Islamic Law in the News

  • “Islamic preacher Dr Zakir Naik, originally from Mumbai, [has found] himself at the centre of raging controversies in Pakistan. He is currently on a month-long tour of Pakistan at the invitation of the government in Islamabad. He is wanted in India on terror-related charges and has found refuge in Malaysia.”
  • Palestinian director Laila Abbas recently made a film about Islamic inheritance laws, “which traces two sisters who contend with patriarchal inheritance traditions after the death of their father.”
  • “Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim [of Malaysia] has criticised PAS and other proponents of hudud law for only actively advocating its implementation when elections are near, accusing them of misplaced priorities. Speaking to US-based broadcaster Mehdi Hasan in a recent interview, Anwar said the government’s current priorities are policies regarding peace, security and economic development.” For more content and context on harsh interpretations and applications of Islamic criminal law, consult our Editor-in-Chief, Professor Intisar Rabb’s “Resource Roundup: Islamic Criminal Law.” For more news blurbs relating to harsh applications of Islamic criminal law, consult our “Islamic Criminal Law in the News Roundup.”
  • “A group of 39 Iranian parliamentarians has asked the Iranian Supreme National Security Council to revise the country’s defense doctrine, in particular to allow the creation of nuclear weapons . . . . Despite the prohibition under Islamic law on the development and use of nuclear weapons, as repeatedly stated by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, it could still be reconsidered, the official said.”
  • In Qatar, “President of the Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) and President of the Court of Cassation Dr. Hassan bin Lahdan Al Mohannadi emphasized that that law No. (4) of 2023 on the procedures for dividing inheritances has achieved positive results that exceeded expectations with regard to the speed of settling family disputes related to inheritances, noting that no lawsuit has been filed before the competent court since the law came into effect more than a year ago.”
  • “The United Nations expressed ‘a great deal of sorrow’ . . . over the continued ban on girls’ secondary school education in Taliban-led Afghanistan as the world body marked the International Day of the Girl Child.” For more content and context on the recent developments in Afghanistan, consult our Editor-in-Chief, Professor Intisar Rabb’s “Resource Roundup: Afghanistan, the Taliban, and Islamic Law.” 

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