Canadian Responses to Islamic Law
The Faith-based Arbitration Debates
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rsth.v32i1.101Keywords:
family law, Faith-based Arbitration, religious freedom, pluralism, religion and public life, multiculturalism, CanadaAbstract
The 2005 Faith-based Arbitration debates in Ontario serve as yet another recent example of a dramatic clash between religion and state to have occurred in Canada. The debates pitted two rights—each with equal significance under the Canadian Charter—against one another: freedom of religion and gender equality. What was noteworthy about these debates, however, was the way in which the Islamic faith alone was singled out, and the way in which Islamaphobic sentiments seemed to drive the debates. Despite the province’s decision to ban Faith-based Arbitration, however, the matter will likely re-emerge again owing to several factors, yet again raising essential questions regarding Canada’s stance on accommodation and religious freedoms.
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