Islamic ADR in Britain: Diversity, Hybridity, and Women’s Experiences of Community Justice

Key developments in recent decades have contributed to Islamic community justice mechanisms in Britain becoming highly politicized, with a disproportionate focus on Sharia councils. The Sharia council phenomenon, however, does not encompass the full diversity of Islamic Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Britain. This article starts by providing a more comprehensive outlook on Sharia-based ADR mechanisms in Britain by exploring a variety of forums and actors involved in this line of work, including individual imams and Sheikhs, established and lesser-known Sharia councils, and other forums engaged in religious mediation and arbitration. Based on new empirical research conducted with women users and service providers, the article goes on to reflect on ADR processes of mediation and arbitration and reveals that religious actors frequently move back and forth between counselling, negotiating, mediating, and arbitrating within one case and one setting. Finally, the article explores women’s experiences and narratives about faith-based community justice, reflecting particularly on divorce cases which involve domestic violence. Insights into how such cases have been handled by community mechanisms are provided, highlighting where the latter are falling short and identifying avenues for going forward with setting appropriate procedures and responses to protect the welfare of Muslim women.