A group affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is abducting boys in northern Mozambique and using them to fight against government forces, in violation of an international ban on the use of child soldiers, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported on Wednesday. HRW stated that an armed group known as Al-Shabab, an [...]
Search Results for: sharia law
How Democratic Sharia May Help Curb the Influence of Corrupted Interpretations of Islamic Law
What makes someone qualified to rule? One way to answer this question might be to approach it from the Islamic perspective, that is, by considering the criteria required for someone to become a mujāthid, a person accepted as an authority in Islamic law. The criteria include knowledge of the Shārīe‘ā essential objectives – ‘religion, life, [...]
India court holds legislation creating and regulating Islamic education schools unconstitutional
The Lucknow Bench of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh’s (UP) Allahabad High Court (AHC) held Friday that a Uttar Pradesh state legislation for the establishment and regulation of Islamic education schools called Madarsas is unconstitutional. The court deemed the Uttar Pradesh Board of Madarsa Education Act, 2004 (Madarsa Act) unconstitutional due to its violation [...]
Breaking Barriers: A Global Review of Legislative Reform on Women's Rights
The plight of women’s rights in various countries reflects a complex interplay of legal, cultural and societal norms that significantly disenfranchise women and girls, threatening their human rights and dignity. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Pakistan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Nigeria present challenging environments where women’s rights [...]
Malaysia federal court declares Kelantan state Shariah laws unconstitutional
The Malaysian federal court declared several Kelantan state Sharia laws to be unconstitutional in a judgement on Friday. The decision followed a petition deposited by lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid and her daughter, Tengku Yasmin Natasha Tengku Abdul Rahman, to challenge the constitutionality of provisions of the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code (I) Enactment [...]
The resumption of any kind of negotiations or diplomatic ties with the Taliban should come with principles and conditions. Such conditions should be no less than those enshrined in the fundamental principle of human rights and dignity and expected in a multi-ethnic and democratic country. Afghanistan cannot afford to settle for anything less than the [...]
UN concerned over Taliban crackdown on women dress code violations in Afghanistan
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) voiced its apprehension on Thursday about the Taliban’s recent spike in the arbitrary arrest and detention of women and girls based on non-compliance with the Islamic dress code. Last week the Taliban arrested the first women in Afghanistan for “bad hijab” since they took power in August 2021. [...]
Afghanistan's Education Crisis: A Plea for Global Policy Measures Against Taliban Indoctrination
“The Taliban’s new curriculum is all about killing people in the name of Jihad,” a Kabul-based teacher* told me in a recent interview. “I’m not going to teach that material, even if I know it means I will almost certainly lose my job,” the teacher said, citing an early draft of the new curriculum. Upon [...]
Sharareh Abdolhoseinzadeh is a law student and a PhD in Political Sociology. She files this from Tehran. A few days ago, the Iranian Parliament approved a plan that, if approved by the Guardian Council of the Constitution, would destroy the limited independence of the hundred-year-old Iranian Bar Association. According to this resolution, lawyers’ associations will [...]
The Battle for Inclusion: Pakistan's Transgender Community Faces Setbacks with Shariat Court Verdict
Pakistan’s transgender community finds itself embroiled in an ongoing struggle for inclusion, facing a recent setback with a verdict from the Federal Shariat Court (FSC). Transgender activists in Pakistan have appealed the judgement of the Federal Shariat Court (“FSC”), which adjudicates based on the tenets of Islam, to the Supreme Court (“SC”). As many as [...]