Middle East's Second Female Judge... A Little Bit More About Sharia

[umsami]

I know that often in the West people associate sharia law as basically involving only the repression of women.... or of very strict capital punishment. I thought some of you Mamas might find this article interesting on the second female judge to take the bench in a Middle Eastern country.....

http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0513/p06s20-wome.html

While many associate sharia with extremist regimes, it is a complex system of jurisprudence used throughout the Muslim world – though with deeply varying interpretations. Even in the officially secular Palestinian Authority (PA), most issues of a Muslim's personal status – from marriage to inheritance – are decided before a qadi, or judge.

Which is why Faqeeh wanted nothing more than to be a qadiya. She pressed the chief sharia judge.

"In Islam, it says a sharia judge has to be a Muslim, rational adult" – not necessarily a man, she explains between cases. "Whenever I would discuss this with the chief judge, he would say, 'This is tradition.' "

"I didn't buy it," says Faqeeh. "I'm a legal person, and, to me, legal issues are stronger than tradition."

Top in her class at Jerusalem's Al-Quds University, Faqeeh started her own practice and quickly drew the attention of judges...

[E.V. Lowi]

Very interesting and informative - thanks for posting!

[verde]

Thanks for this post Umsami!