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Abstract:

With the global trend towards the privatization of family justice, the interest for family mediation is growing. However, the relationship between family conflict resolution practices and cultural and/or religious diversity remains an under-researched domain. In Belgium, very little is known about the (para)legal practices of Muslim families. This paper presents empirical findings from a research concerning family conflict and family-law related disputing and dispute resolution practices of Muslim families living in Belgium. It focuses on the role different types of normativity involved in these practices, and of religion and religious actors in particular, and proposes a reflection on what these research findings may mean to the field of (family) mediation. It concludes that there is a need for innovative approaches that dare to engage more with power differentials and different types of normative issues, including religious norms, in family mediation.