It may be hard to believe, but a British Muslim think tank has discovered that some Imams are biased against women.

A Muslim think tank has found some UK Imams discriminate against women when enforcing Islamic Sharia law.

Scholars at the Centre for Islamic Pluralism (CIP) interviewed 90 Muslims in London, the West Midlands, Lancashire and West Yorkshire. They found some women did not get fair hearings in forced marriage, arranged marriage and domestic violence matters.

Sharia law governs every aspect of a Muslim’s life, and Imams or scholars give out rulings on how to live by God’s wishes. Some mosques hold Sharia courts.

The CIP’s international director and its report’s author Dr Irfan Al-Alawi said women seeking help in situations like forced marriages often turned to Imams for a ruling on what to do. “Our research shows that domestic violence and forced marriages seem to be the dominant problems that women are facing and seeking Sharia rulings on. In every case it is a male who is the defendant coming from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. Some ladies have approached the Imams and the Imams… have encouraged the ladies to stay with their husband or with their in-laws, whereby they have a duty bound under the Sharia.”

He said he knew of a 15-year-old girl in Pakistan who was tricked into marriage over the telephone with a 40-year-old man from Sheffield, who had the mental age of a four-year-old child. “The Home Office refused to recognise the validity of the marriage but the Islamic Sharia Council in Britain accepted it,” said Dr Al-Alawi.

He said Imams should be working at the heart of their communities showing leadership, but some were failing to do so. He accused some Imams of “cashing in” on the Sharia system. On average it may cost someone £250 to go and get an Islamic divorce, he said.

(Hat tip: steerpike.)