Sharia ( Arabic (عربية `Arabiyya) Spoken in: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen by a majority, many other countries as a minority language Region: Arab world Total speakers: 225 million (Ethnologue, native speakers of... Arabic شريعة also Shari'a, Shariah or Syariah) is traditional Islamic law. Like most religious cultures, This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Islam classically drew no distinction between religious and secular life. Hence Sharia covers not only religious rituals, but many aspects of day-to-day life. However, this traditional view of religious law is opposed by modern In modern times there have been a number of liberal movements within Islam (sometimes called in Arabic: الإسلام الإجتهادية or interpretation-based Islam, also الإسلام المت... liberal movements within Islam. The term itself refers to "way to water" or a "break in a riverbank allowing access to water." Islamic scholars for the most part distinguished between fiqh which means 'understanding' and refers to the inferences drawn by scholars from the sources of law, and sharia which is the moral ideals that lie behind the fiqh. Scholars hope that fiqh and sharia are in a particular case, identical, but they cannot be sure. What is certain is that if one acts on legitimately derived fiqh, one is exempt from sanction.

For Sunni Muslims, the sources of Islamic law are the This article forms part of the series This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem... Qur'an and the This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Hadith, but Ijmāʿ (Arabic, إجماع) refers to the consensus of the ummah, the community of Muslims, those practicing Islam, or of the ulema, those learned in the relevant topic. Islamic law prescribes specific means of consensus decision making which Muslims are to follow in making and... ijma, the consensus of the community, was also accepted as a minor source. In Islamic jurisprudence, Qiyas is the process of analogical reasoning from a known injunction (nass) to a new injunction. It is one of the four undisputed sources of Islamic law, the others being Quranic interpretation, the Sunnah, and ijma (Consensus). Example of qiyas For example, qiyas is applied to... Qiyas — various forms of reasoning, including by analogy — are used by the law scholars ( ijtihad is a technical term of the Islamic law and means the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the sources of the law, the Quran and the Sunna. The opposite of ijtihad is taqleed, imitation. The person who applies ijtihad, the mujtahid, must be a scholar... Mujtahidun) to deal with situations where the sources provided no concrete rules. In Imami-Shi'i law, the sources of law (usul al-fiqh) are Qur'an, anecdotes of the Prophet's practices and those of the 12 Imams, and the intellect ('aql ). The practices called Sharia today, however, also have roots in local customs ( In Islamic law (Sharia Arabic: شريعة), al-urf العرف is the custom of a given society, leading to change in the Egypt, marriage the Urfi way means to get married without offical papers issued by the state (Zawag Urfi:زوا... Al-urf).

The Islamic jurisprudence is called This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... fiqh and is divided into two parts: the study of the sources and methodology (usul al-fiqh - roots of the law) and the practical rules (furu' al-fiqh — branches of the law).

Dietary laws

When eating meat, sharia dictates that Muslims may only eat from meat that has been slaughtered in the name of God and meets stringent dietary requirements. Such meat is called Halaal (Arabic: حلال , also sometimes spelled halal) is the Islamic term for permissible, similar to the Jewish kosher. The use of the term varies between Arabic-speaking Muslim communities and non-Arabic-speaking ones. In Arabic-speaking countries, the term halaal is used to describe anything that... halal or 'lawful' (acceptable). Islamic law prohibits a Muslim from eating pork, and meat that has been slaughtered in other than the name of God. Most juridicial opinions also hold monkey, dog, cat, carnivores, and several other types of animal as being prohibited or haram. For the meat of an animal to be halal (lawful) it must be one of the declared halal species, it must generally be slaughtered by a Muslim, and it may not be killed by excessively cruel or painful means. The traditional means of slaughter is by slicing open the jugular veins at the neck, resulting in quick blood loss; a state of shock and unconsciousness is induced, and death soon follows through cardiac arrest.

According to the Qur'an, the animal does not have to be slaughtered by a Muslim, but may be slaughtered by a Jew or a Christian ( In Islam, People of the Book or ahl al Kitâb, Arabic: اهل الكتاب, are peoples who have, according to the Quran, received and possess the divine scriptures. The term People of the Book (Am HaSefer) is also used in Judaism, where... People of the Book) as long as it meets their strict dietary laws (al-Ma'ida 5: "The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you.") Thus, most Muslims will accept The circled U indicates that this can of tuna is certified kosher by the Union of Orthodox Congregations. The laws of kashrut (Hebrew כַּשְׁרוּת, Standard Hebrew kašrut, Tiberian Hebrew kašrûṯ) (keeping kosher, Hebrew כֶּ... kosher meat as halal. However, some Muslims regard this as no longer applicable in modern times[1] (http://www.beautifulislam.net/halalharam/kosher_meat.htm), insisting that Muslims should not eat kosher meat because of concerns about the techniques and words used in kosher slaughter, and because of the possibility of money spent on it ultimately going to finance For other uses, see Israel (disambiguation). The State of Israel (Hebrew: מדינת ישראל, translit.: Medinat Yisrael; Arabic: دولة اسرائيل, translit.: Daulat Israil) is a country in the Middle East on the... Israel. Jurists disagree on the exact circumstances required for meat slaughtered by Christians to be halal.

The role of women in Islam

Islam does not prohibit women from working, but emphasizes the importance of caring for house and family for both parents. In theory, Islamic law allows each spouse to Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage, which can be contrasted with an annulment which is a declaration that a marriage is void, though the effects of marriage may be recognized in such unions, such as spousal support, child custody and distribution of property. In developed... divorce at will, by saying "I divorce you" three times in public. In practice divorce is more involved than this and there may be separate state proceedings to follow as well. This practice is valid within most of the Muslim world today. Usually, the divorced wife keeps her dowry from when she was married, if there was one, and is given child support until the age of weaning at which point the child may be returned to its father if it is deemed to be best.

In addition, women are generally not allowed to be clergy or religious scholars. Many interpretations of Islamic law hold that women may not have prominent jobs, and thus are forbidden from working in the government. This has been a mainstream view in many Muslim nations in the last century, despite the example of This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Muhammad's wife Wives of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad Aisha Hafsa bint Umar Juwayriya bint al-Harith Khadija Maria al-Qibtiyya Maymuna bint al-Harith Safiyya bint Huyayy Sawada bint Zama Umm Habibah Ramla Umm Salama Hind bint Abi Umayya Zaynab bint Jahsh Zaynab bint Khuzayma Aisha or Ayesha (Arabic عائ... Aisha, who both took part in politics and was a major authority on This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... hadith. However, this is not the case in other more moderate Muslim nations. For example, The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (پاکستان in Urdu), or Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia. Pakistan borders India, Iran, Afghanistan, China and the Arabian Sea. With over 150 million inhabitants it is the sixth most populous country in the world. It also... Pakistan, The Republic of Indonesia, the worlds largest archipelago, is located between the Southeast Asian peninsula and Australia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world and the fourth most populous overall. It has had free elections since the Indonesian 1998... Indonesia, For other uses, see Turkey (disambiguation). The Republic of Turkey is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part of its territory (3%) in southeastern Europe. Until 1922 the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea... Turkey, and The Peoples Republic of Bangladesh is a country in Map of South Asia South Asia is a subregion of Asia comprising the modern states of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, . It covers about 4,480,000 km², or 10 percent of the continent, and is... Bangladesh, all predominantly Muslim nations, have had female heads of government or state (e.g. Benazir Bhutto; a formal portrait from when she was Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (born June 21, 1953) became the first woman to lead a Muslim country in modern times when she was elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988, only to be deposed in a coup 20 months later. She... Benazir Bhutto, Megawati Sukarnoputri Diah Permata Megawati Setiawati Sukarnoputri (born 23 January 1947), was President of Indonesia from July 2001 to 20 October 2004. She was defeated for re-election in the 2004 Indonesian presidential election on 20 September. Some Indonesian sources spell her name Soekarnoputri or Soekarno Putri. Note that Sukarnoputri... Megawati Sukarnoputri, Tansu Çiller Tansu Çiller (born 9 October 1946) is an economist and politician in Turkey and was the first female prime minister. She was born in Istanbul and graduated from the School of Economics at the Bosporus University after finishing the American high school, the Robert College of Istanbul. Çiller... Tansu Ciller and Categories: Stub | 1945 births ... Khaleda Zia respectively). Muslim women also hold important positions in governments or in corporations.

As part of secular revolutions brought by The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881—November 10, 1938), Turkish soldier and statesman, was the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey. Contents // 1 Early career 2 War... Ataturk (founder of modern For other uses, see Turkey (disambiguation). The Republic of Turkey is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part of its territory (3%) in southeastern Europe. Until 1922 the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea... Turkey) in late 1920s and early 1930s, women were given the right to vote in Turkey significantly earlier than most other European countries and the United States.

A Muslim may not marry or remain married to an unbeliever of either sex ( Surat al-Baqarah (the Cow) is the second, and the longest, sura of the Quran, with 286 ayat. The Suras name is in reference to an argument between Moses and the Israelites over a cow they should sacrifice in order to know the murderer of a slain man... 2:221, 60:10). A Muslim man may marry a woman of the In Islam, People of the Book or ahl al Kitâb, Arabic: اهل الكتاب, are peoples who have, according to the Quran, received and possess the divine scriptures. The term People of the Book (Am HaSefer) is also used in Judaism, where... People of the Book ( Surat al-Maida (The Table) is the 5th sura of the Quran, with 120 ayat. It is a Madinan sura. Preceded by: An-Nisa Sura 5 Followed by: Al-Anam Quran External links Tafsir Ibn Kathir (http://www.tafsir.com/Default.asp) Categories: Islam-related... 5:5); traditionally, however, Islamic law forbids a Muslim woman from marrying a non-Muslim man. If the man chooses to convert to Islam marriage then would be allowed.

See also The term what your right hands possess (ma malakat aymanukum) occurs 14 times in the Quran, in the following Arabic forms: ما ملكت أيمانكم ما ملكت أيمانهم ما... ma malakat aymanukum.

Dress code

The This article forms part of the series This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem... Qur'an also places a (See also List of types of clothing) Contents // 1 Introduction 2 Clothing materials 3 Clothing maintenance 4 Early 21st-century clothing styles 4.1 Mainstream Western or international styles 4.2 Regional styles 4.3 Religious habits and special religious clothing 5 History of clothing 6 Future trends 7 External... dress code upon its followers. For women, it emphasizes modesty. Allah says in the Qur'an, "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts and not to display their adornment (interpreted as the hair and body-shape) except that which ordinarily appears thereof (interpreted as the face and hands) and to draw their headcovers over their chests and not to display their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands fathers, their sons, . . . ." (sura Nur verse 31). All those in whose presence a woman is not obliged to practice the dress code are known to be her In Islamic sharia legal terminology, a mahram, mahrim or maharem is an unmarriageable kin with whom sexual intercourse would be considered incestuous, a punishable taboo. Current usage of the term covers a wider range of people and mostly deals with the practice of hijab. The plural form of the word... mahrams. Men have a dress code which is more relaxed: the loins must be covered from knee to waist. The rationale given for these rules is that men and women are not to be viewed as sexual objects.

Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country has laws against these dress codes in schools and work places. After the declaration of the Republic in 1923, as part of revolutions brought by Ataturk, a modern dress code was encouraged. It is against the law to wear a head scarf while attending public school in For other uses, see Turkey (disambiguation). The Republic of Turkey is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part of its territory (3%) in southeastern Europe. Until 1922 the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea... Turkey, as well as Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. Subject to disclaimers. Trying... France, where the recently enacted rule caused huge public controversy.

In practice, men dictate what women are allowed to wear in many culturally Islamic countries. Infringement of these rules in some Muslim nations may result in beatings. Some view Islamic women as being oppressed by the men in their communities because of the required dress codes. However, in more moderate nations, where these dress codes are not obligatory, there are still many Muslim women who practice it, where most of them choose to follow it because they believe it is the will of Allah. One of the garments women are required to wear is the Note: The word Hijab is often used in news reports and common use, by both Muslims and non-Muslims, to refer to a form of headscarf. This specific use is also discussed below, and this article discusses the more general concept of modesty in Islam. Hijab is the word used... hijab (of which the headscarf is one component). The word hijab is derived from the Arabic word hijaba which means 'to hide from sight or view', 'to conceal'. Hijab means to cover the head as well as the body.

Domestic justice

According to most interpretations, authorization for the husband to physically beat disobedient wives is given in the This article forms part of the series This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem... Qur'an. First, admonishment is verbal and secondly a period of refraining from intimate relations. Finally, if the husband deems the situation appropriate, he may hit her:

The medieval jurist ash-Shafi'i, founder of one of the main schools of This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... fiqh, commented on this verse that "hitting is permitted, but not hitting is preferable."

The Arabic verse uses idribûhunna (from the root daraba ضرب), whose commonest meaning in Arabic (عربية `Arabiyya) Spoken in: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen by a majority, many other countries as a minority language Region: Arab world Total speakers: 225 million (Ethnologue, native speakers of... Arabic has been rendered as "beat", "hit", "scourge", or "strike". Besides this verse, other meanings for daraba used in the Qur'an (though not with a human Grammatical cases List of grammatical cases Abessive case Ablative case Absolutive case Adessive case Allative case Causal case Causal-final case Comitative case Dative case Dedative case Delative case Disjunctive case Distributive case Distributive-temporal case Elative case Essive case Essive-formal case Essive-modal case Excessive case Final case... direct object) include 'to travel', 'to make a simile', 'to cover', 'to separate', and 'to go abroad', among others. For this reason — particularly in recent years (e.g. Ahmed Ali, Edip Yuksel) — some consider "hit" to be a misinterpretation, and believe it should be translated as "admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and separate from them." Certain modern translations of the Qur'an in the The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. It is the third most common first language (native speakers), with around 402 million people in 2002. English has lingua franca status in many parts of the world, due to the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence... English language accept the commoner translation of "beat", but tone down the wording with bracketed additions.

Several This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Hadith urge strongly against beating one's wife, such as: "How does anyone of you beat his wife as he beats the stallion camel and then embrace (sleep with) her? (Al- Muhammad Ibn Ismail Ibn Ibrahim Ibn al-Mughirah Ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhari محمد بن اسماعيل بن ابراهيم بن المغيرة بن بردزب... Bukhari, English Translation, vol. 8, This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Hadith 68, pp. 42-43), "I went to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2139)". However, some suggest that these Hadith were later abrogated, noting that in the Farewell Pilgrimage, he said:

Fear Allah concerning women! Verily you have taken them on the security of Allah, and intercourse with them has been made lawful unto you by words of Allah. You too have right over them, and that they should not allow anyone to sit on your bed whom you do not like. But if they do that, you can chastise them but not severely. Their rights upon you are that you should provide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner. (Narrated in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Jabir.) [2] (http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/007.smt.html)

Sheikh This article needs cleanup. Please edit this article to conform to a higher standard of article quality. Yusuf al-Qaradawi Professor Yusuf al-Qaradawi (Arabic: يوسف القرضاوي) (born September 9, 1926) is a modern Muslim scholar and preacher best known... Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the A Dublin-based private foundation, founded in London at 29-30 March 1997 on the initiative of the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe, the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR) is a largely self-selected body, composed by islamic clerics and scholars, presided by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, and... European Council for Fatwa and Research, says that:

"If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion, and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury. Rather, this 'beating' should be of the kind the Prophet (peace be on him) once mentioned to a disobedient maid-servant, when he said 'If it were not for the fear of retaliation on the Day of Resurrection, I would have beaten you with this miswak (tooth-cleaning twig)' [as reported by Ibn Majah, by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and by Ibn Sa`d in his Tabaqat].[3] (http://www.islamonline.net/fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=7061).[4] (http://memri.de/uebersetzungen_analysen/themen/liberal_voices/ges_beating_22_03_04.pdf)

" Honor killing is the practice of males killing their female relatives or spouses when the female relative or spouse is considered to have damaged the family honor through unwarranted sexual activity. The males involved in the sexual activity, which might have been a rape, are not adversely affected, in general... Honor killings" are, in the For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. The term Western world can have multiple meanings depending on its context. Originally defined as Europe, most modern uses of the term refer to the societies of Europe and their genealogical, colonial... Western world, often erroneously identified as part of Islamic teaching, though they are in fact a cultural practice which is neither exclusive to, nor universal within, the The Islamic world is the world-wide community of all believers in Islam, who are known as Muslims, and who number approximately one-and-a-half billion people. Many Muslims live in: Southwest Asia: Arab nations such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and non-Arab countries like Turkey, Iran Africa: Arab... Islamic world. Such killings take place within the Muslim communities around the Mediterranean as well as in For other uses, see Brazil (disambiguation). The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America_ it is actually larger than mainland USA. Spanning a vast area between the central South America and the Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Peru... Brazil, Sweden (Swedish: Sverige) is a Nordic country in Scandinavia, in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Norway on the west, Finland on the northeast, the Skagerrak and the Kattegat on the southwest, and the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Bothnia on the east. Sweden has a relatively low population... Sweden, the The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and a member of the European Union. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, UK or, inaccurately, as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent parts. Three of these parts England, Wales and... United Kingdom, the Punjab, 1903 Punjab Province, 1909 The Punjab (sometimes spelt Panjab) is a region straddling the border between India and Pakistan. Once a single entity, it is now split between two nations: see Punjab, India and Punjab, Pakistan. Punjab, India covers an area of 50,362 square kilometres (19,445 square... Punjab in The Republic of india is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one billion, and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. India has grown significantly, both in population and in strategic importance in the last two decades. The Indian economy is the... India[5] (http://www.dfn.org/articles/currentevents/asia/HonorKillings.html), and non-Muslim parts of West Africa is the region of western Africa generally considered to include these countries: Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Côte dIvoire (Ivory Coast) Equatorial Guinea Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) Senegal Sierra Leone Togo Chad, Mauritania, and... West Africa; while in The Republic of Indonesia, the worlds largest archipelago, is located between the Southeast Asian peninsula and Australia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world and the fourth most populous overall. It has had free elections since the Indonesian 1998... Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic country, the status of the practice is unknown.

The stated reason for honor killings is the belief that the woman had caused the clan or family to lose honor by her alleged sexual activity and therefore deserved to be killed. Islamic teaching holds that life is given by Allah and should not be taken lightly, but it allows severe punishment, up to and including ... ... Death Penalty World Map Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered ... execution of a prisoner as a In society, punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer. Most often, criminals are punished by fines or prison. Children are also punished by... capital punishment, for certain kinds of crime; these include, in strict interpretations, all extramarital sexual relations (zina') by both men and women — though only married Adultery is generally defined as consensual sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their lawful spouse. As there is usually an implicit or explicit agreement between spouses to not have sex outside the marriage, the common synonym for adultery is infidelity as well as unfaithfulness or in... adulterers may be punished with death. The interpretation and application of these laws relating to marriage and chastity has varied in different eras and places. See A legal and social bond between a man and a woman as prompted by the Sharia. Nikkah, the first part, is the signing of the marriage contract. It is followed by Walima, which is the wedding banquet. Divorce is allowed by Islam, however, it is not to be readily sought... Islamic view of marriage

Circumcision

This article is being rewritten at Circumcision/temp This page is protected from editing until disputes have been resolved on the discussion page. Protection is not an endorsement of the current version. To see other versions, use the page history. There is presently an editing dispute over two versions of... Male circumcision involves the removal of the This article is being rewritten at Foreskin/temp This page is protected from editing until disputes have been resolved on the discussion page. Protection is not an endorsement of the current version. To see other versions, use the page history. There is presently an editing dispute over two versions of... foreskin and is customary in most The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of... Muslim communities. It is performed at different ages in different cultures.

Female circumcision (including excision) loosely refers to a number of procedures performed on the female genitalia and which are generally of a cultural, rather than medical, nature. Although occasionally practiced by some doctors in the United States until the 1970s, in recent years it is only common in parts... Female circumcision is not part of mainstream This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Islam on an international scale, but is performed by Muslims and non-Muslims alike across Regions of the World Antarctica | East Asia | Central Asia | Southeast Asia | South Asia | North Asia | Middle East | Levant | Arabia | North Africa | Central Africa | Great Lakes | Congo | Guinea | Sahel | Sudan | West Africa | East Africa | Southern Africa | Great Plains | Central America | Caribbean | Andean States | Eastern South America | Northern South America | Western Europe... East Africa and the There is also Nile, a death metal band from South Carolina, USA. Nile The Nile in Egypt Length 6 695 km Elevation of the source 1 134 m Average discharge 2 830 m³/s Area watershed 3 400 000 km² Origin Africa Mouth the Mediterranean... Nile Valley, as well as parts of the The term the Middle East sometimes applies to the peninsula alone, but usually refers to the Arabian Peninsula plus the Levant, Mesopotamia, and Iran. The term Arabia often refers to Saudi Arabia alone. At other times the term Arabia can stand for the whole Arab World, stretching from Morocco in... Arabian peninsula and Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. The name for the region was first coined in the 20th century. The subregion has 11 countries and the countries can be divided into the mainland and the archipelago. The mainland countries include: Cambodia Laos Myanmar (Burma) Thailand Vietnam... Southeast Asia. In both areas, the custom predates Islam. Many ... World map showing location of Africa Download high resolution version (741x800, 113 KB) This image page contains items that originally came from a NASA website or publication. All works created by NASA are in the public domain, with the exception of the usage-restricted NASA logo, because works created by... African Muslims believe that female circumcision is required by Islam although it is not. Nevertheless it is justified on religious grounds both by Muslims and This article is about the religous people known as Christians. For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). The term Christian means belonging to Christ, and is derived from the Greek noun Χριστός Khristós which means anointed one, which is itself a translation of the... Christians who practice it, mostly in parts of Africa.

The For other uses, see Egypt (disambiguation). The Arab Republic of Egypt, commonly known as Egypt, (in Arabic: مصر, romanized Mişr or Maşr, in Egyptian dialect) is a republic mostly located in northeastern Africa. Covering an area of about 1,020,000 km², it includes... Egyptian-born president of the 'European Council on Fatwa and Research', This article needs cleanup. Please edit this article to conform to a higher standard of article quality. Yusuf al-Qaradawi Professor Yusuf al-Qaradawi (Arabic: يوسف القرضاوي) (born September 9, 1926) is a modern Muslim scholar and preacher best known... Yusuf al-Qaradawi emphasises that this is not a religious obligation, but expresses his personal preference for removal of the prepuce of the clitoris, called Female circumcision ... clitoridotomy (Fatwa on islamonline.net (http://www.islamonline.net/Fatwa/english/FatwaDisplay.asp?hFatwaID=31397).)

The use of the term 'circumcision' is highly confusing, as the practice ranges from a mild superficial act that does not reduce any physiological function (the 'real' circumcision), to various forms of partial or even complete removal of female genital organs. In certain countries, this is accompanied by reducing the genital opening. These forms are, because of their brutal nature, also referred to as Female circumcision (including excision) loosely refers to a number of procedures performed on the female genitalia and which are generally of a cultural, rather than medical, nature. Although occasionally practiced by some doctors in the United States until the 1970s, in recent years it is only common in parts... female genital mutilation ( Female circumcision ... FGM). This term is most often used in official publications of the This article is about the United Nations, for other uses of UN see UN (disambiguation) United Nations Nations Unies Naciones Unidas Объединённых Наций 联合国 امم متحدة (In... United Nations and For other meanings of the acronym WHO, see WHO (disambiguation) WHO flag Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization (WHO) is an agency of the United Nations, acting as a coordinating authority on international public health. WHO was established by the UN on April 7, 1948. The current Director... World Health Organization.

Holidays

• Friday is the day of the week between Thursday and Saturday. Its name is derived from the goddess Frige of Germanic mythology. In most areas with a five-day working week, Friday is the last workday before the weekend and is therefore viewed as a cause for celebration or relief... Friday is an important day in the life of a The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of... Muslim and it is believed that any devotional acts done on this day gain a higher reward. This day however should not be understood as a This article concerns the Sabbath in Christianity. For the Sabbath in Judaism, see Shabbat. For other uses see Sabbath (disambiguation) In both Judaism and Christianity, the Sabbath (Hebrew Shabbat) is a religious day of rest that usually occurs on the seventh day of the week, though is also ascribed to... Sabbath, for Muslims reject the belief that God rested after Topics related to Creationism Creationism * Creationist theology * Theistic realism Creation beliefs * Creation according to Genesis * Young Earth Creationism * Old Earth Creationism * Intelligent design * Evolutionary creationism Noahs ark * Flood geology * Deluge (mythology) * Genealogies of Genesis Creation science * Creation biology * Creation geology * Comparison of views Creation-evolution controversy * History of creationism... Creation. Believers attend congregational Prayer is an effort to communicate with a God, or to some deity or deities, either to offer praise to the deity, to make a request of the deity, or simply to express ones thoughts and emotions to the deity. There are a variety approaches to understanding prayer: The... prayer at the local A mosque is a place of worship for followers of the Islamic faith. Masjid (مسجد) is the Arabic, Urdu, Persian, Malay, Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi term for a mosque. This term is used widely throughout the Islamic world, and the word masjid is widely preferred by many... mosque, perform prayer and listen to a sermon by the This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Imam. When the holidays occur, it is according to the lunar This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Islamic calendar. This calendar does not correct for the fact that the lunar year does not match the solar year. Therefore, the This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Islamic months precess each year; they shift relative to the The Gregorian calendar is the calendar currently used in the Western world. A modification of the Julian calendar, it was first proposed by the Neapolitan doctor Aloysius Lilius, and was decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, for whom it was named, on February 24, 1582 (Note: The papal bull Inter gravissimas... Gregorian calendar.

• This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Ramadan - month long observance of fasting during daylight hours.

• Feast of Breaking the Fast ( This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer Alms Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca Medina Jerusalem Najaf Karbala Kufa Kazimain Mashhad Samarra Events... Eid-ul-Fitr), or the Little Feast (al-Eid saghir)- occurs at the conclusion of Ramadan and is held on the first day of the month of Shawwal.

• The Big Feast, ( This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Eid-ul-Adha), also "The Feast of Sacrifice" (Kurban Bayram) - two months and 10 days after the Little Feast. Animals are slaughtered to commemorate Abraham (אַבְרָהָם Father/Leader of many, Standard Hebrew Avraham, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAḇrāhām; Arabic ابراهيم Ibrāhīm) is the patriarch of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. His story... Abraham's sacrificing of a ram instead of his son as recorded in the This article forms part of the series This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem... Qur'an. (The The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. The Old Testament, or... Bible says it was his son Isaac or Yitzhak (יִצְחָק He will laugh., Standard Hebrew Yiẓḥaq, Tiberian Hebrew Yiṣḥāq; Arabic اسحاق ʾIsḥāq) is a biblical patriarch, the son and heir of Abraham and the father... Isaac who was to be sacrificed.) Those who are able make a pilgrimage to This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Mecca do so just before this date, on the This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Hajj.

• The Day of Aashurah, sometimes spelled ‘Ashurah or Aashoorah, falls on the 10th day of Muharram in the Islamic calendar. It commemorates the death of Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of Muhammad and the third Imam of the Shias, at the Battle of Karbala in the year 61... Ashura - the 10th day of the month of Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. Since the Islamic calendar is lunar, Muharram moves from year to year when compared to the Gregorian calendar. The first day of Muharram is often celebrated in Sunni Muslim countries as the Islamic new year, while it starts a ten-day... Muharram This is the day on which God saved (See also Exodus) Moses or Móshe (מֹשֶׁה Drawn, Standard Hebrew Móše, Tiberian Hebrew Mōšeh , Arabic موسى), son of Amram and his wife, Jochebed, a Levite. Legendary Hebrew liberator, leader, lawgiver, prophet, and historian. If he is... Moses and the Main article: Jew Jewish religion Etymology of Jew  · Who is a Jew? Jewish leadership  · Jewish culture Jewish ethnic divisions Ashkenazi (German and E. Europe) Mizrahi (Arab and Oriental) Sephardi (Iberian) Temani (Yemenite)  · Beta Israel Jewish populations Israel · United States · Russia/USSR Germany  · France  ... Jews from Pharaoh in For other uses, see Egypt (disambiguation). The Arab Republic of Egypt, commonly known as Egypt, (in Arabic: مصر, romanized Mişr or Maşr, in Egyptian dialect) is a republic mostly located in northeastern Africa. Covering an area of about 1,020,000 km², it includes... Egypt as he crossed the (Red Sea is also the name of a state in Sudan) Conshelf II in the Red Sea (Sudan) The Red Sea (Arabic البحر الأحمر Baḥr al-Aḥmar, al-Baḥru l-’Aḥmar; Hebrew... Red Sea (the This article is about the second book in the Torah. For other uses of the name, see Exodus (disambiguation) Books of the Torah Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Books_of_Torah&action=edit) The name Exodus refers to the book... Exodus day). According to Islamic tradition the prophet This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Muhammad fasted along with the neighboring Jewish communities on this occasion, and according to narrations, Muhammad planned on fasting on the 9th and 10th of Muharram. (According to For a discussion of Jews as an ethnicity or ethnic group see the article on Jew. Judaism is the religion and culture of the Jewish people and one of the earliest recorded monotheistic faiths. The tenets and history of Judaism constitute historical foundations of many other religions, including Christianity and... Judaism the Jews left Egypt on the first day of Passover (Pesach) Holiday of: Judaism and Jews Name: Hebrew: פסח Translation: Pass/skip-over Begins: 15th day of Nisan Ends: 22nd (in Israel 21st) day of Nisan Occasion: One of the Three Pilgrim Festivals. Celebrating the Exodus and freedom from slavery of the Children of Israel from ancient... Passover and crossed the Red Sea on the next morn, both of which are celebrated as holidays with meals.) This is also the day on which Muhammad's grandson, Husayn ibn Ali ibn Abu Talib (c. 626 - October 10, 680) was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, and son of his daughter Fatima Zahra with Ali ibn Abu Talib. Husayn is revered by Muslims, and has a special importance to the Shia as their Third Imam by most shias... Husayn, was killed in the The Battle of Karbala took place on October 10, 680, in Iraq. The battle saw the mighty and numerous armies of Yazid, face the army of Imam Husayn, which consisted of 72 men and boys, 2 of whom were the Imamss sons. The armies of Yazid prevailed, and ended... Battle of Karbala. For Shi'a Muslims this is a day of mourning. Many This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Sunni Muslims also commemorate this event, albeit in a less dramatic fashion than the Shi'a. The observance of this day is frowned upon by fundamentalists.

• Muslim New Year - not generally celebrated as an official Islamic holiday, although many Muslim communities have devised or revived some kind of new year ritual celebration. This celebration is frowned upon by fundamentalists.

• The Prophet's Birthday (Al-Mawlidu N-Nabawi Sh-Sharif) - Some scholars consider this holiday to be an innovation in the religion, as Muhammad himself did not celebrate it, except by fasting. This holiday is prohibited by the Islamist movement (fundamentalist Islam). Some For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). There are three factors which may assist to varying degrees in determining whether someone is considered Arab or not: Political: whether they live in a country which is a member of the Arab League (or, more vaguely, the Arab World); this definition covers more... Arab nations such as The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a country on the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, with the Persian Gulf to its... Saudi Arabia forbid Muslims to celebrate this holiday.

• Laylat ul-Qadr (Night of Power) is the anniversary of the night on which, according to Islam, the Quran was first communicated to Muhammad (see surat Iqra.) It is conventionally taken to occur on the night of the 27th of the month of Ramadan. Its exact date is uncertain, but... Laylat ul Qadr (The Night of the Divine Decree also of the Fate or Power) - is on one of the odd last ten night of This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Ramadan (21,23,25,27,29). It is considered the holiest night in the entire month of Ramadan, since it is the night when the Qur'an has been revealed. It is also considered 'better than a thousand months'. [Qur'an 97:1-3] It is said that if one offers voluntary worship on that night all his/her past sins are forgiven.

• Laylat ul Isra is an Arabic word referring to what Muslims regard as Muhammads miraculous night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem - specifically, to the site of Masjid al-Aqsa - alluded to in Surat Al-Isra 1: سبحان الذي أسرى بع... Isra' wa-l-Miraaj (The Night of the Journey and Ascension) - is on 27 of Rajab. It is the night when the Prophet Muhammad was taken to For other uses, see Jerusalem (disambiguation). Jerusalem (Modern Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם Yerushaláyim, Biblical and trad. Sephardi Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ, Arabic: القدس al-Quds, see... Jerusalem on a Buraq, mistakenly described as Mohammeds horse, was a creature described as being part griffin, eagle and horse. According to Islamic tradition it carried Mohammed from earth to heaven and back during the Isra (Night Journey). Excerpt from a Sahih Muslim hadith describing a buraq: I was brought al-buraq... Buraq (a beast resembling horse with wings; some people consider it a A cherub (Hebrew כרוב; plural cherubim, כרובים) is an angelic creature mentioned several times in the Tanakh, or Old Testament, and in the Book of Revelation. In medieval Catholic theology the Cherubim are one of the highest ranks in the hierarchy of... cherub) and ascended to the highest level of the heavens. It is said that he negotiated with God about the number of prayers, which started at fifty a day, but on his way down he met Moses who asked him to ask for a reduction in the number because the requirement was difficult for Muhammad's people. Muhammad returned to God and several times asked for and was granted a reduction of five prayers, until the number was reduced to five in total, with the blessing that if they were properly performed, the performers would be credited with fifty prayers instead of five.

• Laylat ul Bara'ah (The Night of Freedom from Fire) - occurs on the night between the 14th and 15th of Sha'ban. It is considered a night when Muslims are graced with Divine Mercy and blessings. The night is spent in the recitation of the Qur'an and special prayers.

Muslim apostates

In some interpretations of an Islamic state, Religious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the converts previous beliefs; in some cultures (e.g. Judaism) conversion also signifies joining an ethnic group as well as adopting that groups religious beliefs. Conversion requires internalization of the new belief system. Contents // 1 The... conversion by Muslims to other religions is forbidden and is termed Apostasy (Greek απο, apo, away, apart, στασις, stasis, standing) is the formal renunciation of ones religion. In a narrow sense, the term refers to renunciation and criticizing ones former religion. One who commits apostasy is an apostate, or one who apostatises... apostasy. In Muslim theology, apostasy resembles the crime of In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to ones nation. A person who reneges on an oath of loyalty or a pledge of allegiance, and in some way willfully cooperates with an enemy, is considered to be a traitor. Orans Dictionary of the Law (1983) defines treason... treason, the betrayal of one's own country. Penalties may include ostracism or even ... ... Death Penalty World Map Capital punishment, also referred to as the death penalty, is the judicially ordered ... execution of a prisoner as a In society, punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a wrongdoer. Most often, criminals are punished by fines or prison. Children are also punished by... execution if they live or have lived in an "Islamic State" and are deemed enemies of the state. By analogy, in the age of nation states, a person who commits treason (turning state's secrets to a foreign power, or spies for a foreign power, etc) is subject to severe penalty—historically, death. In contrast, a person who lives in a Western country such as the United States (or even many Muslim countries) will suffer no significant penalty for converting to another religion.

Some people claim that Muslims who convert to Christianity can be at risk. See any of the works of Ibn Warraq, a name meaning son of a scribe, a reference to the medieval Islamic scholar Mohammad al Warraq, and with strong schismatic connotations from early Islamic history, is the pseudonym of a Muslim apostate writer and teacher currently living in Ohio. Among the few personal details known about his... Ibn Warraq, who claims to be an outspoken former Muslim. (However, it's important to note that none of Ibn Warraq's personal claims can be checked or confirmed, since he uses a pseudonym.) A well-known example of a Muslim "apostate" undergoing persecution is that of Salman Rushdie (born June 19, 1947, in Bombay, India) is an essayist and author of fiction, most of which is set on the Indian subcontinent. He grew up in Mumbai (then Bombay) and graduated with honours from Kings College, Cambridge in England. His narrative style, blending myth and fantasy... Salman Rushdie, whose novel The Satanic Verses is also a novel by Salman Rushdie; see: The Satanic Verses (novel) The term Satanic Verses was coined by the historian Sir William Muir to refer to several verses alleged to have been part of an early version of the Quran and later expunged. The story... The Satanic Verses prompted Ayatollah Khomeini founded the first modern Islamic republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini (آیت‌الله روح‌الله خمینی in Persian) (May 17, 1900 – June 3, 1989) was an Iranian Shia cleric and the political... Khomeini to issue a This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Fatwa (religious opinion) for his execution. However, others suspect that Khomeini issued this fatwa more because of the lampooning of Khomeini himself that Rushdie included in his book.

History and background

The authority of Sharia is drawn from two major and two lesser sources. The first major source is specific guidance laid down in the This article forms part of the series This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem... Qur'an, and the second source is the This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Sunnah, literally the 'Way', i.e. the way that This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Muhammad (the Prophet of Islam) lived his life. (The compilation of all that This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Muhammad said, did, or approved of is called the This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Hadith.) A lesser source of authority is In Islamic jurisprudence, Qiyas is the process of analogical reasoning from a known injunction (nass) to a new injunction. It is one of the four undisputed sources of Islamic law, the others being Quranic interpretation, the Sunnah, and ijma (Consensus). Example of qiyas For example, qiyas is applied to... Qiyas, which is the extension by analogy of existing Sharia law to new situations.

Finally Sharia law can be based on Ijmāʿ (Arabic, إجماع) refers to the consensus of the ummah, the community of Muslims, those practicing Islam, or of the ulema, those learned in the relevant topic. Islamic law prescribes specific means of consensus decision making which Muslims are to follow in making and... ijma, or Consensus has two common meanings. One is a general agreement among the members of a given group or community. The other is as a theory and practice of getting such agreements. The process of achieving consensus involves serious treatment of every group members considered opinion, and a collective trust... consensus. Justification for this final approach is drawn from the This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Hadith where Muhammad states; "My nation cannot agree on an error." The Ummah (أمة) is an Arabic and Islamic word that means community or nation. It is correctly used to mean the nation of the believers (Ummah Al-Muhmini) in Islam, thus the whole muslim world. The phrase al-ummatun wahid in the Quran (the One Community) refers to all... ummah, or community of Muslims, comes together with each applying his ijtihad is a technical term of the Islamic law and means the process of making a legal decision by independent interpretation of the sources of the law, the Quran and the Sunna. The opposite of ijtihad is taqleed, imitation. The person who applies ijtihad, the mujtahid, must be a scholar... ijtihad, or independent thought and judgement, to achieve this consensus. The role of Ulema (Arabic: علماء) is the community of legal scholars of Islam and the Sharia. Their organization and powers vary from Muslim community to community. They are most powerful in Shia Islam where their role is institutionalized, but where they are subordinate to the heirs of... ulema, i.e. scholars, is critical, since they are the ones who study the Islamic law and therefore have authority to represent it. Sharia has largely been codified by the schools ( This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... maddhabs) of Islamic Jurisprudence ( This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Fiqh).

The comprehensive nature of Sharia law is due to the belief that the law must provide all that is necessary for a person's spiritual and physical well-being. All possible actions of a Muslim are divided (in principle) into five categories: obligatory, meritorious, permissible, reprehensible, and forbidden. Fundamental to the obligations of every Muslim are the The religion of Islam consists of faith (إيمان, īmān) and practice (دين, dīn). The Five Pillars of Islam is the term given to the five most fundamental aspects of Islam. For the Sunni sect, the Five Pillars (Arkan-al... Five Pillars of Islam.

In theory, there is no conflict between the process as outlined by Muhammad and very progressive and consultative political movements, e.g. This article is about the green parties around the world. It describes differences between green parties in a broader sense and Green Parties in a narrower sense. Formally organized political parties (and political movements) based on the Four Pillars of the Green Party and similar value systems are referred to... green parties. In fact, the latter even defined The worldwide green parties are committed to the following Four Pillars: Ecology (sometimes Ecological Wisdom) Social Justice Grassroots Democracy Non-Violence In German, it is known as Die Grünen: ökologisch, sozial, basisdemokratisch, gewaltfrei. These were originally defined by European Green Parties, from the foundation of the German Green Party... Four Pillars of the Green Party, to some degree in imitation of Islam's Five Pillars, and in admiration of the idea of a consensus-driven process of the whole community coming to some well-reasoned conclusion compatible with science and scholarship. In practice, however, there is often incredible tension between conservative, liberal or secular forces.

Freedom of Speech

The modern concept of Freedom of speech is the right to freely say what one pleases, as well as the related right to hear what others have stated. Recently, it has been commonly understood as encompassing full freedom of expression, including the freedom to create and distribute movies, pictures, songs, dances, and all other... freedom of speech on political and religious matters arises from the This article is about the continent. For alternative meanings, see: Europe (disambiguation) A comprehensive collection of continental features is found in Europe, albeit on a smaller scale than elsewhere. Mountain ranges, peninsulas, islands and more arid or cold regions can be seen in this satellite composite image of Europe Europe... European For the period in European history, The Age of Enlightenment For the corresponding movement in the European Jewish community, see Haskalah. For the Hindu religious concept of enlightenment, see moksha For the Buddhist religious concept, see enlightenment (Buddhism) For analysis of the philosphical concept, see Enlightenment (concept) For the 1990... Enlightenment of the Centuries: 18th century - 19th century - 20th century Decades: 1770s 1780s 1790s - 1800s - 1810s 1820s 1830s Years: 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 Events and Trends Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815). Semaphore is adopted by navies. United Kingdom founded in 1801 World Leaders Emperor Napoleon... 1800s and was alien to religions such as For other uses of the term Christian, see Christian (disambiguation). The Christian cross and its many variations are widely recognized as an ancient Christian symbol. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life and death by crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament... Christianity and For a discussion of Jews as an ethnicity or ethnic group see the article on Jew. Judaism is the religion and culture of the Jewish people and one of the earliest recorded monotheistic faiths. The tenets and history of Judaism constitute historical foundations of many other religions, including Christianity and... Judaism in their pre-modern forms. Similarly, Sharia law in its most vigorous interpretations does not allow freedom of speech on such matters as criticism of the prophet Muhammad.

The Qur'an says that Allah curses the one who harms the Prophet in this world and He connected harm of Himself to harm of the Prophet. There is no dispute that anyone who curses Allah is killed and that his curse demands that he be categorised as an unbeliever. The judgement of the unbeliever is that he is killed. ... [T]here is a difference between ... harming Allah and His Messenger and harming the believers. Injuring the believers, short of murder, incurs beating and exemplary punishment. The judgement against those who harm Allah and His Prophet is more severe -- the death penalty. ("The proof of the necessity of killing anyone who curses the Prophet or finds fault with him")[6] (http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/alshifa/pt4ch1sec2.htm)

Confronted with such arguments, many For alternative meanings for The West in the United States, see the U.S. West and American West. The term Western world can have multiple meanings depending on its context. Originally defined as Europe, most modern uses of the term refer to the societies of Europe and their genealogical, colonial... Westerners can be driven into attitudes reminiscent of, or actually partaking in, Islamophobia is the fear and/or hatred of Islam, Muslims or Islamic culture. Islamophobia can be characterised by the belief that all or most Muslims are religious fanatics, have violent tendencies towards non-Muslims, and reject as directly opposed to Islam such concepts as equality, tolerance, and democracy. It is... Islamophobia.

On the other hand, the denial of freedom of speech by Muslims is not only restricted to those Muslims supporting 'the most vigorous interpretations'. In Egypt, public authorities went so far as to try to annul, without his consent, the marriage of Prof. Professor Nasr (Hamid) Abu Zayd was born in Tanta, Egypt on October 7, 1943 and currently works and resides in The Netherlands. In 1981, he obtained his doctorate in Arabic and Islamic Studies, Highest Honours from Cairo University, where he worked until 1995. he specialises in Humanistic Hermeneutics. He suffered... Nasr Abu Zayd when he got in conflict with an orthodox islamic cleric from the Al-Azhar Universty in Cairo. The cleric had condemned Abu Zayd's reading of the Qur'an as being against the orthodox interpretation and labelled him an apostate (seen as a non-believer and consequently not permitted to marry or stay married to a Muslim woman). Happily, Abu Zayd fled to the For other uses, see Netherlands (disambiguation). The Netherlands (Dutch Nederland) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Dutch Koninkrijk der Nederlanden), a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarch. It is located in northwestern Europe and borders the North Sea, Belgium and Germany. The country is often referred... Netherlands where he is now a professor at the university of Leiden. Nevertheless, the case illustrates how far more common or average interpretations can go.

Practice of Sharia

There is tremendous variation in the interpretation and implementation of Islamic laws in Muslim societies today. Some believe that Colonialism is a system in which a state claims sovereignty over territory and people outside its own boundaries, often to facilitate economic domination over their resources, labor, and often markets. The term also refers to a set of beliefs used to legitimize or promote this system, especially the belief that... colonialism, which often replaced religious laws with secular ones, caused this variation. More recently In modern times there have been a number of liberal movements within Islam (sometimes called in Arabic: الإسلام الإجتهادية or interpretation-based Islam, also الإسلام المت... liberal movements within Islam have questioned the relevance and applicability of sharia from a variety of perspectives. As a result, several of the countries with the largest Muslim populations, including The Republic of Indonesia, the worlds largest archipelago, is located between the Southeast Asian peninsula and Australia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world and the fourth most populous overall. It has had free elections since the Indonesian 1998... Indonesia, The Peoples Republic of Bangladesh is a country in Map of South Asia South Asia is a subregion of Asia comprising the modern states of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, . It covers about 4,480,000 km², or 10 percent of the continent, and is... Bangladesh and The Republic of india is the second most populous country in the world, with a population of over one billion, and is the seventh largest country by geographical area. India has grown significantly, both in population and in strategic importance in the last two decades. The Indian economy is the... India have largely secular constitutions and laws, with only a few Islamic provisions in family law. For other uses, see Turkey (disambiguation). The Republic of Turkey is a country located in Southwest Asia with a small part of its territory (3%) in southeastern Europe. Until 1922 the country was the center of the Ottoman Empire. The Anatolian peninsula, between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea... Turkey has a constitution that is strongly secular.

Likewise, most countries of the Middle East and North Africa maintain a dual system of secular courts and religious courts, in which the religious courts mainly regulate marriage and inheritance. The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a country on the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, with the Persian Gulf to its... Saudi Arabia and Iran (Persian: ایران) is a Middle Eastern country located in southwestern Asia that until 1935 was referred to in the West as Persia. The name Iran is a modern cognate of Aryan meaning the Land of Aryans. Iran borders Pakistan (909km of border) and Afghanistan (936km... Iran maintain religious courts for all aspects of jurisprudence. Sharia is also used in Foreign relations Main article: Foreign relations of Sudan Sudan has a territorial dispute with Egypt over the Halaib Triangle. States Main article: States of Sudan Sudan has 26 states or wilayat: Al Jazirah, Al Qadarif, Bahr al Jabal, Blue Nile, East Equatoria, Junqali, Kassala, Khartoum, Lakes, North Bahr al... Sudan, This article is about Libya, the country in North Africa. For the mythical character of the same name see: Libya (mythology). The Great Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya or Libya (Arabic: ليبيا) is a country in North Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, located between Egypt... Libya and for a time in modern Afghanistan (Pashtu/Dari-Persian: Afğānistān افغانستان) is a country in Central Asia. It is bordered by Iran in the west, Pakistan in the south and east, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the... Afghanistan. Some states in northern The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a country in West Africa. It borders on Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, Niger in the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the south. Major cities include the capital Abuja, the former capital Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Port Harcourt... Nigeria have reintroduced Sharia courts. In practice the new Sharia courts in Nigeria have most often meant the re-introduction of relatively harsh punishments without respecting the much tougher rules of evidence and testimony, such as the necessity of four eyewitnesses, with a woman's testimony counting no less than that of a man. The punishments include Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. Contents // 1 Types 2 Method 3 Complications 4 Autoamputation 5 See also 6 External Links... amputation of one/both Alternate meanings: Hand (disambiguation) A human left hand The hand (med./lat.: manus) is a portion of the arm or anterior limb of a human or other primate, at where the appendage terminates. This part of the limb is especially used in grasping and holding. Each hand is a mirror... hand(s) for Theft (also known as stealing) is, in general, the wrongful taking of someone elses property without that persons willful consent. In law, it is usually the broadest term for a crime against property. It is a general term that encompasses offences such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery... theft and Stoning is a form of capital punishment in which a human is killed by having stones thrown at them repeatedly having a single stone of sufficient size placed upon them so as to prevent their breathing having a large door placed upon them and laden with stones being thrown from... stoning for Adultery is generally defined as consensual sexual intercourse by a married person with someone other than their lawful spouse. As there is usually an implicit or explicit agreement between spouses to not have sex outside the marriage, the common synonym for adultery is infidelity as well as unfaithfulness or in... adultery. Such measures are usually introduced to gain support of local Ulema (Arabic: علماء) is the community of legal scholars of Islam and the Sharia. Their organization and powers vary from Muslim community to community. They are most powerful in Shia Islam where their role is institutionalized, but where they are subordinate to the heirs of... ulema who are often community leaders in rural areas. Muslim scholars tend to agree that This article forms part of the seriesIslam Vocabulary of Islam Five Pillars Profession of faith Prayer · Alms · Fasting Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad (See Sixth pillar of Islam) People Muhammad Prophets of Islam Caliph · Shia Imam Companions of Muhammad Holy Cities Mecca · Medina · Jerusalem Najaf · Karbala · Kufa Kazimain · Mashhad · Samarra Events... Muhammad himself would not run courts along these lines in an otherwise secular society, nor introduce these punishments into societies rich enough to afford prisons and rehabilitation and cohesive enough to prevent accused criminals from being killed by outraged victims and communities.

An unusual secular-state example appears, at first observation, a Sharia Arbitration, in the law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution — specifically, a legal alternative to litigation whereby the parties to a dispute agree to submit their respective positions (through agreement or hearing) to a neutral third party (the arbitrator(s) or arbiter(s)) for resolution. Contents // 1 Contracts... arbitration court being established in Ontario (Flag of Ontario) (Coat of Arms of Ontario) Motto: Ut Incepit Fidelis Sic Permanet (Loyal she began, loyal she remains) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Toronto Largest city Toronto Lieutenant Governor James K. Bartleman Premier Dalton McGuinty (Liberal) Area 1,076,395 km² (4th)  - Land 917,741... Ontario, Canada is an independent This article discusses states as sovereign political entities. For other meanings, see state (disambiguation). In international law and international relations, a state is a geographic political entity possessing politicial sovereignty, i.e. not being subject to any higher political authority. In casual language, the idea of... Canada. That province's 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Years: 1988 1989 1990 - 1991 - 1992 1993 1994 Decades: 1960s 1970s 1980s - 1990s - 2000s 2010s 2020s Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century 1991 in topic: Arts Architecture - Art - Film - Literature - Music Science and technology Aviation - Rail transport... 1991 arbitration court law allows disputes to be settled in alternative courts to avoid backing up the court system. The court would handle disputes between Muslim complainants. Its critics fear that the Misogyny is an exaggerated pathological aversion towards women. Compare with anti-woman sexism. Misogyny is usually regarded as directed against women by some men, but women can also harbor misogynistic views. In feminist theory, misogyny is recognised as a political ideology similar to racism or anti-semitism, existing to justify... misogyny inherent in Sharia could end up influencing the Canadian justice system, but its proponents say those who do not wish to go by the court's rulings are not forced to attend it. Moreover, these sharia courts in Canada are only orthodox in a limited way as they respect the priority of canadian civil law. Anybody not satisfied with a ruling from the sharia court can in appeal with a civil court. As such, this sharia court is only a very pale version of sharia.

Like Jewish law and Christian canon law, Islamic law means different things to different people in different times and places. In the hands of moderates, religious law can be moderate, even liberal. In the hands of post-Enlightenment readers of philosophy, religious law is relegated to ritual (as opposed to law in a civil sense), or even to just being history. In the hands of fundamentalists, it is legally binding on all people of the faith, and even on all people that come under their control. Islamic law to American Muslims in Dearborn is a city of nearly 98,000 people located in the Metro Detroit metropolitan area and Wayne County, Michigan. The city is the hometown of Henry Ford and the world headquarters of the Ford Motor Company, and the site of a University of Michigan campus as well as Henry... Dearborn, Boston redirects here. For other uses, see Boston is the name of some places: Boston, England, the namesake to which other Bostons owe their name Boston, Georgia, United States of America Boston, Indiana, United States of America Boston, Kentucky, United States of America Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America Boston... Boston, or Houston redirects here. This article refers to the largest city of Texas. For other meanings of the word, please see Houston (disambiguation). Skyline of Downtown Houston from Eleanor Tinsley Park Located in southeast Texas, Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and one of the two largest... Houston is a very different thing than Islamic law to religious Muslims in For other uses, see Egypt (disambiguation). The Arab Republic of Egypt, commonly known as Egypt, (in Arabic: مصر, romanized Mişr or Maşr, in Egyptian dialect) is a republic mostly located in northeastern Africa. Covering an area of about 1,020,000 km², it includes... Egypt, The neutrality and factual accuracy of this article are disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a country on the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen, with the Persian Gulf to its... Saudi Arabia, the Map of the Gaza Strip from The World Factbook. The Gaza Strip is a narrow strip of land just northeast of the Sinai Peninsula. At the end of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War it was occupied by the Egyptians, under which it remained until it was claimed by Israel during... Gaza Strip, western The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) comprises most of the cultural, historic, and geographic area known as This article is on the geographic and cultural entity. For other meanings, see ... China (disambiguation). ... ... The The Great Wall of China (TC: 長城; SC: 长城, Pinyin: Chángchéng), also... China, The Federal Republic of Nigeria is a country in West Africa. It borders on Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, Niger in the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the south. Major cities include the capital Abuja, the former capital Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Port Harcourt... Nigeria[7] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3667515.stm), The Republic of Indonesia, the worlds largest archipelago, is located between the Southeast Asian peninsula and Australia, between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the most populous Muslim-majority nation in the world and the fourth most populous overall. It has had free elections since the Indonesian 1998... Indonesia, or The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (پاکستان in Urdu), or Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia. Pakistan borders India, Iran, Afghanistan, China and the Arabian Sea. With over 150 million inhabitants it is the sixth most populous country in the world. It also... Pakistan. All of them are following Islamic law, yet it varies as much as individual Muslims vary.

See also

• Hudud - Severe crimes (sometimes considered "crimes against God")
• Tazir - Less severe crimes (thus, "crimes against society", not God)
• Qesas - retaliatory crimes

Sources

An Untold Love Story By Yagmur Dursun (http://www.faithfreedom.org/Testimonials/Yagmur50313.htm)

The International Campaign against setting up Shari'a court in Canada (http://www.nosharia.com/)

External links

The penal law of Islam: Basic principle (http://www.muslimreviewer.com/penallaw.htm)

The Syariaat Islam: Basic principle By: Sh. Nadzir As Saghir Sufi (http://walikutub.tripod.com/syariaat/syariaat.html)