Law Commons^™

Emerging Issues: Overthrowing The Government: What Boko Haram Means For Women, Kimberly R. Frazier

University of Baltimore Journal of International Law

Boko Haram has been active since 2002, however, most of the world became familiar with the Islamic terrorist group in April of 2014 after they kidnapped approximately 276 girls from a boarding school in northeastern Nigeria.1 The group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, announced in a video that the kidnapping was an act of retaliation after Nigerian security forces kidnapped the wives and children of Boko Haram leaders.2 He also stated that the girls would be forced to convert to Islam and sold into the slave market to begin their new lives as “servants.”3 The kidnapping was not the first act of …

Civil Liberties In Uncivil Times: The Perilous Quest To Preserve American Freedoms, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

The perilous quest to preserve civil liberties in uncivil times is not an easy one, but the wisdom of Benjamin Franklin should remain a beacon: "Societies that trade liberty for security end often with neither." Part I of this article is a brief history of civil liberties in America during past conflicts. Part II describes various actions taken by the government to conduct the war on terrorism - including invasions of privacy, immigration policies, deportations, profiling, pre-trial detentions, and secret military tribunals. Part III analyzes the serious Constitutional questions raised by the government's actions in fighting terrorism. The thesis throughout …

Incitement In The Mosques: Testing The Limits Of Free Speech And Religious Liberty, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

In times of terror and tension, civil liberties are at their greatest peril. Nowadays, no individual rights are more in jeopardy than the freedoms of speech and religion. This is true particularly for followers of Islam, whose leaders have become increasingly radical in both their preaching and practice. "Kill the Jews!" and "Kill the Americans!" are chants heard regularly in many Middle Eastern mosques, as frightful echoes of the fatwa are issued by today's quintessential terrorist, Osama bin Laden. The incitement continues unabated to this day. In April of 2004, for example, a Muslim preacher at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in …

Ub Viewpoint – The Silence Of The Muslims, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

This article, written in the wake of the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, questions the failure of Muslims strongly to condemn acts of violence and murder committed by Islamic extremists, and argues that such silence encourages neutral parties to wonder if moderate Muslims may indeed sympathize with "the killers of 'infidels'" - which in turn can lead to fear, bias, and group defamation.

Ub Viewpoint – Dissolving The Shadows, Eric Easton

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

America’S Death Penalty: Just Another Form Of Violence, John Bessler

All Faculty Scholarship

The author in this piece reflects on the death penalty in the U.S. in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The writer goes on to argue that capital punishment is, in and of itself, a form of violence. Also discussed in the article are the gradual removal of executions from public view, issues of deterrence and violent crime, and the author's preference for life-without-possibility-of-parole sentences.

Israel's Voice Muffled Amid Hail Of Stones: Distortion: Confronted With A Campaign Of Violence And Propaganda, Israel Goes Unheard In The Court Of World Opinion, Kenneth Lasson

All Faculty Scholarship

"I am in the U.S. until February. A few weeks ago, I went to our embassy in Washington and offered to speak on Israel's behalf, to present the true story of what's going on, to counter the very effective job being done by the Palestinians of making it appear as if they are Davids fighting Goliath, and we are not getting the truth out. But the people at the embassy just shrugged."

He knows that in 1948 some 630,000 Arab refugees were encouraged to leave Israel by their leaders, who promised to purge the land of Jews. Instead, they became …