I still have enough of an open mind about Islam to look around in search of signs that Islam can be reformed. There is precious little to be found but once in a while, as when panning for gold, I find a flake or two remaining after all the debunking or washing away the mud and sand of hype. Here is an article in an unlikely source featuring a defense lawyer who used to be a radical Islamist. Now he is risking his life by criticizing Islam in Islamic courts to defend his clients, many of whom he takes on a pro bono basis. This particular story of a 19 year old woman who was victim of a gang rape and now has been sentenced to 200 lashes and six months imprisonment, would never have been known in the West if not for this defense attorney.
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Related Articles Dissident Watch: Abdul Rahman al-Lahim by Nathaniel Rosenblatt
A Saudi court's sentence of 200 lashes and six-months' imprisonment for a 19-year-old victim of gang rape, known only as the "Qatif girl," recently made headlines across the United States. Her story would never have come to outside attention without the efforts of her lawyer, Abdul Rahman al-Lahim. A specialist in commercial law, the 36-year-old Saudi also takes human rights cases on a pro-bono basis.[1] In his youth, Lahim was attracted to radical Islam and used his bachelor's degree in Islamic law to teach Arabic and work for As-Sahwa al-Islamiyya (the Islamic awakening),[2] a radical Islamist group critical of modernizing reforms in the kingdom.[3] It was not until he entered law school, Lahim says, that he shed their conservative ideology. In an interview with The Washington Post, he said that today he believes, "first and foremost, in human rights and rule of law."[4] It is Lahim's past that makes his arguments for reforming Saudi law effective. He not only crafts effective legal arguments, but he also understands the conservative forces that hold the gavel. As a result, Lahim is a marked man by Saudi Arabia's many reactionary forces. He has been arrested multiple times and is banned from traveling outside the kingdom. In 2004, he defended a high school chemistry teacher from a sentence of 40-months' imprisonment and 750 public lashes for speaking out against terrorism following a major terrorist attack on Saudi soil in May 2003. Only King Fahd's pardon, at the behest of his brother Crown Prince (now king) Abdullah, saved Lahim himself from imprisonment.[5] On December 16, 2007, Saudi justice minister Abdullah bin Muhammad ash-Sheikh reported that the rape victim had received a royal pardon, but the Saudi courts may yet disbar Lahim for mounting such a vigorous defense. He currently awaits a hearing on his license to practice law, which has been suspended indefinitely.[6] However, these threats do not deter Lahim's efforts to change the Saudi judicial system. "I would be disgraced if I sit back and don't support these people who need me," he says.[7] Despite the uncertainty of his future, Lahim remains upbeat about judicial reform in Saudi Arabia and suggests that the Qatif case "signals the death throes of the judiciary's old guard."[8] Saudi Arabia's road to a liberal judicial system is a long one, but with Abdul Rahman al-Lahim involved, Riyadh and Washington should pack for a lengthy trip.
[1] CNN.com, Dec. 5, 2007. Related Topics: Moderate Muslims, Saudi Arabia To receive the full, printed version of the Middle East Quarterly, please see details about an affordable subscription. |
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The point I have to make about this story is even though a hero Muslim is standing against terrible abuses of human rights in Islamic courts, he is still abiding by the Qu'ranic principal that you do not ally yourself with non-Muslims over Muslims. Even so, his life is endangered by the radical elements of Islam for his criticism of Islam by appealing to the West to put pressure on the Islamic courts for the sake of his innocent client being punished for suffering through a gang rape. This is the biggest indicator that Islam cannot be reformed. When a person is subjected to severe human rights violations and their lawyer's life is threatened for making the abuses known outside of Islam, then what hope for Islam? This is a clear case of preferring to continue the abuses of Islam than cleaning up the tragic systemic problems of Islam under threat of death to the critics of Islam, even by the critics adherent to Islam. Islam must give voice to the critics and expel the notions that the shame of Islam is found in the critic rather than in the abuses.
The game is being released on both the 
Much
like previous games in the series, the Grand Theft Auto IV story is
told with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. Set in the New York
City-like Liberty City, the plot centers on Niko Bellic, an Eastern
European immigrant pursuing the “American Dream.” Through Niko’s eyes,
the game presents a satirical view of modern day America and pokes fun
at everything from social to economic issues, liberals to
conservatives, criminals to law enforcement.
As
with previous games in the series, violence is central to the
experience, and the technology afforded by the Xbox 360 and PlayStation
3 means that the resulting injuries and deaths are shown in a much more
convincing fashion. Early trailers of the game have shown bodies thrown
through the air, and bullets cutting through flesh and spraying blood.
A
document from the UK ratings body, the BBFC (which has given the game
an “18” rating) appeared online recently which stated, “the character
can pick up prostitutes and pay for three levels of service. What
follows is an un-detailed portrayal of masturbation, fellatio, and
intercourse. The character can also visit lap-dancing clubs and request
a private dance. While the game contains sexualized dancing and the
portrayal of sex, there is no sexualized nudity.” So, yes there’s sex,
but no you don’t see it.
The 
The
language used throughout the game is pretty blue, and this also extends
to the in-game radio stations, and thinly veiled messaging on
billboards and signage in the game. For example, the Internet Cafes of
Liberty City are branded “TW@,” a large billboard can be seen in one of
the trailers that spells “CNT,” and there’s a building with a large
sign that reads “Cher Kov.”
This
is the first game in the series where alcohol has been listed in the
ESRB descriptors. If the main character gets drunk in the bars of
Liberty City, his ability to navigate the environment is impaired and
both the controls, and the game’s camera are affected dramatically.
File
this one under “potential extra charges to my credit card,” Rockstar
Games and Amazon.com have teamed up to make purchasing the GTA IV
soundtrack a fully interactive experience. As players cruise around
Liberty City listening to the in-game radio stations, they can “tag”
any of the 150 songs by opening the in-game cell phone and dialing a
specific number. Players will then receive a text message with the song
and artist name, and if they’re registered at the Rockstar Social Club
they’ll find an email in their inbox with a direct link to the Amazon
MP3 store.
Supplementing
the game’s single player mode is a wide variety of multiplayer modes
playable over either Xbox Live or the PlayStation Network. Gameplay
will include both “deathmatch” style combat and racing games for up to
16 players as well as a cops-against-crooks themed mode, and an
assassination game.
In
August this year, there will be an exclusive downloadable episode of
extra content for the Xbox 360 version of the game. Specifics on how
much this will cost, or how it will be presented in the game have yet
to be revealed, but much of the new content is said to be triggered by
interactions with other characters in Liberty City.
For
those of you with gamers in the household with expensive tastes, or
with a need to indulge in "exclusive" versions of games, there is a
"Special Edition" of Grand Theft Auto IV shipping on April 29, too. For
$89.99 this package ships in a metal safety deposit box, and includes
the game (for either system) in special packaging, an art book, a
soundtrack CD, a keychain and a limited edition Rockstar duffel bag. In
order to guarantee getting this package, the game must be pre-ordered
from