30 October 2008
Victoria Park Plaza, London, 29 October 2008
Jack Straw has given a speech at the Islamic Finance and Trade Conference in London.
The Right Honourable Jack Straw MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice:
Introduction
Assalamu Alaikum [peace be with you].
I am really glad to be back with so many friends. Some of you may know that I represent a constituency with a very large Muslim community - one third of the population of Blackburn, in fact, are followers of the Islamic faith.
It is also a great pleasure to speak to such an illustrious group of people - leading figures across the worlds of finance, business and academia - and to support a conference which is furthering the important aim of making the United Kingdom 'the gateway to Islamic finance and trade'.
I am pleased to hear from Sher, Iqbal and other colleagues that you have had a very productive two days.
I want to use this occasion first of all to pay tribute to the significant and valuable contribution Muslim communities make year on year to life in the United Kingdom in the broadest sense. Of course a great and growing part of this contribution is to the British economy and financial sector, but I hope you will permit me to speak more broadly this afternoon.
Contribution of Muslims to British society
It is important that we build a greater understanding of the contribution of the Muslim community in this country. The relationship between Islam and Britain is not a new one; this country has been greatly enriched over the course of centuries by the Muslim history and heritage and by its learned and vibrant culture.
Chaucer refers to Islamic scholars and physicians in the prologue to his Canterbury Tales as early as 1386:
'With us there was a doctor of physic;
In all this world was none like him to pick
For talk of medicine and surgery;
Well read was he in Esculapius,
And Deiscorides, and in Rufus,
Hippocrates, and Hali, and Galen,
Serapion, Rhazes, and Avicen.'
But an even earlier connection - with a financial connotation - between Islam and Britain exists in the form of a gold coin displayed not far from here in the British Museum.
The coin dates back to the 8th century and to the reign of King Offa of Mercia. Because of what were believed to be good trade relations between this country and the Islamic nations of the East, the coin contains both the mark of England 'There is no deity but God, without partners' - and an Arabic inscription of the Shahadah - the first pillar of Islam.
More recently, the links between Islam and Britain were strengthened during the 1950s with the largest migration of Muslims into this country. It was in textile towns in Lancashire, in Yorkshire, in parts of Scotland, and in the industrial towns of the Midlands, that Muslims first began to bolster the British economy and demonstrate their entrepreneurial spirit. My own constituency, Blackburn, was one of the largest weaving centres up until the Second World War. It benefited from hundreds of Indian and Pakistani immigrants arriving from the Gujarat and Kashmir areas and joining the textile industry at a time when there was a desperate shortage of labour.
Britain's 1.6 million-strong Muslim community now makes a visible, tangible difference to all walks of life in Britain - from politics, law, the arts, sciences, and sport to business, finance, and academia.
I am privileged to have many Muslims among the very best of my friends. So I, and others who are not Muslims but who have the privilege of knowing and working closely with Muslims can testify to their positive influence.
Even those who lack this privilege cannot fail to notice the positive influence of British Muslims on this country, thanks to the many prominent and successful Muslim figures in the public eye. Boxing champion Amir Khan, business leader James Caan, Channel 4 News presenter Samira Ahmed, and economist Professor Mushtaq Khan, our own Iqbal Sacranie and many others come to mind.
But the influence of British Muslims can also be seen on a much wider scale, in the form of the increasing number of Muslims in the Armed Forces, in the Police, in hospitals and in schools - individuals who are there, in positions of great importance, because of their skills, their talent and their commitment to creating a better and fairer society for everyone.
In the realm of British politics, the four Members of Parliament of Muslim heritage - Shahid Malik, who has come to join me in the Ministry of Justice, Sadiq Khan, a Minister for the Department for Communities and Local Government, Mohammad Sarwar from Glasgow and Khalid Mahmood from Birmingham - and the Muslim Members of the House of Lords, including my own dear friend Lord Patel of Blackburn, bear testimony to the influence of the Muslim community on our country. I am proud of the fact that it was under this Labour government that the first Muslim MPs were elected, and the first Muslim Ministers and Peers appointed.
The Islamic faith is also now a vital and established part of British life. Islam is the second largest and the fastest growing religion in the UK, and British people are, more than ever before, enjoying and experiencing its religious and cultural traditions. This has been in some ways a turbulent decade for Islam. But good things have come from this as well. I see a powerful determination in my own constituency from people of all major faith groups to come together - for example, celebrating festivals together. This has been a fantastic way of breaking down barriers between communities.
Contribution to financial sector and economy
But of course one of the most important contributions of the Muslim community - indeed, to the tune of over £31 billion each year, by some estimates - is to our financial sector and economy.
This government is proud to have supported the development of the Islamic finance sector ever since 2003, when we first began to work towards establishing a level tax and regulatory playing field between conventional and Islamic finance. That same year, Howard Davies - then chair of the newly created Financial Services Authority - invited an audience of Middle East bankers to discuss the establishment of an Islamic bank in this country. As a result of this and the hard work of some in the audience, the first branch of the Islamic Bank of Britain opened in 2004 in Birmingham.
We have made significant progress since then; most obviously with the fundamental reform of stamp duty to facilitate Islamic mortgages and the extension of relief on those mortgages to companies as well as individuals.
But also by introducing measures to remove barriers for other sharia-compliant products and by addressing tax and regulatory issues so as to encourage the issuance of Sukuk [an Islamic financial certificate/security].
The effects are plain to see.
Islamic finance is now one of the most innovative financial service sectors in the UK. There are now five standalone Islamic banks, and over 20 conventional banks with sharia compliant windows. A number of Sukuk have been listed on the London Stock Exchange. And London has established itself as a major global hub for Islamic finance and the key centre in the Western world.
The basis for our commitment
These are remarkable achievements. And as Stephen Timms from HM Treasury explained to you yesterday, we as a government are committed to developing still further Islamic trade and finance in the United Kingdom.
This is partly - of course - because we want this country to benefit from the many opportunities Islamic trade and finance afford. We see much to gain from this - for London, in reinforcing its reputation as the leading financial centre in the world, and for the United Kingdom as a whole, in making our economy stronger and our financial services more competitive.
I was talking just before with colleagues about the important contribution the Islamic finance world has to make in redeveloping our institutions - to ensure that our financial instruments are asset based.
But benefit to the economy - enormously important though it is, particularly in the prevailing economic circumstances - is not the sole basis for our commitment to Islamic finance and trade.
It is also because we consider that everyone in the UK ought to have access to financial services which suit their faith, regardless of their faith.
This is part of a wider determination to build a society which encourages everyone to participate economically, socially, culturally at all levels. One in which differences are not just tolerated, but positively accommodated and celebrated. And one in which each of us has an equal opportunity to flourish, regardless of who we are or where we are from.
As a government, it has always been our aim to extend opportunity and prosperity to all - to all parts of the country and to all different communities. This is not about preferential treatment. It is about fairness.
For example, it is about employers with prayer rooms; faith schools; prisons with Muslim chaplains; Kosher and Halal food in work places and public services like hospitals; laws to tackle hate crimes; or the provision of financial products that fit with religious beliefs - we have worked to provide a space in which the rights and diversity of people of all faiths are protected, whilst at the same time setting a clear framework of acceptable behaviour for all citizens.
I have spoken about Sharia-compliant products. I now want to say a word about Sharia more widely. Because the same thinking which underpins our approach to both. Of course those who live in this country will always be governed by English law and will be subject to the jurisdiction of English or Scottish courts.
But there has been much speculation over Sharia law more widely in recent weeks, so it may be worth me setting out the true position.
Many dreadful things have been done in the name of mainstream religions over the centuries. Barbaric practices such as stoning have been - quite wrongly - justified by reference to Islam, for instance. The same was error or worse was made in earlier periods, for instance in the Christian Western European world when the state apparatus was used to run Inquisitions to torture and to burn heretics in countries like Spain. Unacceptable practices in the name of Islam also have parallels in other world religions.
I am firm in disagreeing with those who say that Sharia law should be made a separate system in the UK. And there has been much misinformation in recent weeks about this issue.
There are some countries which do have within their systems of law separate courts to deal with issues of inheritance and family law for different faith groups, such as India and Egypt.
But we do not in the UK and there are overwhelming arguments about why we should not move down this path.
The facts in the UK are these. If, in a family dispute, parties reach an agreement with the help of a Sharia council and want to have that decision recognised under national law, they can submit a consent order to an English court in the terms of the agreement.
But it is ultimately up to the English court to decide whether the agreement complies with English law. In family cases, the court will consider a range of issues including the future welfare of the parties and their children. No court will endorse an agreement which conflicts with English law.
Likewise, communities have the option to use religious councils to help them come to agreements about other personal disputes. But those agreements will always be subject to English law and cannot be enforced through the English courts, apart from in the very limited circumstances where the religious council acts as an arbitrator.
The statutory base for such arbitration in these cases is the Arbitration Act 1996 - and nothing has changed in the 12 years since that legislation was passed.
Crucially, any member of any religious community - or indeed, any other community - has the right to refer to an English court, particularly if they feel pressured or coerced to resolve an issue in a way in which they feel uncomfortable.
But given the fact that speculation abounds on this point, let me say once again: There is nothing whatever in English law that prevents people abiding by Sharia principles if they wish to, provided they do not come into conflict with English law. There is no question about that. But English law will always remain supreme, and religious councils subservient to it.
It is worth me underlining the fact that nothing has changed to the law or to the government's position. There has been ill-informed press comment suggesting that the ability to apply to an English court for a consent order for a Sharia ruling is somehow a new development. It is not. We have not changed the position on Sharia law established by the previous Conservative government in 1996 and nor do we have any intention of doing so. The position remains as before: there is no room for parallel legal systems. Regardless of religious belief, we are all equal before the law.
Diversity
Let me just make some concluding remarks. It is the very diversity of Britain - and the opportunities afforded to everyone - which underpins our success, our dynamism and what makes so many individuals and families want to settle here. Our policies in relation to Islamic finance and trade, like our policies across the board, must continue to promote that diversity.
This government's commitment to embracing Islamic finance and trade also derives from the fact that it is a way of forging links between countries and building relationships between peoples across the world. A way of reminding us that there is far, far more that unites than divides us.
Our relationship with the Muslim world has sometimes been portrayed as one of conflict and tension, fuelled only by those who seek artificially to polarise the debate about violent extremism as being one between Muslims and non-Muslims.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that the divide is between a tiny minority of criminals full of hatred, and a vast majority who must unite against them.
Common understanding and purpose, achieved through means like trade links and economic cooperation, can rebalance this debate and act as a powerful tool against violent extremists themselves. It can allow us - the vast majority - to ensure our voices are heard clearly and to join together in finding a way to defeat violent extremists and the terrorism they espouse.
Conclusion
I would like to finish where I began, by paying tribute to the vital contribution of Muslims to life in the United Kingdom, not least in terms of Islamic trade and finance. I am enormously admiring of your achievements, your successes, and of the way you use your talent and your time in service of the broader community.
I must say that I bring the greetings and best wishes of the Prime Minister and Chancellor, who very much regret that they cannot be here.
All of this goes to show something I have said before, but something worth repeating: British and Muslim are complementary not contradictory. The most eloquent, living proof of this is in the people that are here this afternoon - and in those who will shortly be accepting the esteemed Islamic Finance Awards. British Muslims are where Britain and Islam intersect. Celebrating their success is the best way of showing that these two identities can and do thrive in the same place, in the same person, in the same country.
Thank you.