Can a wife seek divorce from her husband who has changed and become violent, and who refuses to divorce her, especially given that she lives in a non-Islamic country, and is it permissible for her to appoint a shaykh to divorce her from him according to Islamic law?

Divorce or annulment (khul') does not occur except through the husband's pronouncement of divorce, or his agreement to khul', or by the ruling of a Muslim judge. The waiting period ('iddah) begins from the moment the divorce is pronounced or from the final ruling of the judge. It is not permissible to appoint a shaykh to divorce the wife; rather, the matter must be referred to a Sharia judge, or to scholars in Islamic centers when Sharia courts are unavailable. Recourse to civil courts to legally end a marriage does not, by itself, end it Islamically; rather, documents must be presented to Islamic centers to complete the matter according to Sharia.