Lesbian couple battle in court for custody of child

The court action also raises questions about how to resolve disputes between "intended parents" and biological parents.

A Toronto woman identified in court documents as L.K. is seeking to be declared the parent of five-year-old "J". The child's birth mother is C.L., the former partner of L.K.

The two women were living together when they agreed in 2002 that C.L. would be artificially inseminated by sperm from an anonymous donor.

C.L. agreed to bear the child because it would be easier for her to work while pregnant.

L.K. has since alleged it was an "arbitrary" decision about who would carry the child and she should not have to go to court to assert her claim as a parent.

The couple split up nine months after the child was born and only C.L. is listed as a parent on the "statement of live birth" document.

There is a real fear of Muslims in Britain that is far different than in America, and the headlines here sometimes make it look as if capitulation to Islam is inevitable.

The British government's announcement about tackling religious extremism by giving young Muslims "citizenship lessons" among other things is an interesting one. It's easy to sneer at initiatives in the face of the omnipresent threat of Islamic extremism worldwide, but Britain is not the only country pursuing such an approach. So too is Morocco, where I live some of the year. On the edge of Europe, Morocco stands proudly in the Arab Muslim world. Islam is the state religion but King Mohammed VI has placed Morocco firmly in alliance with the west.

His approach has provoked reaction. On May 16 2003, suicide bombers in Casablanca killed 45 people heralding a resurgence of Islamic fundamentalism and signalling a wake-up call for the king. Terrorism touched Moroccan citizens and also put at risk his strategy for foreign investment and tourism.

The parliamentary elections in Morocco last September had a record low turnout of only 37% especially among the young. The implications are not lost on Mohammed VI. Neighbouring Algeria casts its dark violent shadow over this small country. The king knows he must give Moroccans – especially young unemployed men – a reason to invest in his country's political and economic future. Otherwise, Islamist extremists will find new recruits just as they did in Algeria. Some will find their way to Europe and the west, just as others will stay in Morocco itself. That's why Mohammed VI needs to bring jobs and foreign investment if he is to curtail the threat.

But he is not content to rely on economic growth alone. The king understands that it is in civil society that the battle to contain Islamic extremists will be won. Education is therefore also essential. As Islam is the state religion, the kind of controversies that muddy the waters in Britain are less apparent. Not that his initiative is without controversy. For the king has gone beyond traditionalists and is feminising the face of Islam and embracing Islamic feminism. Women, he believes, can be the purveyors of a moderate humanitarian Islamic message.

At the heart of Mohammed VI's initiative is the recruitment and education of mourchidat ("female guides"). The mourchidat first made news in April 2006 when the Moroccan government announced that the first 50 had graduated. The second intake – another 50 – are currently being prepared for their role in the capital, Rabat. They will work in local communities helping women with religious questions and giving support in schools and prisons. By working face-to-face in the community, women (still the primary care givers and nurturers in Moroccan society in their role as mothers, sisters, aunts, friends and community guardians), will present a moderate face of Islam and curtail fundamentalist violent excesses.

September 11 2001 showed that in an increasingly global interconnected world, terrorism, like trade, knows no boundaries. Mohammed VI's initiatives are leading the way in understanding another implication – namely that cross-cultural understanding is vital, and that women can lead the way in moderating the messages of Islam.

The British government and leaders of the Muslim community should adopt his approach. In Britain, the paucity of women speaking on behalf of and for the Muslim community is striking, yet education starts inside homes and families, and continues in the informal spaces of civil society like voluntary groups, schools, and mosques.

To tackle the terrorist threat, and stop the subversion of Islam in its name, the face of Islam must be feminised in the public, and private sphere in Britain as well. And initiatives which promote inter-faith communication and cross cultural understanding must be supported. Without this, as Asim Siddique points out, in a culture where religion and the state are separate, Muslims and others will distrust initiatives which target one sector of the community without reaching out to others.