In March 2026, while answering press questions alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at the U.S.'s longtime ally the United Kingdom, claiming (archived), "You have Shariah courts adjudicating law."
During the meeting, Trump said:
Look, you have places where — in the UK, you have a terrible Mayor of London, terrible, he's an incompetent guy — but you have Sharia courts — you don't have Sharia courts, you don't want Sharia courts — you have Sharia courts adjudicating law.
One X account that shared Trump's remark wrote (archived), "Donald Trump confirms that the UK now has courts that are enforcing Sharia Law."
Donald Trump confirms that the UK now has courts that are enforcing Sharia Law
Trump: In London, "You have Sharia courts adjudicating law."
We can never let Islam spread in America. We need an outright ban on Islamic Muslim immigration into America
pic.twitter.com/7LVmLWDiPw— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 3, 2026
Trump's claim also spread on Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived) and Threads (archived).
The claim is false. The law in the U.K. is not decided or enforced by Shariah courts or councils, though these do exist in the country. U.K. law is instead built on a combination of acts passed by Parliament and precedents set by judges, who must be free of influence outside the rule of law.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, a U.S. foreign policy think tank, Shariah is "the divine counsel that Muslims follow to live moral lives and grow close to God." Interpretations of Shariah, the principles of which stem from the Quran and hadith, the latter of which are sayings attributed to the Prophet Muhammad, form the basis of Muslim law.
A 2019 research briefing from the House of Commons, which is part of the Parliament of the U.K., said that Shariah courts or councils are advisory bodies that advise Muslims on various issues, though mostly deal with religious divorces. The review wrote (page 2):
Sharia councils have no official legal or constitutional role in the UK. Their work consists primarily of adjudicating on religious divorces, usually at the request of women. They may also give verdicts on other aspects of day-today life, for example on Sharia-compliant finance or on halal food.
Shariah councils have existed in the U.K. since the early 1980s, according to the research briefing (page 2). The briefing said that though "council" and "court" are used interchangeably to describe the advisory bodies, they are not courts of law.
The Islamic Shariah Council, which describes itself on its website as "the first sharia council established in Europe and the Americas," said its work centers mostly on mediating Islamic divorces.
It's unclear, according to the research briefing (page 7) and a 2018 independent review (page 4) into Shariah law in England and Wales, how many Shariah councils operate in the U.K. Estimates have reportedly varied between 30 and 85.
Government officials in the U.K. have consistently denied that Shariah councils have any power over the law in the U.K. In 2016, then-Leader of the House of Commons and former Secretary of State for Justice Chris Grayling said:
Let us be absolutely clear about this. We have one law of the land which applies to every single citizen of this country — to every single person who is in this country — regardless of race, colour or creed. That is beyond question, and, in my view, it can never be different. Systems that offer arbitration services within, for example, religious groups are ultimately not legally binding.
Then, in September 2025, Trump leveled "Shariah court" accusations at the U.K. and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Trump told (archived) the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 23, 2025:
And I have to say, I look at London where you have a terrible mayor, terrible, terrible mayor. And it's been so changed. So changed. Now they want to go to Shariah law. But you're in a different country. You can't do that.
At the time, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called (archived) Trump's claim about Shariah law in the U.K. "ridiculous nonsense," and defended Khan, who represents the same political party as Starmer, as a mayor "who's doing a really good job, in fact driving down serious crime"
Trump's March 2026 remark almost mirrored his September 2025 criticism, again calling Khan a "terrible" mayor.
A spokesperson for Khan responded to Trump's March 2026 remark, saying: "The Mayor is clearly still living rent free in Donald's Trump's head. He's obsessed with him. Sadiq could probably claim squatters rights." The Mayor of London's office confirmed this reported quote to Snopes via email.
Snopes previously investigated the truth behind "Shariah compliant" loans in the U.K.