In an attempt to stop the encroachment of Sharia-compliant courts, British Baroness Caroline Cox has introduced the Arbitration and Mediation Services (Equality) Bill into the House of Lords.  It is meant to halt the encroachment of sharia law into every aspect of British society. 

This is juxtaposed against the news that "the first Sharia-compliant pension fund has been launched in the UK."  Couched in soothing words to the Muslim consumer, the Sharia compliant Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) are meant to alleviate concerns as "fresh warnings are issued daily that Britons will not have enough money to live on when they retire.  Many British Muslims are party to this due to the limited choices of Sharia compliant products available to them...." [thus] "Sharia compliant products and investments can be best compared with the values of socially responsible investing."  This euphemistic ambiguity gets little clarity.

Yet, Sharia law in Britain flies in the face of the notion of one law for all since the funds are based on the Koran and structured around Islamic Sharia law.  This is yet another move in the "gradual establishment of parallel Islamic financial and legal systems in British public life."

In 2010 a report entitled "Sharia Law in Britain" highlighted the encroachment of Sharia law in Great Britain.  In June 2009, 85 Islamic courts were operating in Great Britain and sharia court rulings were "enforceable with the full power of the judicial system."  Thus, Muslim women had to abide by the discriminatory Sharia laws instead of the more equitable British law.  Lady Cox's bill would "firmly outlaw the practice of giving women's testimony half the weight of men's.  Though the Bill does not mention Islam, Lady Cox stated that while there "is no desire to interfere in the internal theological affairs of religious groups...[the Bill] seeks to stop parallel legal or 'quasi-legal' systems taking root in [Great Britain]." 

Yet, Sharia compliance has infiltrated Great Britain in sharia compliant baby bonds, the Self-Invested Personal Pensions; and the Sharia compliant HSBC Life Amanah Pension Fund which proclaims that "it is the first pension fund that offers Muslims conventional equity risk and return without compromising Islamic principles."

In fact, Great Britain has become the "main center for Islamic finance outside the Muslim world."    According to the Islamic Bank of Britain "the basis for all Islamic finance lies in the principles of the Sharia, or Islamic Law, which is taken from the Qur'an and from the example of Prophet Muhammad...."  Moreover, the IBB states that "[c]entral to Islamic finance is the fact that money itself has no intrinsic value.  As a matter of faith, a Muslim cannot lend money to, or receive money from someone and expect to benefit -interest (known as riba) is not allowed.  To make money from money is forbidden...."

It is projected that in 2030, the British Muslim population will be over 5.5 million.  It is currently just shy of three million.  They can now sport the country's first Sharia Master Card or the Cordoba Gold Master Card, an "ethically inspired, Sharia compliant" credit card.  Already in 2007, the Islamic Bank of Britain expanded its presence to cater to the Muslim market in Wales. 

The name of Cordoba is noteworthy.  To Western ears, Cordoba suggests rapprochement and interfaith dialogue.  The real story is somewhat different.  The Christian city was conquered by Muslims around 711 and its inhabitants slaughtered or enslaved. To Muslim ears, Cordoba connotes conquest and domination -- stealth jihadism on the march.

This allusion is particularly telling as Britain continues on the dhimmitude path by permitting "tax relief on Sharia compliant mortgages," sanctioning 85 Islamic Sharia courts currently operating in the country, bowing to the creation of an Islamic financial system based on Sharia law, and ignoring violence by Muslims in the name of political correctness. 

Eileen can be reached at middlemarch18@gmail.com

See also: Britain Creating Parallel Islamic Financial System