Gesunde Ernährung: Softe Drinks mit harten Folgen
ZEIT ONLINE: Limo- und Cola-Trinker erkranken häufiger an Bauchspeicheldrüsenkrebs als andere. Experten sind sich darin einig – auch wenn die Studie dazu Schwachstellen hat.

Ob Pepsi, Afri oder Coca Cola – gesund sind solche Softdrinks nicht. Foto: Zeit Online
Dass Cola und Limonade keine harmlosen Durstlöscher sind, haben schon einige Studien gezeigt. Eine aktuelle Untersuchung stellt die Softdrinks nun auch unter den Verdacht, das Risiko für eine besonders bösartige Form von Krebs zu erhöhen. Mark Pereira, Gesundheitsforscher an der Uni in Minnesota, hat dafür die Essens- und Getränkevorlieben von 60.524 Männern und Frauen aus Singapur erhoben und 14 Jahre lang ihr gesundheitliches Geschick verfolgt. 140 von ihnen erkrankten in dieser Zeit an Krebs der Bauchspeicheldrüse. >>> Von Adelheid Müller-Lissner | Mittwoch 10. Februar 2010

Chinas Justiz bremst Todesstrafe: Nur noch für schwerste Verbrechen – Höhere Anforderungen an Beweise
NZZ ONLINE: Die chinesische Justiz will die Anwendung der Todesstrafe einschränken. Ein Todesurteil soll nur noch im Falle «äusserst schwerwiegender» Verbrechen gefällt werden, und nur aufgrund solider Beweise gegen die Angeklagten.

Das Oberste Volksgericht habe entsprechende Leitlinien für alle chinesischen Gerichte herausgegeben, berichtete die amtliche Nachrichtenagentur Xinhua am Dienstagabend. Ausserdem müsse es «gültige und weitreichende Beweise» für die Tat geben. >>> sda/afp | Mittwoch, 10. Februar 2010

Musulmans: un "droit à l'indifférence"
LE FIGARO: Le président du CFCM (Conseil français du culte musulman) Mohammed Moussaoui demande pour le culte musulman "le droit à l'indifférence" en regrettant une tendance actuelle à la stigmatisation et à l'islamophobie, dans une tribune publiée dans Le Monde daté de demain.



"L'Islam a pu pendant longtemps être pratiqué paisiblement en France par des milliers de croyants sans que cela constitue un quelconque problème", écrit-il, regrettant que "dans l'imaginaire collectif, la présence musulmane sur le sol français est assimilée à une présence étrangère qui vient perturber le paysage français".



Rappelant la contribution de la civilisation arabo-musulmane à l'essor de l'Europe, le sacrifice des musulmans au cours des Première et Seconde Guerres mondiales, et le respect des valeurs républicaines par la grande majorité des musulmans de France, il déplore "une instrumentalisation politique de la religion musulmane, présentée par certains comme une menace pour la cohésion nationale et le vivre ensemble". "Le débat sur le voile intégral et l'identité nationale en sont les parfaites illustrations", insiste-t-il. >>> AFP | Mercredi 10 Février 2010

La princesse saoudienne qui défend la cause des femmes
LE FIGARO: Rencontre exclusive avec la fille préférée du roi Abdallah, et son atout pour faire bouger la société.

Elle avait précisé : pas de photo. Pour sa première interview à un journal occidental, Son Altesse royale la princesse Adelah bint Abdallah sait jusqu'où elle peut s'aventurer. Si des présentatrices au visage découvert apparaissent quotidiennement sur les chaînes saoudiennes, la fille préférée du roi Abdallah ne peut se permettre de transgresser les «traditions familiales» même si elle n'y verrait personnellement aucun inconvénient. Elle a pourtant accepté, pour la première fois, de recevoir un journaliste en tête à tête, et chez elle. C'est déjà un grand pas, dans un pays où l'on peut condamner une femme au fouet pour s'être simplement trouvée en compagnie d'un homme étranger à sa famille.

La princesse accueille simplement le visiteur dans sa maison de Riyad, une vaste villa que l'on ne saurait qualifier de palais. Pas de protocole. Adelah bint Abdallah, une grande et jolie femme, tend la main en souriant au seuil d'un salon aux meubles modernes, métal et cuir. Elle porte une jupe longue en cuir noir, une veste courte en velours vert sur un chemisier de soie grège, un foulard en fine mousseline posé sur les cheveux. «Je le mets quand je suis en représentation officielle», explique-t-elle. On est loin du niqab, la tenue noire couvrant entièrement le visage, courante dans les rues saoudiennes.

En plein accord avec son père, Adelah bint Abdallah s'est créé une mission bien à elle dans la famille royale, faire avancer la cause des femmes dans un pays encore très traditionnel. L'establishment religieux ne voit pas cela d'un très bon œil. Mais avec la légitimité de son rang et l'appui personnel de son père, la princesse se sent libre d'exprimer des convictions qui pourront sans doute choquer plus d'un religieux, sans parler des islamistes locaux.

Le voile complet ? En Arabie saoudite comme en France, il devrait s'agir d'un choix personnel. La mixité, déjà en vigueur dans les hôpitaux, où des femmes médecins traitent des patients masculins, et vice-versa ? Elle devrait être étendue à toute la société. L'âge du mariage ? Il faut fixer un minimum, dit la princesse, qui prend spontanément la défense de la «fillette de Boureïda», une histoire qui divise les Saoudiens, celle d'une gamine de 12 ans qui a épousé un homme de 80 ans (lire encadré). 50 % des diplômés sont des filles >>> D’envoyé spécial du Figaro à Riyad, Pierre Prier | Mercredi 10 Février 2010

LE FIGARO: «Nombre de lois doivent être changées» : INTERVIEW - Dans son premier entrerien avec un journal occidental, la fille du roi Abdallah évoque ses «combats» pour faire bouger la société saoudienne. >>> Propos recueillis à Riyad par Pierre Prier | Mardi 09 Février 2010

When the Moors Ruled in Europe

Waafa Sultan: Muhammad Could Not Have Been a Prophet

Man Claims Fiancee Hid Beard Under Niqab
GULF NEWS: An Arab ambassador said he decided to call off his wedding immediately after he discovered that his wife-to-be, who wears a niqab, was bearded and cross-eyed.

Dubai: An Arab ambassador said he decided to call off his wedding immediately after he discovered that his wife-to-be, who wears a niqab, was bearded and cross-eyed.

The ambassador claimed that the bride's mother deceived his mother, when she went to see his Gulf national wife-to-be, by showing her pictures of the bride's sister.

The Arab man, who also holds the title of minister plenipotentiary, claimed to a Sharia court judge in Dubai that the bride's family showed his mother photos of the bride's sister and not the woman he was going to marry.

Sources close to the case told Gulf News that the groom only saw the woman a few times. He did not realise that she had a beard because she wore the niqab the few times he met her, added the source.

"Every time the couple met, the bride would do her best not to reveal her entire face. After the ambassador and the woman, who is a physician, signed the marriage contract, the groom was sitting with the bride… he claimed to the Sharia court officials that when he wanted to kiss his wife-to-be, he discovered that she was bearded and cross-eyed as well," claimed the source.

The ambassador then decided to call off the wedding party and lodged a divorce claim alleging that he was tricked by his parents-in-law and incurred emotional and moral damage.

In his lawsuit, the groom also asked the bride to repay him his Dh500,000, the amount which he claimed he spent on jewellery, clothes and gifts. >>> Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter | Wednesday, February 10, 2010

France's Hardline Immigration Minister Accused of Planning to Convert to Islam to Marry His Young Muslim Girlfriend
MAIL ONLINE: France's hardline immigration minister Eric Besson is threatening to sue over hotly denied claims he is about to convert to Islam to marry his young Muslim girlfriend.

The rumours, reported on French news website Bakchich Info, come as the 51-year-old spearheads a campaign against alien religions and cultures swamping his country.

He has already called for the Muslim burkha to be banned, and wants potential immigrants to take French tests and swear allegiance to the Republic.

This particularly applies to those arriving from Muslim countries who do not share the same values as France’s predominantly Roman Catholic population.

Divorced Mr Besson has admitted that he currently lives with a Paris art school student who is the great-granddaughter of Wassila Bourguiba, the wife of the former Tunisian president, Habib Bourguiba.

The father-of-three's younger lover was named as Yasmine Tordjman, who is in her 20s.

Before Christmas he travelled to the north African country to meet Ms Tordjman's mother, prompting speculation that he would re-marry in June.

Islam does not allow mixed marriages, meaning the minister would have to convert from Catholicism to Islam.

But Besson has now released an official statement stating that he ‘deplores having to deny a conversion to a religion which I otherwise respect, I am very attached to the secular character of our Republic.’ >>> Peter Allen | Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Iran Steps Up Security Before Islamic Revolution Rally
THE GUARDIAN: Tehran sentences another activist to death and several others are arrested ahead of national day demonstrations

Large numbers of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have been deployed across Tehran, claim opposition sources, before tomorrow's anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Photo: The Guardian
Iranian security forces are deploying in strength in Tehran and across the country to head off what opposition supporters hope will be massive protests to mark tomorrow's anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.

New arrests were announced today after another death sentence was handed down for a convicted "rioter" and large numbers of Revolutionary Guards and Basij militia arrived in the capital from outlying areas, opposition sources reported.

Official preparations to deal with the latest bout of internal unrest coincide with mounting international tensions after Barack Obama accused Iran on Tuesday of trying to build a nuclear weapon and warned it would face new sanctions within weeks.
The regime has repeatedly accused opposition supporters of serving foreign interests. >>> Ian Black, Middle East editor | Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Church Concern Over Religious Broadcast Hours
THE INDEPENDENT: The Church of England today voted to express "deep concern" about a reduction in religious broadcasting across British television - but drew back from singling out the BBC for criticism.

Members of the Church of England's national assembly, the General Synod, overwhelmingly backed a motion criticising a decline in religious programming.

But they rejected an attempt to narrow the focus of criticism to the BBC after a series of speakers urged the Church to do more to communicate its message.

One member of the General Synod said putting the BBC "on the naughty step" would not help encourage better coverage of religious affairs.

Nigel Holmes, a former BBC radio producer from Great Corby, near Carlisle, told the meeting in London that over the past 20 years the total output of general programme channels on BBC television had doubled.

But the hours of religious broadcasting on television were fewer and generally scheduled at less accessible times, he told the Synod.

"A fortnight ago the BBC announced that it was commissioning research with a view to improving the representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people," he said.

"Perhaps it could do the same for those who proclaim a faith and particularly for younger people for whom nothing spiritual is to be found either on television or on the radio." >>> Martha Linden, Press Association | Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Hirsi Ali Criticises Western 'Appeasement' of Islam
AFP: JAIPUR, India — Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Somali-born former Dutch lawmaker threatened with death for her outspoken criticism of Islam, on Sunday accused the world's liberal democracies of appeasing radical Muslims.

Hirsi Ali, who since 2004 has lived under constant guard against death threats from Islamic extremists, made her accusation during an unannounced appearance at the Jaipur Literary Festival in India.

Speaking to a packed audience, Hirsi Ali said fear of offending Muslims and the wider Islamic world meant Islam had been largely exempted in Europe and the United States from the critical scrutiny applied to other religions.

"In the West, people are frigidly stuck in an attitude of self-doubt," fearful of Muslim radicals but also worried of being seen as anti-Muslim and thus betraying their own liberal traditions, Hirsi Ali said.

"This appeasement has made the public space in these countries a lot less safe," she added. >>> AFP | Sunday, January 24, 2010

Fine Words Butter No Parsnips
THE TELEGRAPH: Michelle Obama has unveiled her campaign against childhood obesity in the US, saying that it is a problem that concerns her both as first lady and as a mother.

Michelle Obama launches her 'Let's Move' campaign in a bid to help combat childhood obesity. Photograph: The Telegraph
Mrs Obama said that the campaign was designed to encourage people to live healthier lives, but admitted that she herself was not immune to the temptations of junk food.

"I love burgers and fries. And I love ice cream and cake. And so do most kids," she said.

But, she added: "We're not talking about a lifestyle that excludes all that.

"The question is how do we help people balance that out so that they're not facing life-threatening, preventable illnesses, but they're enjoying their food, they're eating their vegetables, they're doing their running and walking and playing and still have time to get a good, fun meal in every once in a while."

One in three American children is overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk of developing diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other illnesses.

Billions of dollars are spent every year treating obesity-related conditions.

"None of us wants this future for our kids," Mrs Obama said at the White House.

"We have to act, so let's move." Michelle Obama launches obesity campaign and admits weakness for junk food >>> | Wednesday, February 10, 2010

France President Sarkozy Drops National Identity Debate
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: France President Nicolas Sarkozy had sought to use a national identity debate to heal social rifts and propel himself to victory in the polls. But three months on, the debate has been dropped and Sarkozy's standing harmed.

Paris – The French Elysee is quietly dropping one of its more cherished and controversial projects – a "national identity" debate that went haywire almost immediately and threatens to harm President Nicolas Sarkozy in crucial elections this March.

According to a French ruling party script set last November, the nation would discuss on the Internet, then in town halls and cities, enduring French values like liberty, equality, and fraternity, and the Gallic genius behind the works of Hugo and Camus.

The conversation would lead to agreement on what it means to be French, at a time when immigration anxieties are high and just a few years after rioting in poor, immigrant-dominated neighborhoods around Paris shook the nation.

By early February, the plan went, President Sarkozy would give a triumphal speech bringing it all together in time for the French to vote.

Instead, the debate became a lightning rod for fears of immigration and Islam, a format for extreme-right ranting, and was ridiculed by media – at a time when conservative French lawmakers were also pushing a law to ban the burqa, or full-length Muslim veil, in France, which may happen this spring.

Now Sarkozy’s speech is no longer scheduled, and Prime Minister Francoise Fillon yesterday ended the public debate by announcing small new patriotic rules: French flags will fly on schools, the 1789 declaration of the rights of man will be posted in every classroom – and a commission that will study it all further. >>> Robert Marquand. Staff writer | Tuesday, February 09, 2010

This Disgusting Government! The Disgusting Face of the Labour Party!
THE TELEGRAPH: The Government has been accused of pursuing a secret policy of encouraging mass immigration for its own political ends.

The release of a previously unseen document suggested that Labour’s migration policy over the past decade had been aimed not just at meeting the country’s economic needs, but also the Government’s “social objectives”.

The paper said migration would “enhance economic growth” and made clear that trying to halt or reverse it could be “economically damaging”. But it also stated that immigration had general “benefits” and that a new policy framework was needed to “maximise” the contribution of migration to the Government’s wider social aims.

The Government has always denied that social engineering played a part in its migration policy.

However, the paper, which was written in 2000 at a time when immigration began to increase dramatically, said controls were contrary to its policy objectives and could lead to “social exclusion”.

Last night, the Conservatives demanded an independent inquiry into the issue. It was alleged that the document showed that Labour had overseen a deliberate open-door ­policy on immigration to boost multi-culturalism.

Voting trends indicate that migrants and their descendants are much more likely to vote Labour. Labour's 'secret plan' to lure migrants >>> Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Editor | Tuesday, February 09, 2010

How Labour Threw Open Doors to Mass Migration in Secret Plot to Make a Multicultural UK
MAIL ONLINE: Labour threw open the doors to mass migration in a deliberate policy to change the social make-up of the UK, secret papers suggest.

A draft report from the Cabinet Office shows that ministers wanted to ‘maximise the contribution’ of migrants to their ‘social objectives’.

The number of foreigners allowed in the UK increased by as much as 50 per cent in the wake of the report, written in 2000.

Labour has always justified immigration on economic grounds and denied it was using it to foster multiculturalism.

But suspicions of a secret agenda rose when Andrew Neather, a former government adviser and speech writer for Tony Blair, Jack Straw and David Blunkett, said the aim of Labour’s immigration strategy was to ‘rub the Right’s nose in diversity and render their arguments out of date’. >>> James Slack | Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Obama Speaks, Iranians Quiver
BBC: US President Barack Obama has said the US and its allies are developing a "significant regime of sanctions" against Iran for its nuclear programme.

He said the international community was unified over Iran's "misbehaviour".

Speaking in Washington, he said despite Tehran's denials, it was clear Iran was working to build nuclear weapons. Obama vows 'significant' sanctions against Iran >>> | Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Protesters Attack Italy's Embassy in Iran
THE JERUSALEM POST: Teheran summons Italian envoy; protests also held outside French, Dutch embassies.

About 100 Iranians protested Tuesday in front of the Italian embassy in Teheran, shouting "Death to Italy, Death to Berlusconi, " Italy's foreign minister said. Protests were also held outside the French and Dutch embassies.

The protests came a week after Premier Silvio Berlusconi announced — in Israel — that Italy was scaling back its economic dealings with Iran and wanted tighter sanctions against the Teheran leadership. Italy has long been Teheran's biggest trading partner in the EU.

Television footage of the protests shown on Sky TG 24 showed protesters throwing stones and eggs at the Italian embassy. Foreign Ministry officials said none of the protesters managed to get inside and that police intervened.

Frattini told the Senate that the protest was "hostile" and that the group tried to assault the building. >>> Associated Press | Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Manifestation d'Iraniens devant l'ambassade d'Italie à Téhéran
LA PRESSE CANADIENNE: ROME/TEHERAN — Aux cris de "Mort à l'Italie, mort à Berlusconi", une centaine d'Iraniens ont manifesté mardi devant l'ambassade d'Italie à Téhéran, selon le ministre italien des Affaires étrangères. Des actions de protestation ont également eu lieu devant les missions diplomatiques de France et des Pays-Bas.

Les rassemblements ont été organisés une semaine après l'annonce par le président du Conseil Silvio Berlusconi d'une révision à la baisse des relations commerciales entre son pays et l'Iran.

A l'occasion d'un déplacement en Israël, le chef du gouvernement italien a également souhaité un durcissement des sanctions contre le régime de Téhéran. L'Italie est depuis longtemps le plus important partenaire commercial de l'Iran au sein de l'Union européenne.

La chaîne Sky TV 24 a diffusé des images montrant des protestataires qui jetaient des pierres et des oeufs sur l'ambassade d'Italie. Des responsables du ministère des Affaires étrangères ont déclaré qu'aucun des manifestants n'avait réussi à s'introduire dans le bâtiment et que la police était intervenue.

Le chef de la diplomatie italienne Franco Frattini a déclaré au Sénat que cette manifestation était "hostile" et que le groupe avait tenté d'attaquer le bâtiment. >>> | Mardi 09 Février 2010

Iraner greifen italienische Botschaft an
DIE PRESSE: Hunderte Mitglieder der regierungsnahen Bassiji-Miliz haben vor der italienische Botschaft in Teheran protestiert. Sie riefen "Tod Italien" und "Tod Berlusconi".

In Teheran haben am Dienstag vor den Botschaften Italiens, Deutschlands, Frankreichs und der Niederlande Dmonstrationen stattgefunden. Dutzende Milizionäre versuchten, die italienische Botschaft des Landes anzugreifen. Rund Hundert Mitglieder der regierungsnahen Bassiji hätten das Gebäude mit Steinen beworfen sowie "Tod Italien" und "Tod Berlusconi" gerufen, sagte Italiens Außenminister Franco Frattini. Die iranische Polizei sei eingeschritten, um Schlimmeres zu verhindern.

Italien ist traditionell einer der wichtigsten europäischen Handelspartner der Islamischen Republik. Doch die engen Beziehungen Ministerpräsident Silvio Berlusconis zu Israel und der wachsende Druck im Atomstreit haben zu einem Einbruch der italienischen Investitionen im Iran geführt. Vergangene Woche hatte Berlusconi bei einem Besuch in Jerusalem die Unterstützung für Israel betont und "wirksame Sanktionen" gegen den Iran wegen dessen Atomprogramm verlangt. Zudem kündigte er an, die Wirtschaftsbeziehungen mit dem Iran einzuschränken. >>> Ag. | Dienstag, 09. Februar 2010

Converting to Christianity, Converting to Islam

Saudi Arabia Defends Al-Qaeda Rehabilitation Scheme
THE TELEGRAPH: Saudi Arabia says it will not give up a controversial rehabilitation programme for Islamist radicals heavily criticised in the US after former inmates set up an al-Qaeda cell in neighbouring Yemen.

One former Guantanamo Bay inmate who went through the programme, which features "positive thinking" classes, art therapy and video games, is now deputy leader of Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula, the cell behind the Christmas Day "underwear bombing" in an airliner over Detroit.

Four others from the same group of Guantanamo inmates handed over to the Saudis in November 2007 are among more than a dozen inmates who have returned to terrorism, including one who was shot dead while wearing a suicide vest under a burka last year.

But senior officials including an Interior Ministry general and the cleric and psychologists responsible for overseeing the programme's "religious re-indoctrination" courses told The Daily Telegraph it had been an overall success.

"We are confident in our system," said General Mansur al-Turki. "Part of that is the rehabilitation programme, and when we say that we are considering one thing - the results we are getting. We are not giving up because a few people decided to go back and share al-Qaeda activities." >>> Richard Spencer in Riyadh | Tuesday, February 09, 2010

General Synod: Church of England Exodus Feared Unless Women Bishops Plans Changed
THE TELEGRAPH: Conservative clergy have warned of a mass exodus from the Church of England and a sharp drop in its income unless divisive plans for the introduction of women bishops are changed.

On the first day of the gathering of the Church’s governing body, the General Synod, Anglo-Catholics claimed that “large numbers” would leave for Rome if their demands for concessions are not met.

Meanwhile 50 serving priests belonging to Reform, the evangelical group, signed an open letter saying that the situation could force them to cut off funding for dioceses and spend their money on training new vicars outside the Church instead.

The established church, which introduced women to the priesthood in 1994, is committed to ordaining female bishops as well but the process has been held up by the entrenched positions of both supporters and opponents of the historic move.

Liberals argue that women should be introduced to the episcopate on the same basis and with the same powers as men, otherwise an unfair two-tier system will develop.

However conservatives claim they were assured back when women priests were introduced that provisions would be made for them, similar to the “flying bishops” that currently cater for parishes that cannot accept the oversight of female vicars, when the next step was taken.

They want either an entirely new “men-only” province that could cover the whole of England, or extra junior bishops in dioceses who had not ordained women bishops and who would be answerable only to an Archbishop. >>> Martin Beckford | Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Rowan Williams Issues 'Profound Apology' to Gay Christians
TIMES ONLINE: The Archbishop of Canterbury issued a “profound apology” to the lesbian and gay Christian community today.
In a powerful address to the General Synod, Dr Rowan Williams warned that any schism within the Church would represent a betrayal of God’s mission.

But he made clear that he regretted recent rhetoric in which he has sought to mollify the fears of the traditionalist wing of the church.

The Archbishop is from the Church’s liberal wing and a man who once espoused equal rights for gays within the Church. More recently he has adopted a conservative line for the sake of Church unity.

Today he said: “There are ways of speaking about the question that seem to ignore these human realities or to undervalue them.

“I have been criticised for doing just this and I am profoundly sorry for the carelessness that could give such an impression.”
Addressing the even more contentious debate over gay ordinations — something which threatens to split the Church farther [sic] with the expected consecration in May of Canon Mary Glasspool, a lesbian, as a bishop in Los Angeles — Dr Williams said it had not been helped by those who ignored the fact that many worshippers were gay, as well as many “sacrificial and exemplary priests”.

He made it clear that there was blame on all sides of the argument that has brought the Church to the brink of splitting. He pleaded for Anglicans angry over gays and women bishops to cease fighting, admitting that he and other bishops might have to settle for a two-tier communion. >>> Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent | Tuesday, February 09, 2010

Prize Comment of the Day:

Why is 'God' so concerned with what men do with their willies? There must be hundreds of issues more deserving of attention in the world today than this. Too many men in dresses getting hot under the collar.

Surely a religion where you are encouraged to worship a naked man (and his dad) should be a haven for the gay community. I can't believe the church doesn't need the bodies on a Sunday either.

I think I might get burnt at the stake now. – Gaberdine Dog, [Source: TimesOnline/Page 3 of comments]

What Is Sharia?
COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Extract – Also meaning "path" in Arabic, sharia guides all aspects of Muslim life including daily routines, familial and religious obligations, and financial dealings. It is derived primarily from the Quran and the Sunna--the sayings, practices, and teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. Precedents and analogy applied by Muslim scholars are used to address new issues. The consensus of the Muslim community also plays a role in defining this theological manual.

Sharia developed several hundred years after the Prophet Mohammed's death in 632 CE as the Islamic empire expanded to the edge of North Africa in the West and to China in the East. Since the Prophet Mohammed was considered the most pious of all believers, his life and ways became a model for all other Muslims and were collected by scholars into what is known as the hadith. As each locality tried to reconcile local customs and Islam, hadith literature grew and developed into distinct schools of Islamic thought: the Sunni schools, Hanbali, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanafi; and the Shiite school, Ja'fari. Named after the scholars that inspired them, they differ in the weight each applies to the sources from which sharia is derived, the Quran, hadith, Islamic scholars, and consensus of the community. The Hanbali school, known for following the most Orthodox form of Islam, is embraced in Saudi Arabia and by the Taliban. The Hanafi school, known for being the most liberal and the most focused on reason and analogy, is dominant among Sunnis in Central Asia, Egypt, Pakistan, India, China, Turkey, the Balkans, and the Caucasus. The Maliki school is dominant in North Africa and the Shafi'i school in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Yemen. Shia Muslims follow the Ja'fari school, most notably in Shia-dominant Iran. The distinctions have more impact on the legal systems in each country, however, than on individual Muslims, as many do not adhere to one school in their personal lives.

Controversy: Punishment and Equality under Sharia

Marriage and divorce are the most significant aspects of sharia, but criminal law is the most controversial. In sharia, there are categories of offenses: those that are prescribed a specific punishment in the Quran, known as hadd punishments, those that fall under a judge's discretion, and those resolved through a tit-for-tat measure (ie., blood money paid to the family of a murder victim). There are five hadd crimes: unlawful sexual intercourse (sex outside of marriage and adultery), false accusation of unlawful sexual intercourse, wine drinking (sometimes extended to include all alcohol drinking), theft, and highway robbery. Punishments for hadd offenses--flogging, stoning, amputation, exile, or execution--get a significant amount of media attention when they occur. >>> Lauren Vriens | Monday, March 23, 2009