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The Politics of Ethnic Diversity in the British Isles pp 90–115Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal and ‘Forced Marriage’

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Politics of Identity and Citizenship Series ((CAL))

Abstract

This chapter deals with the multiculturalisation of liberalism through the use of state-supported Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms within Islamic law, with the case of the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal (MAT) and its recent proposals against ‘forced marriage’, which, according to this tribunal, exists:

Where consultation is the least of the priorities and intention of the parents. Instead, the son/daughter will be told firmly the wishes of their parents and would be expected to comply.

(MAT 2008a)1 Since the end of the 1990s, there has been media attention to ‘forced marriage’ among young British South Asian Muslims. The definitions retained here are the ones elaborated by the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, for whom, apart from arranged marriage,2 there are two types of constrained marriage: coerced marriage (see definition below) and forced marriage.

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Authors
  1. Anouk Guiné
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Sorbonne Nouvelle, France

    Romain Garbaye  & Pauline Schnapper  & 

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© 2014 Anouk Guiné

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Guiné, A. (2014). The Muslim Arbitration Tribunal and ‘Forced Marriage’. In: Garbaye, R., Schnapper, P. (eds) The Politics of Ethnic Diversity in the British Isles. Palgrave Politics of Identity and Citizenship Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137351548_6

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