Cases and Fatwās Roundup
“The [United Arab] Emirates Council for Sharia Fatwa has confirmed the permissibility of paying Zakat Al-Fitr in cash.”
Cases and Fatwās Roundup
“Rohit De’s article, Mumtaz Bibi’s Broken Heart: The Many Lives of the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act, 1939” 46:1 Indian Economic and Social History Review ( 2009) pp.105-130, was cited by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Ibrahim Khan v. Saima Khan, a case about the rights of Muslim women to seek a judicial dissolution of marriage. Justice Ayesha Malik, the first… CONTINUE READING
Cases and Fatwās Roundup
“The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques [in Saudi Arabia] has allocated smart guidance robots for fatwa issuance at the Grand Mosque in Makkah.” “Is an on-screen nikkah [marriage] valid off-screen? . . . The heated debate comes after a recent statement made by a religious scholar on a television show… CONTINUE READING
Cases and Fatwās Roundup
“The Allahabad High Court in Uttar Pradesh [India] . . . declared the Madrasa Act of 2004 to be unconstitutional, according to a court order seen by CNN, while ordering the state government to move students enrolled in the Islamic system into mainstream schools. ‘We hold that the Madarsa (sic) Act, 2004, is violative of… CONTINUE READING
Cases and Fatwās Roundup
The Gambia Supreme Islamic Council declared certain forms of female genital mutilation to be contrary to Islamic law, commenting: ” [T]he removal of the genital organ, or what is known as Pharaonic circumcision [–] Muslim jurists have agreed that this type is illegal because of the harm it inflicts on women.”
Cases and Fatwās Roundup
“Pakistan’s Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling that the judicial proceedings leading to the death sentence and execution of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979 violated principles of due process and the right to a fair trial.”
Cases and Fatwās Roundup
“The Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK) [urged] Parliament to enact a law for the establishment of a Kadhis Court of Appeal to deal with issues relating to inheritance and other property cases among Muslims through the guidance of the Quran.” “The Allahabad High Court [in India] dismissed a plea by a married… CONTINUE READING
Cases and Fatwās Roundup
“A two-day conference on contemporary fatwas (Islamic religious edicts) was just convened recently in Singapore. Organised by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), the conference aims to explore the role of fatwas in shaping Muslim communities and guiding them to live effectively and confidently in facing contemporary challenges in plural societies.” “In a landmark decision,… CONTINUE READING
Cases and Fatwās Roundup
Reacting to the Federal Court of Malaysia‘s recent decision declaring unconstitutional certain sharī’a-based state laws, the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah said that “all parties should respect decisions of the Federal Court, and the position of the Federal Constitution as the supreme law of the country.” “Days after the state government appointed a… CONTINUE READING
Cases and Fatwās Roundup
“By an 8-1 majority, the Federal Court [of Malaysia] ruled . . . that the Kelantan state government did not have the power to enact the laws, on offences from sodomy to sexual harassment, possession of false information, intoxication and scale measurements, because they were already covered in civil law and were the responsibility of… CONTINUE READING