Greece Limits Power of Sharia Law for Muslims; Muslims Can Now Take Disputes to Greek Court

The Greek parliament this week made the practice of Islamic sharia law in family disputes optional for the country's Muslim minority, changing a century-old policy, the Eurasia Review website reports today (January 12, 2018).


Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called the vote an "historic step" that "extended equality before the law to all Greeks."


The legislation will allow Muslim litigants to opt for a Greek court to resolve family disputes, rather than appealing to Islamic jurists known as muftis.


For family law matters, Greek Muslims generally seek recourse to muftis for things like divorce, child custody, and inheritance. Rights groups have been critical of sharia law, saying that it frequently discriminates against women.