ABSTRACT
In 2003, some members of the Muslim community in Ontario announced a proposal to establish an Islamic arbitration tribunal to allow Muslims living in Ontario to resolve disputes using the principles of Islamic personal law known as shari’a. Unlike other provinces in Canada, Ontario allows private, legally binding arbitration over family-related disputes and has done so since 1991.1
While other religious communities – Mennonites, Catholics, Jews, as well as Ismaili Muslims – had already organized arbitration services for their members, not until 2003 did anyone in the broader Muslim community propose to do so. The proposal was advanced by members of the Canadian Society of Muslims through the Society’s Islamic Institute of Civil Justice (IICJ) (Mumtaz Ali 2004). The Ontario public, including many Muslims swiftly and strongly objected to the proposal, specifically in the area of family law and in relation to policies governing divorce and custody.
