The Sacred Law of Islam ― A Case Study of Women's Treatment in the Islamic Republic of Iran's Criminal Justice System

Proceeding with two different but complementary goals in mind, Kusha (criminal justice, Texas A&M International U.) summarizes for a Western lay audience the Islamic Sharia as formed by Muhammad and his immediate followers and compares that understanding with the Islamic Republic of Iran's treatment of women under their own form of Sharia. The author argues that Sharia as conceived by Muhammad operates in the service of the common good when it is pursued in a non-coercive environment supported by state and non-state institutions that provide an equitable social structure. Kusha concludes that the Iranian government's coercive and purely instrumentalist view of Sharia has led to the exact opposite of this ideal situation. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Hamid R. Kusha, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, East Carolina University in Greenville, USA