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   HebrideanHecate (hebrideanhecate@spinster.xyz)'s status on Tuesday, 23-Sep-2025 00:54:24 JST HebrideanHecate

   https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2103931/imam-charged-illegally-marrying-two-children-uk-mosque

   An imam has been charged under forced marriage legislation with illegally allowing two children to marry each other at a mosque, police said.

   Ashraf Osmani, 52, of Abington Avenue, Northampton, will appear in court charged under Section 121 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act, as amended by the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022.

   Northamptonshire Police said in a statement: "It is alleged Osmani conducted a nikah marriage ceremony in November 2023, involving two 16-year-old children at the Central Mosque Northampton, where he is the serving imam, the mosque's most senior Muslim cleric.

   "Osmani, a Bangladesh-born British national, will appear before Northampton Magistrates' Court on Thursday September 11."

   • KeepTakingTheSoma likes this.
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     Flick ?? (flick@spinster.xyz)'s status on Tuesday, 23-Sep-2025 00:55:48 JST Flick ??

     in reply to

     @HebrideanHecate If it was a religious wedding, it wasn’t legally a wedding so has he actually committed a crime? It’ll be interesting to see the outcome.

     KeepTakingTheSoma likes this.
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     KeepTakingTheSoma (keeptakingthesoma@spinster.xyz)'s status on Tuesday, 23-Sep-2025 00:56:04 JST KeepTakingTheSoma

     in reply to

     • Flick ??
     @Flick @HebrideanHecate We already have Sharia courts, so I suspect it has been tacitly allowed, in which case why has it been flagged?
     I too am interested.