This is really sad. A woman was denied the restraining order she requested against her husband in New Jersey. She sought legal protection after he beat and raped her for a period of weeks. The judge denied the request and protection citing that the husband couldn't be held accountable for his actions (which are illegal in all 50 states mind you) because they were permitted in Islam (which they are NOT mind you), the religion which the couple practiced. This is crazy, obviously, and was corrected later. I don't know what law school this judge went to but I hope this judge is an outlier in our criminal justice system and not the standard.
Oklahoma is poised to ban courts from citing Sharia (Islamic) law (I don't know if that includes only Islam or if they included all religions). Here is the real kicker: England already has five of these courts!!! I had no idea. It is amazing what you learn in a day.
I personally feel that religion and law have to be separate. Law is convoluted so that there is no misinterpretation, and there is still a huge grey area, people argue about what the word "it" means. Religion is black and white which is okay so long as we don't enforce it on others. Religion is most beautiful when it allows a person private communication with the devine which by definition is unique to each individual. This disappears when it becomes prescribed by the government, or any group of people for that matter.
I think western law works, mostly ... there is a lot of room for improvement. If we enforce the laws we already have in place then we don't have to make constitutional amendments like the one Oklahoma is about to make.
See the original article here http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/2010/10/go-ahead-beat-your-wife-just-dont-leave-a-mark.php
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