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Full-Text Articles in Law
Assimilation Anxiety: Islamic Migration As A Perceived Threat To Western Cultures, David Barnhizer
Assimilation Anxiety: Islamic Migration As A Perceived Threat To Western Cultures, David Barnhizer
David Barnhizer
In this cynical age it is common to smirk at claims about what is sometimes called American Exceptionalism, a term standing for the conclusion that America is an historically distinct (and better) system. To some degree it does represent cultural arrogance founded on assumption rather than fact. It also ignores “exceptionally” dark chapters in American history, including slavery, seizing of lands from Native Americans and imprisoning of US citizens of Japanese descent. Nonetheless it seems that given the diversity of the population and the sheer enormity of the nation that, as stated by an Asian Indian friend who is a …
Apostasy And Blasphemy In Pakistan, David F. Forte
Apostasy And Blasphemy In Pakistan, David F. Forte
Law Faculty Articles and Essays
This article analyzes how the law against blasphemy has become a weapon against religious minorities in Pakistan. It begins with a brief overview of the constitutional struggle between the forces for religious tolerance and that element of Pakistani society seeking a particularized Islamization of Pakistan's law and culture. The second section of the article explains the manner in which classical Islamic law (the Shari'a) treated apostasy and blasphemy, and how it permitted private acts of religious vengeance to be immune from legal liability. In the final section, I describe how the current law on blasphemy imposes a harsh regime on …