SHARIAsource

A Uzbek alien named Yusopov, who had previously been labeled a danger to the security of the nation by the Board of Immigration Appeals, petitioned the court for asylum, withholding of removal, and relief under the Convention Against Torture. The plaintiff argued that he would likely be tortured if returned to his home country of Uzbekistan on religious and political grounds, because he was a practicing Muslim. The Court granted asylum, concluding that the government had not presented evidence to prove that the petitioner posed a national security risk. NB: The Convention Against Torture provisions on withholding removal are codified into U.S. Law at 8 C.F.R. §1206.16 (c). Further obligations noted by the Court are described in the INA at 8 U.S.C. §1231(b)(3)(A), which “prohibits removal of an individual unlawfully in this country if the Attorney General believes that the individual's life or freedom would be threatened in the country of removal on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”

The plaintiff , an American citizen whose wife was killed in a suicide bombing in Israel, sued Iran under the state-sponsored terrorism exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) (allowing suit against sovereign states that financially sponsor terrorism), for intentional infliction of emotional distress and economic loss due to wrongful death of his wife in a suicide bomber’s attack in Israel. The plaintiff argued that Iran and its Ministry of Information and Security should be held financially liable, as there were financial ties between the group that claimed responsibility for the attack, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and Iran. Iran failed to make an appearance or file an answer. The Court entered judgment in favor of the plaintiff, awarding him $10,380,568 for emotional and economic loss.

Additional commentary. The FSIA, 28 U.S.C.A. §1605(a) is the terrorism exception to FSIA and what plaintiffs depend on to get jurisdiction over Iran. §1605(a)(1) stays that “A foreign state shall not be immune from the jurisdiction of courts of the United States or of the States in any case not otherwise covered by this chapter in which money damages are sought against a foreign state for personal injury or death that was caused by an act of torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or the provision of material support or resources for such an act if such act or provision of material support or resources is engaged in by an official, employee, or agent of such foreign state while acting within the scope of his or her office, employment, or agency.” While there is no direct connection to Islamic law, there is a dispute that centers around whether Iran -- an Islamic constitutional state -- sponsors military operations conceived of as jihad under the guise of Islamic law.

The defendant, an American Muslim man accused of attending a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan, appealed a conviction for making false declarations to a grand jury, obstructing justice, and for making false material statements to the FBI. Specifically, the defendant was convicted for traveling to Pakistan in 1999 and attending a “jihadist training camp” in Afghanistan. While attending these camps were not a crime in 1999, the defendant subsequently lied about his travels and experiences. He argued that his conviction should be overturned because the lower court admitted irrelevant and unduly prejudicial evidence, and misapplied the sentencing guidelines for terrorism-related convictions. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the decision of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, concluding that neither the admitted evidence nor the application for the terrorism sentencing guidelines was inappropriate. While the case did not relate to Islamic law directly, the rules governing jihad, and petitioners' views of them, are often based on false definitions of Islamic law.

Constitution for Armenia in English, published with the permission of Constitute.

Constitution for Georgia in English, published with the permission of Constitute.

Constitution for Turkmenistan in English, published with the permission of Constitute.

Constitution for Uzbekistan in English, published with the permission of Constitute.

Constitution for Kazakhstan in English, published with the permission of Constitute.

Constitution for Mongolia in English, published with the permission of Constitute.

English translation of the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan, published with the permission of Constitute.

English translation of the 1906 Constitution of Persia (now Iran), as amended by and including the Supplementary Constitutional Law of 7 October 1907.

English translation of the 1923 Constitution/Basic Law of Afghanistan ("Nizamnamah-ye-Asasi-e-Daulat-e-'Aliyah-e-Afghanistan"), with English translation of 1925 amendments appended.

English translation of the 1925 Constitution of Persia (Iran) (Supplementary Constitutional Law of October 7, 1907, as amended to 1925).

English translation of the 1931 Fundamental Principles of Government of Afghanistan (constitution), with added English translation of 1933 Addendum.

English translation of the 1931 Fundamental Principles of Government (Ussole Assassi) of Afghanistan. 

English translation of the 1952 constitution of Afghanistan, the Fundamental Principles (Ussole Assasi) of 1952.

English translation of the 1957 Constitution of Iran (Supplementary Constitutional Law of October 7, 1907, as amended to 1957).

English translation of the 1964 Constitution of Afghanistan.

English translation of the 1979 Constitutional Law of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

English translation of the 1980 constitution of Afghanistan (The Fundamental Principles of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan; Fundamental Principles of 1980).