Privacy & Cookie Policy
Islamic Sharia Council of Great Britain & Northern Ireland
Last updated: 15.10.2026
1. Introduction
The Islamic Sharia Council (“the Council”, “we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of the personal information entrusted to us. We recognise that the information you share with us—particularly relating to marriage, divorce, mediation, and religious guidance—is deeply personal and sensitive.
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal data in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and applicable charity law.
The Islamic Sharia Council is the Data Controller for the personal data you provide to us. This means we are responsible for deciding how and why your information is processed.
2. The Information We Collect
We only collect personal data that is necessary to provide our services. This includes:
2.1 Information You Provide Directly
When you contact us—whether in writing, via our website, by telephone, or through direct messaging—we may collect:
Identity and contact information: Your name, address, email address, telephone number, date of birth, and gender.
Marriage and case-related information: Details about your marriage, the circumstances relevant to your enquiry, and information relating to nikah, talaq, khula, faskh, mediation, arbitration, or counselling.
Identity documents: Where required for verification purposes (such as for marriage attestation or divorce proceedings).
Correspondence: Records of your communications with us.
Important: Our website enquiry form is designed only for brief initial enquiries. Please do not use it to send identity documents, detailed evidence, religious case records, or other highly sensitive material. Such information should be shared only through the secure processes we will direct you to.
2.2 Information Provided by Third Parties
We may receive information about you from:
Your spouse or other parties involved in a case.
Independent organisations, such as the Police or local mosques.
Family members, friends, or witnesses.
Our appointed representatives who assist in providing our services.
2.3 Information from Public Sources
We may supplement the information you provide with information from publicly available sources (such as public social media accounts or the electoral register) where necessary to contact you or provide our services.
3. How We Use Your Information
We process your personal data for the following purposes:
Providing our services: To consider and adjudicate on applications relating to Islamic marriage, divorce, mediation, arbitration, and counselling.
Religious guidance: To provide guidance and resolutions in accordance with Islamic principles.
Communication: To correspond with you about your case or enquiry.
Signposting: To direct you to other services that may be able to assist you.
Record-keeping: To maintain accurate records of decisions, certificates, and case outcomes.
We will not collect any personal data from you which we do not strictly need to provide our services.
3.1 Special Category Data
Some of the information we process—such as details about your religious beliefs or marital circumstances—constitutes special category data under Article 9 of the UK GDPR. This data requires additional protection.
We process special category data on the basis of:
Explicit consent: Where you have given us clear and specific permission to process your information for a particular purpose.
Legitimate activities of a religious not-for-profit body: Where processing is carried out in the course of our legitimate activities with appropriate safeguards, and relates solely to members or persons in regular contact with us in connection with our religious purposes.
Legal claims: Where processing is necessary for the establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims.
4. Lawful Basis for Processing
Under the UK GDPR, we must have a lawful basis for processing your personal data. We rely on the following:
Purpose
Providing religious and mediation services
Communicating with you about your case
Retaining case records
Sending information about our future activities
Lawful Basis
Consent / Legitimate interests
Contract / Consent
Legal obligation / Legitimate interests
Consent
Where we rely on consent, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. You can do so by contacting us using the details in Section 10.
5. How Long We Keep Your Information
We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary. Our standard retention period for case-related records is:
Minimum of five (5) years following the conclusion or revocation of a case.
After this period, your data will be securely destroyed, unless you have explicitly requested earlier destruction or unless we are required to retain it for legal reasons.
If you wish to request the destruction of your data before the standard retention period expires, please contact us in writing. We will comply with such requests unless we have a legal or regulatory obligation to retain the information.
6. Who We Share Your Information With
We do not sell or rent your personal data. We will only share your information with third parties in the following limited circumstances:
With your consent: Where you have given us explicit permission to share your information.
Legal and safeguarding requirements: Where we are required or permitted by law to disclose information, including to protect a person’s vital interests or for safeguarding purposes.
Service providers: Where we use trusted third-party providers (for example, IT or cloud storage services) who process data on our behalf. All such providers are bound by written agreements requiring them to protect your data.
Partner organisations: Where necessary to provide our services or signpost you to appropriate support, and where appropriate safeguards are in place.
All processing of personal data is carried out within the United Kingdom. No third parties have access to your personal data unless the law allows them to do so.
7. How We Protect Your Information
The Council takes the security of your personal data seriously. We have implemented appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction of your information.
These measures include:
Access controls: Access to case files and personal data is restricted to individuals with a specific need-to-know basis.
Secure storage: Paper records are stored in locked cabinets; electronic records are protected by encryption and strong authentication.
Confidential disposal: Paper records are shredded; electronic data is securely wiped when no longer required.
Staff training: All trustees, scholars, staff, and volunteers receive training on data protection and information security.
For further details, please refer to our Information Security Policy.
8. Your Rights
Under the UK GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: You can ask us to delete your data in certain circumstances (though this may be limited by our legal or religious record-keeping obligations).
Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data.
Right to object: You can object to certain types of processing.
Right to data portability: In limited circumstances, you can request that we transfer your data to another organisation.
Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 10. We will respond to your request within one month.
9. Cookies and Website
Our website may use cookies to improve your browsing experience and to understand how visitors use our site. Strictly necessary cookies are used to enable basic functionality. For any non-essential cookies, we will seek your consent.
Our website enquiry form collects only basic information (name, contact details, and a brief message). Please do not submit sensitive case records or identity documents through this form.
10. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or wish to exercise your data protection rights, please contact:
Information Governance Lead
Islamic Sharia Council
info@islamic-sharia.org
If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) :
Website: ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
11. Changes to This Policy
We review this Privacy Policy regularly and will update it as necessary to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. Any significant changes will be communicated to you where appropriate, and the updated policy will be published on our website.
This Privacy Policy should be read alongside our Information Security Policy and any other policies or notices provided to you at the point of data collection.