corn and flour tortillas filled with meat, vegetables, and condiments like salsa or sour cream.

“We made these tacos at home and they turned out to be really good,” Siddiqui told Arab News. “Friends encouraged us to set up at the Karachi Eat festival in 2022 and the response was immense.”

The idea eventually grew into Sombrero, first launched as a delivery service and then as a street food cart stationed in the Bukhari Commercial Area and at Seaview.

Each evening, Siddiqui and his wife, Hubna Usman, personally oversee its operation, ensuring everything from prep to quality control is handled with care.

“She takes the truck out at 6 or 630pm. It’s here [at Bukhari] till about 9-930pm and then it goes to Seaview McDonald’s until 1am,” Siddiqui explained.

FROM THE FRONTLINES TO THE FRYER

Born in Shikarpur, a historic city in Sindh, Siddiqui joined the police force in 2002 and has since held key positions, including Inspector General of Balochistan Prisons, Director General of Narcotics Control, and Director of Anti-Corruption. He has also served as Senior Superintendent of Police in seven districts, including two stints in Balochistan.

Much of his work has involved high-risk assignments, including the rescue of kidnapped children and operations against organized crime.

“The most satisfaction I get is when I rescue kidnapping victims, especially kids,” Siddiqui said. “Someone’s child is kidnapped. It’s a very tormenting situation for the entire family.”

He also survived a gunbattle in 2015 in which nine fellow officers were killed.

“I took a bullet in my arm,” he recalled quietly. “It was a very difficult encounter.”

Though few expect a police official to run a food cart, Siddiqui said cooking has always been his passion.

“I cook myself, even when I’m with my family at home,” he said. “There are certain things that I cook better than most of my staff, even if they’re trained professionals.”

AUTHENTICIY

Mexican cuisine, especially tacos, caught the couple’s interest after friends asked for a themed dinner.

“There was a lot of space for Mexican food,” Siddiqui said. “Nobody is doing it here, right? Nobody is doing it right.”

Indeed, tacos remain a novelty in Pakistan.

“Me and Usman both tried this recipe a hundred times to come closer to Mexican food,” said Hubna Usman, a former banker. “It was Usman who told me, ‘Yes, this is the final product.’ Because he’s a foodie, I listened to him.”

Their children were also involved in the early days of the business.

“Initially, it was all of us setting it up, me, my kids, and my wife. We used to drive the rickshaw ourselves. We used to wait on orders ourselves,” Siddiqui said.

Now the cart is run by trained staff but Siddiqui still joins at least once a week.

“Once a week, at least, we’ll come and assemble it ourselves or cook it ourselves”

Despite the late hours and his demanding day job as DIG of the Sindh police’s Rapid Response Force, Siddiqui insists the food cart is a labor of love.

“I can stay in the kitchen for two, three hours and cook without being distracted,” he said. “I like it when people enjoy my food and appreciate it.”

Customers agree.

“It’s actually really good because the flavors are really good. Especially the hot shell. It’s amazing,” said Zarian Turab, a regular at Sombrero. “Mexican food is difficult to find in Karachi. But they’re doing justice to it.”

Another customer, real estate professional Asad Ameen, said he had never tried Mexican food before discovering the cart.

“I often come here to Seaview for food and snacks, and I discovered Sombrero. I’ve tried their tacos and they’re absolutely delicious.”

Despite calls to “localize” the menu, Siddiqui remains firm on authenticity.

“This is about 80 to 90 percent authentic,” he said. “You will never see me making chicken tikka pizza tacos for you because that’s the local taste. It doesn’t work that way.”