Clearly the law does NOT apply to everyone as there is one law for Sikhs and another for everyone else.
As for blood transfusions, I said 'law and/or societal practice'. What I and other posters are saying is that from their religious perspective, the muslims religion sanctions sex with children who have reached puberty.

As I said, religious exceptions exist in our tolerant society. I don't agree, but that's the way it is.

It is though simply untrue that Islam sanctions sex with children. Child marriage is against Islam as the Quran is clear that intellectual maturity is the basis for deciding age of marriage, and not puberty. Sex outside of marriage is not permitted.

Some countries, run by ultra-conservative religious authorities, justify this old tribal custom by citing the prophet Muhammad's marriage to Aisha, whose age at the time is hotly disputed. Condemn these clerics and their interpretation of Islam, but not Islam and all Muslims.

This is another example of the stone-age mentality that exists in these places. It is that which needs to be countered. Islamaphobics are firing at the wrong target.

That some of that stone-age mentality has arrived here is undeniable, but it is far from universal and with good education, time and effort the next generations will display much less, and we ought to be better prepared to deal with any new arrivals.

The law exists and applies to all. There can be no argument about that. Arguing for something which already exists is pointless.

In Yaxley-Lennon's case it is much worse than that. It encourages people to believe things which aren't true and creates wider divisions.

If you want to argue, target the argument towards those whose job it is to administer the law. They will cite a lack of resources, and then you can turn the criticism onto where the blame is really due. The Government. The one most here seem to support.

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Sure. They pulled out all the stops.

There's your target then. Although it's already been aired a countless number of times.

For the umpteenth time there is no Sharia Law in the UK, so it's a non-issue for us.

Islamic law varies from country to country. I don't defend it in any way. It's just not my law in my country and I have no way of influencing it. The statement about "intellectual maturity" being what the Quran says came from a BBC analysis. It wasn't mine. A BBC researcher might just know more than either of us.

If you are so bothered about the fact that in Saudi, for instance, there is no minimum age for marriage, why don't you go there and argue your case? They love dissident voices.