Free Republic

November 16, 2003 A Muslim Scholar Raises Hackles in FranceBy ELAINE SCIOLINO SAINT-DENIS, France, Nov. 13 — Of all the Muslim leaders in Europe, perhaps none has more visibility — and more faces — than Tariq Ramadan.To many experts on Islam, Mr. Ramadan, a 41-year-old, Swiss-born philosophy professor, is a respectable scholar who promotes a moderate, tolerant version of Islam from his headquarters in Geneva and in his lectures around the world.To his Muslim followers in the rough suburbs of France, he is a spiritual guide whose passionate speeches and cassette tapes inspire them to throw themselves and their beliefs...

Paris (CNSNews.com) - A Swiss-born Muslim scholar scheduled to begin teaching at a U.S. university next month is a controversial figure in Europe, where he is accused of anti-Semitism and advocating violence against women. Tariq Ramadan plans to teach at Indiana's Notre Dame University, instructing students on Islam, conflict and peace building. Ramadan is the grandson of Hassan Al-Banna, the Egyptian founder of the radical Muslim Brotherhood. With a perfect command of the language and a tailored western look, he is well-known in France, where disaffected Muslim youths listen to his speeches on Islamic pride. But some municipalities have barred...

Excerpt - Three Italian women were brutally attacked while on a surfing holiday at a Cape Verde resort island, dragged into the woods, and left for dead at the bottom of a hole, according to the single survivor who recounted the tragedy yesterday. When she came to, the teenager said, she crawled out of the hole and went for help. The two women with her, aged 28 and 33, had been stoned to death. The story of the attack, which occurred on Friday, has shocked Italians, many of whom consider the islands of the west coast of Africa to be...

For centuries scholars have argued over the most delicate nuances of biblical texts, passionately debating whether key words should be tweaked to reflect cultural changes. But, despite the fervent exchange of such learned views, there has been no fretting about whether the Bible endorses dope-smoking. Until now. A 15-strong panel of eminent theologians and linguists was so concerned that young people reading the Bible today are confusing the phrase 'stoned' not with Old Testament executions but with drugs, that it has suggested a radical clarification to a forthcoming edition of the sacred text. In an attempt to clear up any...

Two lovers condemned to died by lapidation for adultery Thursday August 29, 2002 - 8h45 GMT LAGOS, August 29 (AFP) - Two lovers were condemned to died by lapidation for adultery by an Islamic court of the State of Niger, in the north of Nigeria, announced persons in charge for the State Thursday. Ahmadu Ibrahim and Fatima Usma, both 32 years, were declared Monday culprits of sexual intercourse except marriage, a contrary infringement in Charia (Islamic law), into force in the State of Niger since 2000, specified a person in charge for the ministry for the Justice of the...

FUNTUA, Nigeria (AFP) - A Nigerian Islamic court threw out an appeal by a young woman sentenced to be stoned to death for bearing a child out of wedlock and ordered her to be executed once her child is weaned. The judgement was a slap in the face for a coalition of lawyers, activists and federal officials who had chosen the case to challenge the reintroduction of the strict Islamic legal code, or Sharia in the north of the country. Amina Lawal's legal team announced an immediate appeal Monday. If they fail, their 30-year-old client could become the first...