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Lordy, how the mean girls jeered when Energy Secretary Rick Perry offered some extemporaneous words of encouragement to workers at a coal-fired power plant in West Virginia last week."Here's a little economics lesson," Perry said in response to a question about how the coal industry can stay competitive when the shale revolution of the last 10 years has made the supply of natural gas so abundant and cheap. "Supply and demand: You put the supply out there, and the demand will follow."Cue an avalanche of media scorn."Rick Perry Hilariously Misunderstands Supply and Demand Theory in Attempted Defense of Coal Industry,"...

Muslim women across Britain are being systematically oppressed, abused and discriminated against by sharia law courts that treat women as second-class citizens, according to a new report, which warns against the spiraling proliferation of Islamic tribunals in the United Kingdom. The 40-page report, “A Parallel World: Confronting the Abuse of Many Muslim Women in Britain Today,” was authored by Baroness Caroline Cox, a cross-bench member of the British House of Lords and one of the leading defenders of women's rights in the UK. The report shows how the increasing influence of sharia law in Britain today is undermining the fundamental...

Excerpted from Mad World News: The first Islamic Sharia Court in the U.S. just got some very bad news, and Muslims are not happy.In a close 5-4 vote, the city of Irving ruled to back the Texas state bill banning foreign law from the state. It basically would slam the door in their faces, preventing them from spreading Sharia throughout the country. Now they are accusing the city council of unfairly being targeted.All four of the “voluntary” court’s lawyers were unlicensed in the state of Texas, a third degree felony. Mayor Beth Van Duyne received several phone calls on the...

An Islamic Tribunal using Sharia law in Texas has been confirmed by Breitbart Texas. The tribunal is operating as a non-profit organization in Dallas. One of the attorneys for the tribunal said participation and acceptance of the tribunal’s decisions are “voluntary.” Breitbart Texas spoke with one of the “judges,” Dr. Taher El-badawi. He said the tribunal operates under Sharia law as a form of “non-binding dispute resolution.” El-badawi said their organization is “a tribunal, not arbitration.” A tribunal is defined by Meriam-Webster’s Dictionary as “a court or forum of justice.” The four Islamic attorneys call themselves “judges” not “arbitrators.” El-badawi...

Lady Cox spoke of Islamist groups making massive investments in the educational system in UK in order to alter the institutions to serve their purposes. ... Islam is using the freedoms of democracy to destroy it,” as some of its adherents try to “inhibit criticism,” ... In England, if you criticize Islam, you are called a racist, ... Cox spoke of Islamist groups that have been implementing a strategic plan and making massive investments in the educational system in Britain in order to alter the institutions to serve their purposes. For example, she said, is a recent report that allegedly...

The courts may be privatized in a justice shake-up that could save the Ministry of Justice £1 billion ($1.51 billion) a year. The plans would free the courts from Treasure control, placing court buildings and thousands of staff in the hands of private companies. … Fears that privatization would erode the independence of the courts would be allayed by placing the courts under a Royal Charter, as has been proposed for the regulation of the press. …

A new documentary secretly filmed inside several of the 85 Islamic Sharia Law courts operating in Britain has exposed the systematic discrimination that many women are suffering at the hands of Muslim jurists. The documentary, Secrets of Britain's Sharia Courts, was filmed by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and was first aired on BBC Panorama, a long-running current affairs program, on April 8. The undercover investigation proves what has long been suspected: namely, that Sharia courts, which operate in mosques and houses across Britain, routinely issue rulings on domestic and marital issues according to Islamic Sharia law that are at...

This story from Britain is not brand new. It was published last Thursday, but between the attack on Tommy Robinson and the intervention of Christmas Winterval, I wasn’t able to give it the attention it deserved when it was fresh. Over the last several years we’ve heard a lot about the 85+ sharia courts in Britain. Apologists for the parallel judicial system reassure us that the sharia courts never hand down decisions that are in any way a violation of British law. Muslims insist that their system is analogous to the Jewish halacha system of mediation, and is thus no...

As reported in the UK Independent (10/14/10), president of the Islamic Sharia Council in Britain, Sheikh Maulana Abu Sayeed, has reiterated alarming comments made during a March, 2010 interview, sanctioning marital rape. Sheikh Sayeed was in fact responding to an inchoate effort at modernizing the contracts which govern Muslim marriages in Britain. The good Sheikh, representing Britain’s main Islamic Sharia court, the Islamic Sharia Council, promptly published a rebuttal of the contract, which included a statement on sexual abuse (page 6 here). He opined in the March interview:Clearly there cannot be any “rape” within the marriage. Maybe “aggression”, maybe “indecent...

A 12-year-old Christian girl died on Friday as a result of physical violence inflicted by her employer, a rich and powerful Muslim lawyer in Lahore. The case has led to protests by the Christian community, which demonstrated before the provincial assembly of Punjab in Lahore. The authorities are trying to appease people and have pledged that justice shall be done. Pakistani President Zardari has also promised to pay compensation to the family. A Protestant NGO, Sharing Life Ministry Life (SLMP), reported the case of Shazia Bashir, 12, who was employed for the past eight months as a domestic worker in...

Britain has 85 sharia courts: The astonishing spread of the Islamic justice behind closed doors At least 85 Islamic sharia courts are operating in Britain, a study claimed yesterday. The astonishing figure is 17 times higher than previously accepted. The tribunals, working mainly from mosques, settle financial and family disputes according to religious principles. They lay down judgments which can be given full legal status if approved in national law courts. Disputes: Islamic leaders rule on disagreements However, they operate behind doors that are closed to independent observers and their decisions are likely to be unfair to women and backed...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2009/s09020175.htm Friday, February 27, 2009 Charges Filed against Pakistani Kidnappers of Young Sisters Police ignore arrest order, but lawyers hopeful 13-year-old can be returned to parents By Jeremy Reynalds Correspondent for ASSIST News Service ISTANBUL (ANS) -- After months of legal deadlock, lawyers in Pakistan said they have new hope they can restore to her family a 13-year-old Christian girl who was kidnaped and forced to marry a Muslim. According to a story by Compass Direct News, Saba Masih might be returned to her family, the lawyers said, if they can legally maneuver...

February 26, 2009 SNIPPET: "Egypt: Over 20 lawyers attend court hearing for ex-Muslim to endorse his conviction and execution for apostasy Muhammad commanded: "If anyone changes his religion, kill him (Bukhari vol. 9, bk. 84, no. 57)." But they're keeping their grievances current, too: "Memos submitted by opposing lawyers asserted that cases such as El-Gohary’s form part of a U.S. Zionist attack on Islam in Egypt, that Christianity is an inferior religion to Islam and that Copts protect and defend converts from Islam at their own peril." An update on this story. "Egypt - Islamic lawyers urge death sentence for...

'A Labour Muslim minister has warned that Islamic law is too unsophisticated for Britain. Sadiq Khan said women could be ' abused' by sharia courts, which may give unequal bargaining power to the sexes. He said: 'The burden is on those who want to open up these courts to persuade us why they should.' Mr Khan, who was made a community cohesion minister in this month's Government reshuffle, rejected the argument that the courts could operate in the same way as the Jewish Beth Din courts. He said Muslim life in Britain was not advanced enough to run a similar...

In London's historic "Inns of Court", barristers practise law in the shadow of the distinctive medieval Temple Church. But does English law really owe a debt to Muslim law? For some scholars, a historical connection to Islam is a "missing link" that explains why English common law is so different from classical Roman legal systems that hold sway across much of the rest of Europe. It's a controversial idea. Common law has inspired legal systems across the world. What's more, calls for the UK to accommodate Islamic Sharia law have caused public outcry.

A Conservative government would ban sharia courts and impose a tough crackdown on Islamic extremism, the shadow security minister has said.

It’s been described by one commentator as an example of Great Britain ‘surrendering’ itself and the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was criticised for saying it will happen, but whatever the reaction, Islamic law now officially operates in the UK. Whereas before rulings by sharia courts in Britain could only be enforced if all parties in a Muslim civil case agreed to abide by them, now what the courts say will be legally binding, backed by county courts or the High Court. The five sharia courts are Birmingham, Bradford, London and Manchester with others planned for Glasgow and Edinburgh. They...

The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service Georgetown University cmcu.georgetown.edu _________________________________ The Prince Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding will be hosting a conference -- "Is There a Role for Shari'ah in Modern States?" -- at Georgetown University on October 23rd, 2008. The conference will be taking place from 9:30am to 5pm. A tentative schedule can be found below. --- 10:45am --- Panel 1: Rethinking Islam? Myths and Realities of Islamic Law Nathan Brown, "Shari'ah and Constitutional Reform" Sherman Jackson, "Can Shari'ah be Reformed?" Jonathan Brown, "Shari'ah Meets Reality: Giving Fatwas in...

ISLAMIC law has been officially adopted in Britain, with sharia courts given powers to rule on Muslim civil cases. The government has quietly sanctioned the powers for sharia judges to rule on cases ranging from divorce and financial disputes to those involving domestic violence. Rulings issued by a network of five sharia courts are enforceable with the full power of the judicial system, through the county courts or High Court. Previously, the rulings of sharia courts in Britain could not be enforced, and depended on voluntary compliance among Muslims.

Rome, 15 Feb. (AKI) - Islamic courts must be be ruled out in Britain and other Western countries if the democratic rights of all their citizens are to be safeguarded, Iranian born activist Homa Arjomand, told Adnkronos International (AKI). Homa Arjomand spearheaded a successful campaign to end faith-based arbitration in Canada. She strongly disagreed with remarks made earlier in February by the head of the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who claimed that Islamic (Sharia) courts in Britain seemed "inevitable" and could aid "social cohesion". Arjomand told AKI that adopting Sharia courts, promoting Islamic schools and Islamic...