In the Name of Allah Islamic Mediators and Germany's 'Two Legal Systems'.

In the Name of Allah Islamic Mediators and Germany's 'Two Legal Systems'.(Spiegel).By Joachim Wagner. For years, Islamic mediators have been stepping in to solve family disputes and marital problems among Muslims in Germany. A new book takes a closer look at how their reliance on elements of Sharia law, instead of German law, affects Muslim women.Arnold Mengelkoch, the official in charge of immigrant affairs in Berlin's Neukölln district, is familiar with the "informal Islamic family justice system" in his neighborhood.He estimates that 10 to 15 percent of Muslims in the religiously conservative community use the system to resolve their conflicts.
"There are two legal systems," says Sabine Scholz, a family law attorney in the northern city of Flensburg, "a German one and an Islamic one, which puts women at a disadvantage."
For some Muslim immigrants, Islamic law is more important than German law. Mathias Rohe, an Islamic law expert in the Bavarian city of Erlangen, encountered cases in his field studies "in which Muslim parties performed marriages or divorces, for example, exclusively in accordance with traditional Islamic norms."
Some Muslims mistrust government organizations, says Rohe, who sees himself as an intermediary between Islamic and German legal cultures. According to Rohe, some people are trying "to establish a religious parallel structure, because they do not want to submit to the institutions of a secular, non-Islamic state."
As a result, imams and arbitrators in Berlin, the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein apply Sharia law on a daily basis, even though it is sometimes incompatible with the German constitution and German family law. In particular, Islamic law discriminates against women in the following ways:

• They are not permitted to marry non-Muslims;
• In an arbitration, family unity takes precedence over the woman's right of self-determination, even in cases involving violence;
• In a divorce, the man receives sole custody of the children;
• Polygamy and marriages with minors are allowed; under German law, 16-year-old girls can only marry with the permission of a family court.

Sometimes, however, the Muslim judges are willing to stretch Sharia law. The Islamic law rejects forced marriages, which have their roots in old traditions. But clerics often have no qualms about marrying underage girls, even if it's against their will. Terres des Femmes, an organization devoted to protecting women, repeatedly sees 14- and 15-year-old girls, especially from Kurdish and Albanian backgrounds, who are supposed to be married by imams.Read the full story Here.