Are there areas in england under sharia law
Executive summary
No part of England is governed by Sharia as state law: Sharia is not part of the law of England and Wales and UK courts and statutes remain supreme, but a patchwork of community bodies—commonly called Sharia councils or tribunals—offer religious guidance and arbitration that some residents use for family and personal matters [1] [2] [3].
1. What the question really asks — law, enforcement or practice?
The core query is whether any geography or institution in England is legally subject to Islamic law as a parallel legal system; this must be separated from whether Muslim communities voluntarily use religious adjudication for private matters, a distinction central to official reviews and Parliamentary briefings that repeatedly note personal choice and the supremacy of national law [3] [2].
2. The legal reality: Sharia is not state law in England
Multiple official and academic sources make the same point: Sharia does not form part of the law of England and Wales and Sharia councils have no statutory authority or legally binding status under civil law [1] [2] [4] [3].
3. What does exist on the ground — councils, arbitration and estimates of scope
There are religious bodies—Sharia councils, the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal and analogous community tribunals—that offer rulings or advice on marriage, divorce, inheritance and other personal matters; estimates of how many such bodies operate vary widely, from roughly 30 up to the oft-cited 85 figure, and the exact number is disputed in reporting and in government reviews [5] [6] [7].
4. How those bodies interact with English law — limits and mechanisms
Where religious tribunals act as private arbitrators they can have enforceable effect only if parties consent and the process operates within the Arbitration Act 1996 and the bounds of English law; UK courts retain the power to overrule or set aside religiously based outcomes that conflict with statutory rights [4] [2] [6] [3].
5. The political and social debate — concerns, reforms and alarm
Critics argue some Sharia councils disadvantage women or create de facto parallel practices in family life, prompting repeated calls for regulation or bans from figures such as Baroness Cox and critical coverage from parts of the media and opposition politicians; defenders point to voluntary use, comparators in other faith communities (e.g., Beth Din), and the practical role of faith-based dispute resolution for those seeking religious legitimacy [6] [8] [9] [7].
6. Where sensationalism and headlines mislead — claims of “Sharia zones” and takeover
Some outlets and sources frame the issue as Sharia “taking over” places or create images of enforced Sharia zones; government reviews and legal briefings caution that such claims conflate informal religious practice and community pressure with legally enforceable systems, and specific claims about areas being under Sharia control lack corroborated legal footing in the reviewed material [10] [1] [11] [12].
7. Bottom line answer
No areas of England are legally under Sharia law; what exists is a network of informal religious bodies that many people consult for faith-based rulings or mediation, but those bodies have no inherent civil-law authority and their decisions can be displaced or enforced only within the frameworks of consent, arbitration law and the overriding jurisdiction of English courts [2] [4] [3].