"About two-thirds of Muslim marriages are not being registered under the Marriages Act, which is illegal"

More on British sharia courts.

"About two-thirds of Muslim marriages are not being registered under the Marriages Act, which is illegal," said Neil Addison, a barrister specialising in the law on religion. "A woman with such a marriage would have no choice but to go to a sharia tribunal … But it's not the way arbitration is supposed to work."

MacEoin said: "By demanding marriage under Muslim law, the divorce is determined by the man saying 'I divorce you' three times. Divorce under Islamic law also affects the wife's entitlement to alimony, custody of children, and who keeps the family house. These will all be decided by sharia law and will be discriminatory towards the woman in all cases."...

Many Muslim lawyers have compared the operation of sharia courts to the Jewish beth din, which also operate as arbitration tribunals under UK law, a comparison which is questioned by the report.

The report disputes the comparison. "These courts are not operating within the same disciplines as the beth din", said Addison. "The beth din acknowledge that 'the law of the land is the law.' and a rabbi cannot perform a synagogue marriage ceremony unless a registrar is present to simultaneously register the marriage under English law."

"Imams and mosques are performing marriage ceremonies that are not registered under English law," Addison added. "They are the only religion that are doing it … Hindus and Sikhs have registered their temples under the Marriages Act."