Islamic Sharia law news stories on Newser

Nigerian State Playing Matchmaker for Thousands

Matt Cantor — Sun, 06 May 2012 07:37:56 CDT

Nigeria's Kano state is worried: The number of divorces appears to be skyrocketing. And a divorced woman there faces a raft of problems—she may be shunned, in some cases forced to beg or prostitute herself to support her family. So the state government is taking the matter into its...

143 Dead in Nigeria Attacks

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:00:45 CST

An official at a hospital in northern Nigeria says at least 143 people have been killed in coordinated attacks in the nation's second largest city. The radical Islamic sect known as Boko Haram claimed responsibility for yesterday's violence in Kano, a city of more than 9 million people that remains...

Appeals Court Blocks Oklahoma Ban on Sharia

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:53:32 CST

An amendment that would ban Oklahoma courts from considering Islamic or international law in their decisions discriminates against religions, a federal appeals court said today. The justices said a Muslim community leader, Muneer Awad, has the right to sue over First Amendment concerns. The court in Denver upheld a lower-court...

Victoria Jackson: Muslims Taking Over US

Evann Gastaldo — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 10:14:11 CST

The Huffington Post delivers a belated Christmas present in the form of yet another bizarre Victoria Jackson story , this one unearthed from an episode of her web talk show that ran last week. On "PolitiChicks," the former Saturday Night Live cast member claims that the United States has been infiltrated...

Merciful Female Acid Victim Denied Compensation

Rob Quinn — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:50:06 CST

After Amenah Bahrami agreed to a pardon , the rejected suitor who blinded her by throwing acid in her face got to keep his eyesight. Now, the Iranian courts have decided that he gets to keep his cash as well. Majid Movahedi, who was minutes away from having acid dropped in...

Libyan Leader: We'll Be Ruled by Sharia

Mary Papenfuss — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 07:42:01 CDT

The leader of Libya's transitional government has announced that the nation will be ruled by Islamic Sharia law. Sharia will be the "basic source for all law" in Libya, Mustafa Abdul Jalil told thousands of supporters at a "liberation" ceremony in Benghazi yesterday. Current laws that contradict the teachings of...

Russian Women Bombed for Wearing Bikinis

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 01:45:01 CDT

Russian women have become the target of bombers because they're ... wearing bikinis. While men show off their muscles and wrestle on the beaches of the Caspian Sea, women in the increasingly fundamentalist Islamic region of Dagestan have been blown up as a warning that they must cover up, reports the...

Saudi Women Get Right to Vote

Polly Davis Doig — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:41:44 CDT

Good news for the ladies of Saudi Arabia: You can vote and even run for office, Saudi King Abdullah said today in an announcement that many are hailing as major progress for women's rights. Of course, there's a caveat: Abdullah's announcement won't take effect until after this Thursday's elections, so...

Muslim Brotherhood Wants Sharia Execution for Mubarak

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 06:22:01 CDT

If Hosni Mubarak is found guilty of murder, the Muslim Brotherhood wants him hanged—or worse. "Beheading by the sword" would be the more traditional punishment under sharia law, says the Islamic movement's spokesperson. As for sons Gamal and Alaa, if found guilty of corruption? "If a man has stolen...