Julie Macfarlane
Julie Macfarlane is a law professor at the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. She has expertise in Islamic family law and is the author of Islamic Divorce in North America: A Shari’a Path in a Secular Society.
Category: Church & state
“Nothing to Fear: Debunking the Mythical ‘Sharia Threat’ to Our Judicial System”
The American Civil Liberties Union issued a report in May 2011 about the push for anti-Shariah laws.
“Anti-Foreign Law Bill Can’t Pass Senate”
Read a CBS Miami story about a measure that died in the Florida Legislature in May 2013.
Robert Vischer
Robert Vischer is dean and professor of law at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis. His research interests explore the intersection of law, religion and public policy, and his books include Conscience and the Common Good: Reclaiming the Space Between Person and State.
“State Legislation Restricting Use of Foreign or Religious Law”
This April 8, 2013, graphic by the Pew Research Center gives state-by-state details about proposed or enacted legislation to limit use of foreign/religious law in court matters.
“Child brides at center of clash between Islamic and secular laws”
Read an Aug. 4, 2013, Associated Press story in the South Florida Times about a controversy in Nigeria over whether a proposed constitutional amendment concerning “age of consent” would conflict with Shariah.
“How a 21st-century Hitler could succeed”
Read an Aug. 13, 2013, guest column posted by United Press International, in which retired Marine Lt. Col. James Zumwalt warns of attempts at a global Islamic takeover in which Shariah would be the universal legal code.
“NC Muslims hope Gov. Pat McCrory vetoes anti-Shariah bill”
Read a July 26, 2013, Religion News Service story about North Carolina Muslims’ hopes for a gubernatorial veto of anti-Shariah legislation there.
Jan Michiel Otto
Jan Michiel Otto is professor of law and governance in developing countries and director of the Van Vollenhoven Institute for Law, Governance and Development at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He is an expert on Shariah and edited the book Sharia Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries […]