Whether Muslims want elements of sharia law to have the force of civil law or not (not, it is argued in last week’s Spectator), the principle of different jurisdictional codes existing side by side has been with us for thousands of years.
The general principle of private settlement of disputes, on any terms agreeable to all parties, is very ancient. Athenians insisted that an attempt was made at a private settlement before almost any case could be allowed to come to court. In Rome, where the praetors acted rather like chief justices, the praetor peregrinus (apparently) controlled proceedings involving foreigners. If that is so, it suggests that alien cultures somehow needed different treatment.
When Romans took over a province, they were perfectly happy to let local custom prevail over wide areas, but the provincial governor could impose Roman law where he so chose.
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