Islamic Divorce in North America: A research study

In July of 2006, Dr. Julie Macfarlane
received a grant from the Social Science and Humanities Council of Canada
to conduct an empirical research project on the topic of Faith Based
Dispute Resolution, and specifically Islamic Family Law as it relates
to religious divorce. The Institute for Social Policy and Understanding,
of which Dr Macfarlane is a Fellow, is also a partner in this research.

The goal of the project is not to evaluate whether the use of Islamic
divorce is “good” or “bad”, but to understand
why people choose to use such processes and what it means to them. Dr.
Macfarlane has interviewed more than 110 people to date, from the Imams
who often oversee Islamic divorce processes, to the men and women who
choose to use the Islamic divorce process as well as those who are community
specialists and leaders (for example Muslim lawyers, social and community
workers within Muslim communities). Her grant continues until 2009.