Many Muslim and non-Muslim states apply Islamic law. This practise has sometimes been through sharia law, as in Islamic countries, and sometimes in non-Muslim countries as an alternative dispute resolution to the legal problems of Muslims. In real life, family law is one of the most important issues where Islamic law is applied. Especially divorce cases are an issue that causes serious disputes between the parties because the woman does not have the right to divorce. Although it is relatively easy to solve such disputes in countries where Sharia is applied as a legal system, it is quite difficult to solve these problems in countries where Muslims are in the minority and ruled by a secular legal system. Because the right of talaq is given only to the husband, when a woman wants to divorce, she is trapped in her marriage. The solutions that this woman can produce within the secular legal system are also very limited. While in other religions, the right to divorce is also given only to the husband, the fact that they have state-recognised religious authorities to whom they can apply has made this problem relatively solvable.

Within the scope of this article, the Netherlands, a country where Muslims are in minority, will be analysed. The subject of arbitration and mediation related to the Netherlands has not been studied in Turkish before. In this respect, our study, which has a unique characteristic, will be a resource for Muslims in the Netherlands, especially Turks, to solve their problems. For this purpose, first, the problem has been identified by literature review and then the solution suggestions that can be applied to this problem have been presented.

In the Netherlands, there are official religious authorities (arbitration boards) of the Jewish and Christian communities in divorce cases. These authorities play an active role in the finalisation of religious marriages and divorce processes. In Judaism and Christianity, divorce is very limited and subject to strict rules. It is sometimes very difficult and sometimes impossible for the parties to divorce. The reason for divorce must be based on solid grounds recognised by religious texts. While it is relatively easy for the husband to divorce, when the wife wants to divorce, her fate lies between her husband’s two lips. This victimisation of the woman is tried to be solved by the religious councils of these religions, at least with minimum victimisation of the woman. Of course, this opportunity is offered to women by religious authorities recognised by the state. The history of these authorities dates back to very old times. Since most population is Christian, religious authorities belonging to this religion already exist. Since the Jews also have a very old history in the Dutch territory (approximately 17th century), they established religious authorities immediately after they settled there and have continued their religious courts until today.

However, there is no similar state-recognised religious authority for Muslims. This situation causes serious problems, especially for Muslim women in the divorce process.Because when a Muslim woman wants to get divorced when her husband refuses, there is no authority she can apply to, no authority that can offer a solution. Her only remedy is to convince her husband and get talaq. If she is lucky, she may be able to persuade the opposition. This helplessness of Muslim women ranks high as a social problem that needs to be solved in the Dutch society. Because the Netherlands is a country that receive significant immigration and where the Muslim population lives densely. Accordingly, it is essential to establish a religious authority recognised by the state. However, this authority does not currently exist in the Netherlands.

Women who are trapped in marriage try to solve this problem sometimes by local imams, sometimes by NGOs and sometimes by law, but no permanent solution emerges. The solutions offered by the imams are insufficient as they have no legal sanction authority. Although the efforts of NGOs are valuable in providing religious and legal support, they are insufficient and not permanent solutions since they lack the authority to compel the husband to grant a divorce. Another authority that a woman in this situation can apply to is the Dutch courts. However, since the Dutch courts are organised according to the secular legal system, they do not directly recognise Islamic law. However, based on international legal values such as women’s rights and freedom of religion, they sometimes take Islamic family law into consideration. In this context, in some cases, courts may force husbands to divorce to meet women’s demands for divorce. In fact, they impose monetary penal sanctions on the husband who does not grant a religious divorce. However, such decisions taken by the courts only provide temporary solutions in individual cases and do not address the lack of a general system. Therefore, to overcome these difficulties in the divorce process of Muslim women, an official Islamic authority should be established in the Netherlands. This authority should be authorised to apply Islamic family law and deal with the divorce requests of Muslim women fairly. The existence of such an institution will accelerate the process of women terminating their religious marriages and provide legal security. Within the scope of this article, the official institutions that other religious groups apply for divorce cases and their history, the ways that Muslims can apply for divorce and whether these ways are sufficient or not, and solution suggestions regarding the problems faced by Muslim women in divorce cases will be presented.