"There is one law we are all expected to abide by," Mr Costello said.
"It is the law enacted by the Parliament under the Australian Constitution.
"If you can't accept that, then you don't accept the fundamentals of what Australia is and what it stands for."
Something to keep very seriously in mind:
To understand Islamic Law one must first understand the assumptions of Islam and the basic tenets of the religion. The meaning of the word Islam is "submission or surrender to Allah's (God's) will." Therefore, Muslims must first and foremost obey and submit to Allah's will. Mohammed the Prophet was called by God to translate verses from the Angel Gabriel to form the most important book in Islam, the Quran, Muslims believe.
There are over 1.2 billion Muslims today worldwide, over 20% of the world's population. "By the year 2000, one out of every four persons on the planet will be a Muslim," Rittat Hassan estimated in 1990. There are 35 nations with population over 50% Muslim, and there are another 21 nations that have significant Muslim populations. There are 19 nations which have declared Islam in their respective constitutions. The Muslim religion is a global one and is rapidly expanding. The sheer number of Muslims living today makes the idea of putting Islamic Law into a footnote in contemporary writings inappropriate.
The most difficult part of Islamic Law for most westerners to grasp is that there is no separation of church and state. The religion of Islam and the government are one. Islamic Law is controlled, ruled and regulated by the Islamic religion. The theocracy controls all public and private matters. Government, law and religion are one. There are varying degrees of this concept in many nations, but all law, government and civil authority rests upon it and it is a part of Islamic religion. There are civil laws in Muslim nations for Muslim and non-Muslim people. Sharia is only applicable to Muslims. Most Americans and others schooled in Common Law have great difficulty with that concept. The U.S. Constitution (Bill of Rights) prohibits the government from "establishing a religion." The U.S. Supreme Court has concluded in numerous cases that the U.S. Government can't favor one religion over another. That concept is implicit for most U.S. legal scholars and many U.S. academicians believe that any mixture of "church and state" is inherently evil and filled with many problems. They reject all notions of a mixture of religion and government.
To start with such preconceived notions limits the knowledge base and information available to try and solve many social and criminal problems. To use an analogy from Christianity may be helpful. To ignore what all Christian religions except your own say about God would limit your knowledge base and you would not be informed or have the ability to appreciate your own religion. The same is true for Islamic Law and Islamic religion. You must open your mind to further expand your knowledge base. Islamic Law has many ideas, concepts, and information that can solve contemporary crime problems in many areas of the world. To do this you must first put on hold the preconceived notion of "separation of church and state."
Islamic Law: Myths and Realities By Dennis J. Wiechman, Jerry D. Kendall, and Mohammad K. Azarian
How prevalent are religious courts in the United States? What is the framework within which Catholic, Jewish, Islamic courts mediate issues within their communities?
> How prevalent are religious courts in the United States?
I am not aware of ANY religious courts in the United States. I do know of "counseling" that is provided by other religions, however, this is not the same thing as what Muslims want. The counseling takes place when civil laws are not broken (or are in addition to whatever happens in civil court). It does not take the place of civil court. That is what the Muslims seem to want. I also believe that should not be allowed.