'Deeply disturbing' Islamic wills denying women inheritance to be enshrined in British law

New guidance from The Law Society means that High Street solicitors will be able to write Islamic wills which would have to be recognised by British courts.

But the society has been accused of sacrificing hard-won equal rights, after instructing those drawing up Islamic wills to recognise that women heirs typically receive half the inheritance of male heirs.

The documents can also prevent children born out of wedlock and those who are adopted from being legitimate heirs.

Any relatives who were not married in a Muslim wedding can also be excluded.

Campaigners have warned that the move could pave the way for a 'parallel legal system' for the UK's Muslim communities.

And Baroness Cox, who is leading a Parliamentary campaign to protect women from religiously sanctioned discrimination, branded the decision "deeply disturbing", adding that she planned to raise the issue with ministers.

She said: "This violates everything that we stand for. It would make the Suffragettes turn in their graves.

"Everyone has freedom to make their own will and everyone has freedom to let those wills reflect their religious beliefs. 

"But to have an organisation such as The Law Society seeming to promote or encourage a policy which is inherently gender discriminatory in a way which will have very serious implications for women and possibly for children is a matter of deep concern."

The guidance allows wills drafted to fit Islamic traditions while being valid under British law - and means that Sharia principles could effectively override British practice in some disputes.

Sharia law is not currently recognised in British law, but a network of unofficial Sharia courts has developed in Muslim communities.

These courts, along with non-Muslim legal firms, could now be given responsibility for drawing up wills that could be recognised by British courts.

The new guidance explains how inheritances can be divided in Islamic custom.

It stated: "The male heirs in most cases receive double the amount inherited by a female heir of the same class.

"Non-Muslims may not inherit at all, and only Muslim marriages are recognised.

"Similarly, a divorced spouse is no longer a Sharia heir, as the entitlement depends on a valid Muslim marriage existing at the date of death. This means you should amend or delete some standard will clauses."

Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of the National Secular Society, said: "This guidance marks a further stage in the British legal establishment’s undermining of democratically determined human rights-compliant law in favour of religious law from another era and another culture. 

"British equality law is more comprehensive in scope and remedies than any elsewhere in the world. 

"Instead of protecting it, The Law Society seems determined to sacrifice the progress made in the last 500 years."