NICOLA BERKOVIC From: The Australian

A SYDNEY man who agreed under an Islamic marriage contract to pay his wife a $50,000 “deferred dowry” if he ever left her has been forced by the NSW Supreme Court to honour their agreement.

In a decision believed to be an Australian first, the court ruled there was no public policy reason not to enforce the dowry.

Mostafa Mohamed had argued the dispute could be resolved only by an Islamic court. But associate judge Joanne Harrison ruled the deferred dowry, known as “moackar sadak” was enforceable under Australian law.

Justice Harrison said courts in the US, Canada and Britain had been prepared to enforce such agreements by applying the common law or relevant legislation, rather than sharia.

Mostafa and Neima Mohamed married under Islamic law in 2004. They signed a pre-nuptial agreement the following year that said they intended to marry under civil law, and if the relationship ended they would each keep their assets.

However, Mr Mohamed would pay his wife $50,000 if he initiated a separation or divorce. If she initiated it or it was mutual, no money was payable.

The relationship hit problems three years later. In April 2007, Ms Mohamed called police after her husband allegedly threatened her with a knife and demanded she move out of their apartment in Rockdale in Sydney’s south.

The couple attempted to reconcile, but divorced under Islamic law in September 2008, when during an argument Mr Mohamed told his wife: “You are divorced.”

Mr Mohamed disputed this version of the facts, and said only an Islamic court could decide what constituted an initiation of Islamic divorce or separation.

Yesterday, Ms Mohamed told The Australian: “It’s very important for Muslim women to fight for their rights.”