International

Gender-Based Violence

This collection of articles on gender-based violence (GBV) is aimed at development and humanitarian practitioners, policy makers, and academics. This book brings together some of the most interesting and innovative work being done to tackle GBV in various sectors, world regions, and socio-political contexts. Take as a whole, the articles cover a wide range of manifestations of GBV.

“Muslim Clerics on the Religious Rulings Regarding Wife-Beating”

This report reviews the writings and statements of Muslim clerics and of other Islamic religious institutions that instead of condemning wife-beating, discuss it as a legitimate way of ‘disciplining’ the wife based on the Qur’an (4:34).

Are Muslim Men Allowed to Beat Their Wives?

The booklet was published as part of the women's groups' campaign for a Domestic Violence Act in Malaysia to include Muslims. In question and answer form, it deals with such questions: Does Islam allow a husband to physically beat or mentally harass his wife?; What is regarded in Islam as cruelty towards a wife?; Verse All Nisa', 4:34 has been commonly used to justify wife beating.

“Problems in Contemporary Applications of Islamic Criminal Sanctions: The Penalty for Adultery in Relation to Women”

Taking the penalty for adultery (had al-zina) as a case study, this essay attempts to address some of the practical problems associated with contemporary applications of Islamic penalties know as hudood. It looks at all four Sunni schools of law in relation to zina, and gives an in-depth discussion of their conflicting implications. In empirical terms the study investigates some court cases of zina taken from Sudan, a country in which the Islamic criminal penalties were introduced for the first time in 1983, then in 1991.

“Greater Sins: The Complete Book”

Ayatollah Shirazi is originally from Shiraz, Iran and has penned dozens of books on the improvement of morals, fiqh and the exegesis of Quran. Shirazi writes on the “great” sins, of which adultery is one, but offers some specifically Shia commentary. While he condones stoning, his opinion stresses the near impossibility of proving adultery by witness and the lack of compulsion in confession. Here he also seems to oppose the “Judges’ Knowledge: “It is not permitted for the Judge to goad the accused to confess.

New Issues in Refugee Research. Witchcraft Allegations, Refugee Protection and Human Rights: A Review of the Evidence

This paper examines the link between witchcraft accusations and displacement. Accusations may cause displacement through forced exile or the personal decision to flee from the threat of harm. Some of the numerous explanations for witchcraft accusations are introduced, before turning to the ways in which witchcraft accusations are a protection concern. Documented examples of persecution aimed at alleged witches in various countries across the world are provided before turning to the groups who face the highest risk: women, the elderly and children.

“Fatwa No. 101972”

Although this fatwa has to do with specifically with stoning, it mentions some rulings that concern the hadd punishment for adultery (zina.) There are five conditions for an individual to be rightfully found guilty of adultery: 1.) intercourse, 2.) Within a valid marriage, 3.) Being an adult, 4.) Being of sound reason, 5.) Beings free (i.e., not a slave.) Concerning the second condition, the opinion states: “The second condition is that it should be proven that the hadd punishment is deserved, by the testimony of four male witnesses who saw the private parts meet,

“Studying a practice: An inquiry into lapidation”

The question of why stoning (or lapidation) persists today continues to pose a puzzle. It is not a puzzle that has gone unanswered. Rejali looks at three common explanations for the origin and persistence of stoning: legal, religious, and cultural arguments. He concludes that all three ways of explaining lapidation involve precisely the same problematic understanding of the nature of practice.

“Ayatollah Montazeri condemns stoning”

Radio Farda, an American-based Persian-language radio program, interviewed the Grand Ayatollah Montazeri on his opinions about the practice of stoning, and specifically whether the sentence of stoning can be vacated and replaced by another punishment. He responded as follows:

“Who says Shari’a demands the stoning of women?: A description of Islamic law and constitutionalism”

Quraishi gives a very interesting lecture describing the methods by which Muslim scholars derive fiqh and shariah and implement them. She uses stoning to illustrate the various pathways this method could take, particularly focusing on what constitutes authority when issuing these laws and opinions, where differences stem from, and how one could make an argument against stoning using a religious framework.