SHARIAsource

The parties were married on 8 July 2011 and had their only child on 6 July 2012. They lived together at the plaintiff’s parents' home. Initially, their marriage had been harmonious. After one year, however, the parties had begun to quarrel regularly. The plaintiff submitted that the disharmony was due to the defendant:

1. being excessively jealous;
2. failing to exercise his obligations as head of the household; and
3. making references to divorce.

The parties ceased living together on 2 December 2014. The plaintiff claimed that these circumstances caused the marriage to deteriorate irreparably, and requested that the court grant her a divorce (talak satu bain shughra). The plaintiff also requested that the court grant her custody of the parties' child, and order the defendant to pay, in addition to costs for clothing and education of the child, child support in the amount of IDR 1,000,000 per month until the child becomes of age.

The court found that the parties could no longer fulfil the purposes of marriage, as stipulated in art 1 of Law No. 1 of 1974, and art 3 of the Compilation of Islamic Laws. Therefore, the court, pursuant to art 39(2) of Law No. 1 of 1974, in conjunction with art 19(f) of Government Regulation No. 9 of 1975, and art 116(f) of the Compilation of Islamic Laws, granted the plaintiff an irrevocable divorce (talak satu ba'in shughra) on the grounds of ongoing conflict between the parties. The court did not consider the plaintiff’s claims for custody or child support, however, as the plaintiff had withdrawn them prior to trial. The court ordered the plaintiff to pay all court costs (IDR 566,000).

This order implements the decision from the District Court of Colorado in Smith v. Crockett, a case in which a Muslim inmate sued Colorado state prison officials on allegations that they had violated his federal constitutional and statutory rights to free exercise of religion and to a diet that confirmed to the dictates of his faith. In this case, petitioner Ray Anthony Smith, a Muslim inmate housed in a Colorado state prison, alleged a violation of his federal constitutional right to the free exercise of religion and his federal statutory right to a diet that complies with his faith. Specifically, he alleged that prison officials revoked his right to a ḥalāl diet upon observing him ordering non-ḥalāl food. Petitioner Smith submitted a request for reinstatement of his ḥalāl diet through the internal prison grievance system, which was denied. Smith initiated this federal lawsuit in 2020 alleging violations of free exercise of religion under the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”). His complaint alleges that the Colorado Department of Corrections, Dr. Muhammad Munir Chaudry, and The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFNCA) violated his rights by the wrongful revocation of his religious diet and mislabeling of ḥalāl food products. Upon review, U.S. District Judge William J. Martinez, who adopted the recommendation of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nina Y. Wang that government officials not receive immunity but that the court dismiss Smith’s other allegations–including monetary damages against the government defendants for fraudulent misrepresentation of ḥalāl food products, and that the IFNCA and Dr. Chaudry be held liable for government actions. This order implements that recommendation and decision adopted by the district court.

In this decision, U.S. District Judge William J. Martinez adopts the recommendation of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nina Y. Wang in Smith v. Crockett, a case in which a Muslim inmate sued Colorado state prison officials on allegations that they had violated his federal constitutional and statutory rights to free exercise of religion and to a diet that confirmed to the dictates of his faith. In this case, petitioner Ray Anthony Smith, a Muslim inmate housed in a Colorado state prison, alleged a violation of his federal constitutional right to the free exercise of religion and his federal statutory right to a diet that complies with his faith. Specifically, he alleged that prison officials revoked his right to a ḥalāl diet upon observing him ordering non-ḥalāl food. Petitioner Smith submitted a request for reinstatement of his ḥalāl diet through the internal prison grievance system, which was denied. Smith initiated this federal lawsuit in 2020 alleging violations of free exercise of religion under the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”). His complaint alleges that the Colorado Department of Corrections, Dr. Muhammad Munir Chaudry, and The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFNCA) violated his rights by the wrongful revocation of his religious diet and mislabeling of ḥalāl food products. Upon review of the record, Judge Martinez agreed with Judge Wang’s recommendation that the government officials were not entitled to immunity, as petitioner Ray Anthony Smith had made sufficient allegations to make out a prima facie claim. Also following Judge Wang’s recommendations, Judge Martinez dismissed Smith’s other allegations–including monetary damages against the government defendants for fraudulent misrepresentation of ḥalāl food products, and that the IFNCA and Dr. Chaudry be held liable for government actions.

In this case, petitioner Ray Anthony Smith, a Muslim inmate housed in a Colorado state prison, alleged a violation of his federal constitutional right to the free exercise of religion and his federal statutory right to a diet that complies with his faith. Specifically, he alleged that prison officials revoked his right to aḥalāl diet upon observing him ordering non-ḥalāl food. Petitioner Smith submitted a request for reinstatement of hisḥalāl diet through the internal prison grievance system, which was denied. Smith initiated this federal lawsuit in 2020 alleging violations of free exercise of religion under the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution and the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”). His complaint alleges that the Colorado Department of Corrections, Dr. Muhammad Munir Chaudry, and The Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFNCA) violated his rights by the wrongful revocation of his religious diet and mislabeling of ḥalāl food products. Upon reviewing the record, in Smith v. Crockett, U.S. Magistrate Judge Nina Y. Wang determined that the petitioner alleged actions that sufficed to make out a basic claim and recommended that government officials should not receive immunity. The Judge recommended, however, dismissal of Smith’s other allegations–including monetary damages against the government defendants for fraudulent misrepresentation of ḥalāl food products, and that the IFNCA and Dr. Chaudry be held liable for government actions.

In this case, a male Muslim who beat his wife to death and two other women severely, whom he claimed were his other wives, claimed ineffective assistance of counsel. The defendant claimed that since his counsel was unable to locate an Islamic scholar in the region who would substantiate his claim that what he had done was within his rights to "discipline" the women, his right to counsel was not effectively exercised. The court dismissed the argument, ruling that religious beliefs cannot form the basis of a defense against a law of general applicability. In the instant case, the defendant's personal contention that what he had done was in accord with his religion did not serve as a viable defense against the murder and beatings he had committed.

This Country Profile provides a basic overview of the legal history and institutional structures of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Al Mamlakah al Urduniyah al Hashimiyah), based on research produced by GlobaLex at NYU Law School and the Library of Congress. Under Jordan's Constitution, Islamic law (sharīʿa or fiqh) is a principle source of legislation. 

This Country Profile provides a basic overview of the legal history and institutional structures of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea/North Korea (Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk), based on research produced by GlobaLex at NYU Law School and the Library of Congress. Under North Korea's Constitution, Islamic law (sharīʿa or fiqh) has no legal status. 

In these passages from the second section of his work on statecraft, Māwardī focuses on the application of the virtues in governance. To begin with, Māwardī opines that a ruler’s subjects are unable to defend themselves without the authority of the ruler, nor are they able to deal with each other justly and equitably without his kindness. He then lists ten expectations that subjects have of their ruler, which cover ensuring individual physical security and property rights; exercising justice and adjudicating disputes; encouraging the subjects to follow the religious law in the social and ritual spheres; enforcing a criminal code; protecting public infrastructure and natural resources; and, finally, stratifying society according to appropriate social and political classes. If the ruler fulfills these duties, Māwardī argues, his subjects will obey him and the wellbeing of the kingdom will be secure. To ensure justice, the ruler must safeguard religion and carefully select qualified assistants. Moreover, just governance depends on the four foundational principles of hope, fear, equity, and the rectification of inequity.In her analysis of Islamic mirrors-for-princes literature on judging in Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, Louise Marlow cites these passages to elucidate Māwardī’s theory of virtuous governance. 

This source is part of the Online Companion to the book Justice and Leadership in Early Islamic Courts, ed. Intisar A. Rabb and Abigail Krasner Balbale(ILSP/HUP 2017)—a collection of primary sources and other material used in and related to the book.

This Country Profile provides a basic overview of the legal history and institutional structures of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (Jamhuri-ye Islami-ye Afghanistan), based on research produced by GlobaLex at NYU Law School and the Library of Congress. Under Afghanistan’s Constitution, Islamic law (sharīʿa or fiqh) is the principal source for legislation.

This Country Profile provides a basic overview of the legal history and institutional structures of the Kingdom of Bahrain (Mamlakat al Bahrayn), based on research produced by GlobaLex at NYU Law School and the Library of Congress. Under Bahrain’s Constitution, Islamic law (sharīʿa or fiqh) has legal status, and is the principal source of legislation.

Chapters on nominate contracts (endowment, sales, options, barter/ mu‘āwaḍa, hire and lease, partnerships -shirka, muzāra‘a, musāqāt, muḍāraba-, reward/ju‘āla, deposit, fungible and non-fungible loan, agency, financial and personal guaranty, assignment, settlement, pledge, gift), shuf‘a, wills, inheritance, marriage and divorce, mahr, and alimony took almost all of its substance from prominent Shi’i fiqh treatises. Other chapters (classification of properties, easement, usufruct, general rules of obligations and contracts, nationality, registration of civil status, domicile, engagement, guardianship, and evidence) are mainly influenced by Swiss and French Civil Codes and Swiss Code of Obligations.