Islamic scholar proposes reforms for divorce procedures in Denmark

For seven years, Islamic scholar Jesper Petersen was immersed in the Muslim community. Based on this experience, he has now proposed 14 recommendations to the government, together with fellow Islamic researcher Niels Valdemar Vinding, aimed at assisting women seeking divorce. Petersen highlights that women can find themselves trapped in marriages, particularly when a Muslim woman married by an imam wishes to divorce. In such cases, merely filing a divorce request with the Danish Family Court is insufficient, as the marriage remains valid under Sharia law.

Islamic divorce councils, comprised of imams and Muslim leaders, typically require the husband to initiate divorce proceedings. One crucial recommendation is to recognize religious violence and control in social work practices, as current Danish law identifies seven forms of violence—none of which include religiously motivated issues. Petersen argues that this oversight leaves social workers unsure of how to address these complex situations.

Another proposal suggests that during divorce proceedings, the Family Court should acknowledge if a couple is also married under Islamic law, which would enable the court to mandate the husband to dissolve the marriage. Failure to do so could lead to penalties, allowing the woman to be freed from both her Danish and Islamic marriages.

Petersen’s recommendations follow reports that the Family Court can no longer refer women to imams for divorce assistance, a change he considers problematic as it indirectly recognizes Islamic marriages not acknowledged by Danish law. He emphasizes the need for women to receive support and insists on the importance of these recommendations for creating meaningful change in their circumstances.