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82 UMKC L. Rev. 1077 (2013-2014)
Religion and Family Law: The Possibility of Pluralistic Cooperation

handle is hein.journals/umkc82 and id is 1101 raw text is: RELIGION AND FAMILY LAW: THE POSSIBILITY OF PLURALISTIC COOPERATION Najmeh Mahmoudjafari* I. INTRODUCTION As people plan various parts of their lives, they try to balance the requirements of the law and their religious ideology, especially in family-related decisions. Sometimes the principles of family law and religion conflict, leading to political debates on how to facilitate coexistence and cooperation between a person's civil and religious duties. States have a history of accommodating religious doctrines in their laws to address the needs of large minority ethnic and religious communities. Although the existence of religious accommodations in the law is nothing new, the debate has come to the forefront due to legislative bills' proposed in a number of states against the use of Islamic law,2 also known as Shari'a Law, in any type of legal proceeding, including arbitration and the enforcement of contractual provisions. The bills were informally known as the anti-Shari'a laws.' Thus, the interplay between laws and religious doctrines has re-emerged, once again, as a topic of discussion in political and scholarly circles. The objective of this Comment is to analyze the historical accommodation of legal pluralism and the possibility of continued cooperation between family law and religious rules to facilitate multiculturalism. This Comment has a specific emphasis on how laws regarding marriage, divorce, and other family-related topics have historically accommodated minority groups and how these legal systems can seamlessly continue to do so for other minority groups within the parameters of state and federal public policy. This Comment will explore how accommodation of legal pluralism may evolve in the future, and it compares possible arbitration and tribunal system models based on experiences in the United Kingdom and Canada, where viable religious arbitration programs have been developed and implemented. The intent of this Comment is to show that while this is currently a hot topic; religious expression and family law have never been mutually exclusive. Religious ideology has always played a significant role in the structure and * J.D. Candidate, University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Law, 2014; B.A. Economics and Spanish (Double Major), University of Missouri - Kansas City, 2010. I would like to thank Professor Mary Kay Kisthardt for her mentorship and advice throughout the writing process. This Comment is dedicated to my parents. Words cannot express my deepest gratitude. 1 H.R.J. Res. 1056, 52d Leg., 2d Reg. Sess., § 1(C), (Okla. 2010), available at https://www.sos.ok. gov/documents/legislation/52nd/2010/2R/HJ/1056.pdf; H.R. 597, 2011 Leg., Reg. Sess., § 1(C) (Ala. 2011) (Constitutional Amendment), available at http://e-lobbyist.com/gaits/text/282975. 2 Religious doctrines that Muslims follow in various aspects of their lives. The Shari'a principles come from the Holy Qur'an (religious scripture) and the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). See Mary Wisniewski, U.S. Judge Bars Oklahoma From Implementing Anti-Sharia Law, REUTERS (Aug. 17, 2013), http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2013/08/17/u-s-judge-bars-oklahoma-from- implementing-anti-sharia-law.