Saudi Lawyer Takes On Religious Court System

While Matthew LaClair has received death-threats from America’s Christian Taliban for standing up to a proselytizing history teacher and Democratic congressman-elect and practicing Muslim Keith Ellison has similarly been threatened for saying he will use the Koran in a private ceremony, let’s not forget that the U.S is a very tolerant country.

By contrast, America’s good friend and ally, Saudi Arabia, operates under strict sharia law — a particularly puritanical form of Islamic belief.

The Washington Post today carries a story about an extremely brave lawyer, Abdul-Rahman al-Lahem, who is challenging the country’s religious courts. These courts seek to police Saudi Arabia’s morals in a draconian fashion, for example by sentencing a rape victim to be lashed for being alone with a man, or jailing a reporter for voicing the opinion that homosexuality may be genetically influenced.

I wish Mr. Lahem well, and take Saudi Arabia as an example of why we must be vigilant in maintaining the separation of church and state.

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