Curriculum for Cohesion contributes to the Serious Crime Seminar

By Dr. Matthew Wilkinson

17 September 2015. Dr. Matthew Wilkinson delivered a talk entitled,’Complementary partners or competing alternatives? English Law, Islamic Shari’a and Serious Crime’ to c.100 judges at the Serious Crime Seminar under the auspices of the Judicial College. The talk addressed the issues of the factors involved in ‘Muslim’ criminality in terms of noxious absences and malign presences in the lives of some young British Muslims, whether the types of crime that appear to be related to Islam and Islamic values are in fact related or not and began a discussion of how the principles (maqasid) of the Islamic shari’a are related to the principles of English Common Law. The talk prompted a lively discussion about legal theory and practice amongst senior judges and has led to a number of other significant opportunities for our work.