Introduction

In twenty-first century Britain the interaction between law and religion is rarely far from the headlines. On 3 September 2002, Shabina Begum, a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl was prevented from wearing her jilbab at school. On 8 January 2005, Jerry Springer: The Opera was broadcast on BBC2 amid mass protests outside the BBC Television Centre. On 7 February 2008, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, delivered a lecture on the interaction between English and Islamic law at the Royal Courts of Justice. Each of these events prompted a passionate and wide-ranging debate about the extent to which the law should accommodate religious difference. Moreover, these three events were by no means isolated incidents.

The first decade of the century has witnessed numerous political, social and legal developments concerning religious matters. At the political and social levels, the short- and long-term implications of multiculturalism, religious resurgence and extremism have dominated global and domestic news agendas and public life. The shadow of 9/11 has been cast not only upon the ramifications of the so-called War on Terror, but also upon national debates concerning the extent to which religious difference should be accommodated. These socio-political developments have, of course, impacted upon the law. Debates concerning the wearing of religious symbols and dress in schools and at work, the relationship between religious liberty and free speech and the status of Islamic law and courts are just some of the issues which are symptomatic of an increasingly urgent interest in questions concerning the extent to which State law should accommodate religious difference.