The recent words of the Archbishop of Canterbury have caused consternation all over the world, including in Australia, and why shouldn't they? After all, the archbishop did suggest it was unavoidable that sharia law would be implemented in the English legal system.

Let's be honest. The use of the term sharia conjures up images of a brutal, harsh and inhumane legal system, characterised by amputations, beheadings, and stoning to death. In fact these were the very images used as the background to a news report about the lecture delivered by the archbishop.

With such a grim picture of sharia in our minds, it is little wonder that the call made by the archbishop to consider ways of accommodating sharia law in certain areas of dispute resolution, in particular family law, was received with such animosity.

However, despite the hysteria and protesting comments, the reality is that sharia law in the context of family law is already being used by the Muslim community not only in Britain, but also in the United States, Canada and in Australia.

In our Australian legal system, two individuals can agree to any contract they like, as long as the contract does not abrogate the law or have an illegal purpose. This means that under existing law two people can use the laws of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism or even make up their own ideology and bind each other in a legally valid contract under Australian law.

By the same token two people can enter into a contract to abide by sharia law. Is that surprising? And if the contract was made in deed form it could even be registered with the Department of Lands.

Are you feeling hysterical yet?

The fact that in certain situations we can agree to be bound by any system or law is one of the strengths of our democracy. In an enlightened form, democracy has the capacity to take the best attributes of any system, ideology or practice and apply it to advance the humanity of its citizens.

This flexibility allows a truly democratic nation to remain resilient in adversity and flourish in prosperity.

Yes, there are some things that many Australians may find different or even offensive about sharia law, yet if we take our Prime Minister's recent advice and apply our Australian value of giving "a fair go to all", we may find there are many other aspects of sharia law we find intriguing and even useful.

It is also important to remember that what is being suggested is not the adoption of sharia laws as part of the Australian legal system, but rather the recognition of an alternative dispute resolution process.

If we begin to gain an understanding of it, we may come to find that sharia law, as a system, is not that different from our own legal system.

Did you know that sharia law courts have the same plaintiff and defendant system as Australian courts? Did you know that in sharia law if a husband files for divorce he is obliged to pay his ex-wife's rent and basic necessities and it is the husband who is forced to leave the matrimonial home?

Did you know that in sharia law the overriding principle in determining who has custody of the children is the same as that under the Family Law Act - "the best interests of the child" and the presumption is that it is usually the mother?

You might be thinking that sounds all nice and good, but what about the issue of women's rights?

While it needs to be acknowledged that atrocities have been committed against women overseas in the name of Islam, it also needs to be acknowledged that such practices have no basis in the religion itself. More than 1400 years ago Islam afforded women rights comparable to those in our contemporary international human rights documents.

It is not Islam but other factors, notably cultural practices alien to the religion itself, which are the cause of the mistreatment of women.

It can also be argued that if there was some form of recognition of the community processes by which Muslims already informally resolve family law disputes, then safeguards can be implemented to ensure equity and justice for all parties.

If we exercise our Australian value of mutual respect then we would probably begin to accept the 1.6 billion people worldwide that practise Islam. With some mutual respect we may alleviate our fears and misconceptions about a way of life that many Australians know very little about and with which many Australians have had minimal interaction.

With that same mutual respect we may also come to understand why people, born, raised and educated in Australia who strongly adhere to Australian values and an Australian way of life would consider it valuable to resolve their family disputes using sharia.

Ghena Krayem is a casual lecturer at the faculty of law, University of Sydney and is doing a PhD on Islamic family law in Australia. Haisam Farache is a solicitor and imam at Lakemba mosque.