10/7/11, "Pastor's possible execution reveals nuances of Islamic law," CNN, Dan Merica
"The possible hanging of Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani for converting from Islam to Christianity has exposed a division among Islamic jurists on whether Iran would be violating Islamic law by carrying out the execution.
According to some of these scholars, the Quran not only outlaws the death penalty for the charge of apostasy, but under Sharia law, conversion from Islam is not a punishable offense at all....
But Rabb also acknowledges that there is a more nuanced view to Islamic law, too.
Clark Lombardi, an associate professor of law at the University of Washington, said there is more room for interpretation
- because the Quran is not the only source of Islamic law.
"Most Muslims look past the Quran and say the Quran needs to be looked at in the practice of the Prophet. So
- they look to see what rules the prophet laid down," Lombardi said.
And, according to Lombardi, if you look at literature about the life of Mohammed, "then apostasy is clearly something very bad.
- And there are examples of apostates being punished."...
Nadarkhani, the leader of a network of Christian house churches in Iran, was first convicted of apostasy in November 2010, a charge he subsequently appealed. Though news reports from Iran have indicated the pastor is now charged with "security related crimes" and is no longer charged with apostasy, briefs obtained by CNN from the 2010 Supreme Court case show the pastor's original charge was solely apostasy.
"He (Nadarkhani) has stated that he is a Christian and no longer Muslim," states the Supreme Court brief. "During many sessions in court with the presence of his attorney and a judge, he has been sentenced to execution by hanging according to article 8 of Tahrir - olvasileh."...
Mohammad Fadel, associate professor of law at University of Toronto, said that there is a difference, though, between just being a nonbeliever and being someone who is actively preaching a religion other than Islam. Fadel said Nadarkhani's preaching "may be viewed as a kind of treasonous comment."
"Even for people who reject Islam religiously, many still identify them with the religion culturally, even if they aren't religious," Fadel said.
According to Rabb, the idea for punishing apostasy stems from medieval times, when your religious affiliation was the basis for your citizenship. Renouncing your faith was also announcing your intent to no longer regard yourself a citizen of that community - in effect, treason....
But Lombardi points out that Iran is formally known as the Islamic Republic of Iran and "being Muslim is part of full citizenship in Iran." Though he couldn't speak for the Iranian justice system, he said there are two grounds for which Iran could give to put Nadarkhani to death for apostasy.
"One of them would be to say traditionally in Shiite Islam, people have interpreted the scripture for apostates to be put to death," Lombardi said. "The other one is that people who apostatize have committed a sin and they are real threat to the Muslim community and as a threat, they are punishable as someone who is a traitor to the country."
The website islawmix, a project through the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University, was created to be an authoritarian voice on the nuances in Islamic law. Made up of 13 scholars and founded by Rabb, along with Umbreen Bhatti and Kaizar Campwala, the website looks to connect "news readers, media producers, and legal scholars with
- credible, authoritative information about trends in Islamic law."
Bhatti, a practicing civil rights lawyer, said the nuances of Islamic law are not unique; the
- same sort of nuanced opinions are regularly found
- in American law.
"The reality is the 13 scholars on our sites could give you a variety of different responses," Bhatti said. Islamic law has a "rich legal tradition and it is important for us to not convey something definitive
- or to suggest there is one answer."'...
(continuing), CNN: "The overriding opinion of each scholar was simple - the complication of Islamic law makes it somewhat difficult to predict what Iran will do....
Lombardi recalled a story in Afghanistan, where a man's neighbors hauled him to court for leaving Islam.
"The judge takes a look and says this person is an apostate and therefore the crime should be putting them to death," Lombardi said. "But then the judge said, Islam is such great religion, you could have to be crazy to have to convert from Islam. And therefore,
- I think this person should get off on ground of insanity.""...
(Just like America. ed.)
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8/6/11, "Christie’s ‘Crazies’," Andrew McCarthy, NRO, "Sharia is not a figment of our imagination."
- 8/5/11, "Chris Christie Backs Hamas-linked Superior Judgeship Pick -- Blasts ‘Crazies’ After Appointing Muslim Judge: The ‘Sharia Law Business Is Just Crap’," Atlas Shrugs, Pamela Geller
7/14/11, New Jersey schools teach tolerance of 9-11 by leaving out 'grisly' parts
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11/30/09, "'Honor killings' in USA raise concerns," USA Today, Oren Dorell
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2/27/11, "NPR Insists Buffalo Wife's Beheading by Muslim Outreach TV Founder Has No Islamic Overtones," Newsbusters.org, Tim Graham
"You know, apparently, we're just too stupid. We just all think that all Muslims are bad."...
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6/14/10, "Female Genital Cutting: Affecting Young Girls in America," ABC News
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7/9/11, "The Insidious Kumbaya on American College Campuses," American Thinker, Ashraf Ramelah
"What will never be revealed is that the Muslim establishment has no intention of embracing Western democracy. Instead, the establishment will make a convincing feint, all the while using the very freedoms they wish to subvert -- beginning with initiatives like the Interfaith and Community Service Challenge." (end of article)...
"Islamic tradition...has also codified wife-beating, polygamy (multiple wives), female genital mutilation, woman guardianship, honor killings, and female head and face veiling. These practices
- flourish today
- within Islamic communities throughout the world."...
6/3/11, "Detroit's Death Rattle," American Thinker, "In a recent update (6/2/11), Wooldridge writes that Detroit has now dropped another 200,000 from 912,000 in 2009 to reach 712,000 people in 2011."...
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8/28/11, "Ground Zero imam gives Scotland his recipe for successful multiculturalism," Herald Scotland, by Vicky Allan
"Greater integration between Islam and the West depends on the incorporation of Sharia law into the legal systems of the UK and the United States"
- according to the Ground Zero Imam.
Pamela Geller notes
"Rauf does not and cannot point to a form of Sharia that does not contain the mandates for stoning, amputation, etc. So how firm and honest can his assurance that Muslims have no intention of bringing all that here really be? We're already seeing honor killings and female genital mutilation in America. Why shouldn't the rest follow when all of this is justified by Sharia?"...
via Weasel Zippers
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