Rex J Ahdar

THE ACCOMMODATION OF THE SHARI’A WITHIN WESTERN LEGAL SYSTEMS

Rex J. Ahdar — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 01:10:03 PDT

The article addresses the highly topical and controversial issue of the accommodation of the Shari'a within Western legal systems. It argues that the issue raises fundamental questions, not only about the nature of shari'a, but also about the liberal-constitutional foundations of 'the West' as we know it. The article closely analyzes and scrutinizes these questions from various historical, philosophical, religious and legal points of view. We conclude that when these matters are properly considered, there is room for a carefully defined accommodation of Shari'a within the legal systems of the West, but with certain important qualifications.

The Nature of Religious Coercion

Rex J. Ahdar — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:56:21 PDT

This article examines the nature of religious coercion. Direct religious coercion denotes situations where the government expressly applies sanctions to ensure conformity with religious goals. Indirect religious coercion describes situations where, although the state may not have intended to pressurize citizens to comply with some religious activity, it nonetheless takes advantage of social, psychological or peer pressure that has the same conformity-inducing effect. Indirect religious coercion is a real problem for those who dissent from majoritarian religious practices. But an open-ended inquiry into it can, as critics point out, be a highly unpredictable and subjective exercise. On balance, the article concludes that the concept does deserve recognition by the courts. The article develops a modified indirect coercion test to guide judges in First Amendment cases. A two-step test is expounded to streamline the inquiry, identify the key criteria and render the test more workable.

The Nature of Religious Coercion

Rex J. Ahdar — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:13:07 PDT

The Nature of Religious Coercion

Rex J. Ahdar — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:32:24 PDT

THE NATURE OF RELIGIOUS COERCION Rex Ahdar This article examines the nature of religious coercion. Direct religious coercion denotes situations where the government expressly applies sanctions to ensure conformity with religious goals. Indirect religious coercion describes situations where, although the state may not have intended to pressurize citizens to comply with some religious activity, it nonetheless takes advantage of social, psychological or peer pressure that has the same conformity-inducing effect. Indirect religious coercion is a real problem for those who dissent from majoritarian religious practices. But an open-ended inquiry into it can, as critics point out, be a highly unpredictable and subjective exercise. On balance, the article concludes that the concept does deserve recognition by the courts. The article develops a modified indirect coercion test to guide judges in First Amendment cases. A two-step test is expounded to streamline the inquiry, identify the key criteria and render the test more workable.