Islamic law plays a role in British legal system: Little known to the general public, though, is that Sharia is quietly being applied every day in Britain, via Sharia councils that dispense Islamic civil justice in more than half a dozen mosques across the country. [LA Times]
Muslim Headscarves Test the Limits of German Tolerance: For years, Germany’s legal experts have been arguing about whether Muslim public officials have the right to wear headscarves. The issue raises difficult questions about religious tolerance and constitutional rights in Germany. [Spiegel]
A New Muslim Student Group Tries to Rouse the Moderates: Where dogma and conformity once defined the Muslim scene on campus, students with liberal outlooks are emerging to assert their voices on the quad. At some American colleges where the only official Muslim events used to feature gender-segregated seating, new programs are drawing diverse Muslim and non-Muslim participants to explore the complexity of the Muslim community. [WSJ]
Ground for annulment: Why can’t a court oblige a Muslim disappointed that his new wife is not a virgin? Marriages are dissolved every day for more trivial reasons. [Mercator]
Islam stuck in the Middle Ages, says Professor Hans Kung: He said in London that Islam has “special problems” with modernity because, unike Christianity and Judaism, in which he also specialises, it has never undergone a “serious religious reformation”. [Times]
Turkish Regress: For the second time in a year, a clash between the old secular establishment and an elected government with roots in Islam has split and paralyzed Turkey. Tensions look bound to escalate, putting the Muslim world’s strongest democracy in peril. [WSJ]
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