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So, after much indecision, it looks like at least for the next six months I'll be posting a weekly entry on "Sharia law" as part of my English project. It's a really controversial topic, and as much as I wouldn't want to be biased, I am... so throughout the following fifteen weeks I will be writing about what I learn and my opinion on it. Feel free to comment.
P.S. I'll try to keep mistakes to a minimum for all you Grammar Nazis out there.
Brief Background
Sharia law is one of the most controversial aspects of the Islamic religion, it's basically their "legal system [...] derived from both the Koran, as the word of God, the example of the life of the prophet Muhammad, and fatwas - the rulings of Islamic scholars" (BBC).
Sharia law has been condemned widely since it differs to most legal systems in the fact that it ends up being a way of living that Muslims under it must follow; it covers things that go from serious crimes to very simple daily tasks. Most concerns are in the human rights violations, but in practice Sharia law is somewhat different in each country. In some nations, such a Saudi Arabia, it is much more common to see people getting very gruesome punishments (BBC).
A very important aspect of Sharia law is that Muslims are expected to follow this set of rules even when living out of there country, some Sharia courts can be found in countries such as the United Kingdom, but this is a topic I'll dwell upon later (BBC).
I hope this gave you and idea on what Sharia law is, of course this is a much broader and complex topic, but you'll hear from me every week.
Works Cited
Casciani, Dominic. "Q&A: Sharia Law Explained." BBC News. 4 July 2008. Web. 17 Aug. 2011. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7234870.stm>.
