Islamic Sharia Council repay the dower to receive an Islamically recognized divorce. The Islamic Sharia Council must recognise a British divorce, by virtue of the law of the land, if the petitioner shows them a decree absolute. However, the Islamic Sharia Council is displeased if the dower remains unpaid. Writer, broadcaster and academic Myriam Francois-Cerrah has pointed to "serious problems" with the councils, citing a case in which a Muslim woman seeking advice was reportedly directed to a "controversial cleric" who urged her to give up her custody dispute with her husband and "hand over full custody of her seven year old child"
Application of Islamic law by country and Ottoman laws. There are eighteen official religions in Lebanon, each with its own family law and religious courts. For the application of personal status laws, there are three separate sections: Sunni, Shia and non-Muslim. The Law of 16 July 1962 declares that Islamic law governs personal status laws of Muslims, with Sunni and Ja'afari Shia jurisdiction of Islamic law. Schedule 9 of Malaysian constitution recognizes Islamic law as a state subject; in other words, the states of Malaysia have the power to enact and enforce sharia. Islamic criminal law statutes have been passed at the state level in Terengganu,