A Muslim cleric who has worked towards opening sharia law courts in the UK has
been questioned over historic rape claims.
Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi, 51, voluntarily spoke to oicers looking into claims two Dutch
women were sexually abused when they were children in the 1990s.
The women went to West Midlands Police over allegations they were attacked while
staying with the sheikh’s religious community in the UK, Dutch newspaper De
Telegraaf reported.
Mr Siddiqi told the paper the claims were ‘unfounded’ and were part of a campaign
to discredit his family.
A West Midlands Police spokesman said: ‘A 51-year-old man from Nuneaton has been
voluntary interviewed in relation to allegations of historical rape cases. Enquiries
remain on-going.’
Lawyer Sheikh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi is principal of a religious college outside
Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
He was a leading igure in protests against Charlie Hebdo magazine after 11 of their
journalists were massacred by Muslim extremists
He helped set up Muslim Arbitration Tribunal panels around the UK, described in
2008 as Britain’s irst legally binding sharia courts.
Speaking about the courts at the time, he said: ‘This method is called alternative
dispute resolution, which for Muslims is what the sharia courts are.’
The courts were criticised at the time, with then shadow home secretary Dominic
Grieve said: ‘These tribunals have no place in passing binding decisions in divorce or
criminal justice hearings.’