In part one of this series Dyala Hamzah and myself (Farish A Noor) looked at the structural factors that have inhibited the growth and development of a public sphere in the contemporary Muslim world.
A woman has been stoned to death in Afghanistan, reportedly for committing adultery. The killing is said to have taken place in the Urgu district of north-eastern Badakhshan province.
Habiba Sarobi is Afghanistan's first female governor, formerly the minister for women's affairs, she said she had turned down an ambassadorial job to demand the governor's post from President Hamid Karzai.
Personal status laws dictate that both husband and wife must attend court for a divorce to be granted, but the laws are often violated and men are handed separation without their wives' involvement.
The protesters had gathered to hear their neighbours denounced as heretics and infidels. The target of this passionate hatred was the Ahmadiyya community, sometimes called Ahmadis or Qadianis.
