The Global Rise Of Sharia Law And Mamdani’s ‘Intifada’ Silence

New York City is not only poised to have its first Muslim mayor but also its first mayor who blatantly refuses to condemn the widely used motto “Globalize the Intifada.”

When asked three times on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the Ugandan-born, democratic socialist assemblyman from Queens, Zohran Mamdani, refused to condemn the appalling call for violence. This should, at the very least, be unsettling for New Yorkers and Americans alike.

Not only is the call for intifada a petition for violence, but it is also a call for the installation of Islamic rule. One of the tenets of the Intifada is the complete installation of Sharia Law. For those who care about human rights, few things should cause more concern than the implementation of Sharia Law. To put it mildly, Sharia Law’s track record on human rights is far from stellar. Nearly all of the 35 countries that have adopted Sharia Law are on the Human Rights Watch list at “closed” or “repressed” levels – the two most at-risk categories. Also, countries with Sharia law make up nearly half the countries designated as “Countries of Particular Concern” on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom’s list.

What’s even more alarming is the exponential growth of Sharia Law around the globe. In 1980, Saudi Arabia was the only country that officially applied Sharia Law. By 2000, that number had risen to 16. Currently, more than 35 of the 195 countries in the world have incorporated Sharia Law in their legal systems.

Sharia Law enforces Islamic principles in civil and criminal matters, guided by the subjective interpretations of the mostly male Islamic scholars (called Fiqhs), formalized through consensus (called Ijmas). It governs issues like apostasy, blasphemy, alcohol consumption, stealing, adultery, homosexuality, and forced marriages. Punishments, known as Hadud, vary but are severe in strict Quran-adhering regions and range from death for apostasy, blasphemy, or homosexuality; caning (often 40 lashes) for alcohol or drug use; hand amputation for theft; and stoning, flogging, or genital mutilation for other offenses.

These are the realities of Sharia Law when fully applied.

As the founder of a mission working in the remote and dangerous northern region of Nigeria, I have seen the horrific impacts Sharia Law has on people. I have spent nearly a third of my adult life in areas that impose strict interpretations of the Quran and regularly enforce the cruel punishments of Sharia Law.

Years ago, I saw a young man flogged 40 times in a village for using drugs, his guilt vaguely established. Sharia’s standards of proof are low compared to modern legal systems. Later, I met an older man with both hands amputated for stealing – once in his youth, then again while struggling with hunger, in a country where people barely earn enough money to feed themselves. Others I know face life in brutal prisons for apostasy or blasphemy. Sharia’s punishments – flogging, amputation, imprisonment – deliver severe consequences that should make anyone concerned about basic human rights shudder.

Sharia Law has little to no regard for human rights and almost never shows mercy to those who trespass its pretenses, including women and children.

Sharia Law’s emergence in states with rising Muslim populations, like my home state of Minnesota, worries me. In the U.S., Sharia currently operates through local councils that mediate disputes and personal matters within Muslim communities, always under state and federal laws.

Yet, challenges arise. In 2009, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Joseph Charles relied on a family’s Imam in a spousal abuse case, denying the woman a protective order. Though an appellate court overturned the ruling, this case reveals Sharia’s potential to influence U.S. legal systems, extending beyond community guidelines and testing national authority.

In Europe, there is no greater example of Sharia Law’s infiltration than in the United Kingdom. The U.K. is now being called the “western capital” of Sharia Law, with more than 85 “councils” operating across the country. These Islamic councils have become a blatant assault on human rights, particularly against women and children. Under Sharia Law, a woman’s testimony is worth half of a man’s. This discrimination has far-reaching effects in matters of spousal abuse, divorce, child custody, and financial matters just to name a few. According to these Sharia councils, a woman’s right to divorce is heavily restricted, whereas a man’s right to divorce is unilateral. These kinds of discrimination are illegal in the government and workplaces in the U.K. But when it comes to Sharia Law they are promoted.

The most alarming aspect of this is that under the U.K.’s Arbitration Act, the rulings of these Sharia councils are precedent rulings and are being used in the British courts. This is happening across Europe. In so much that the Council of Europe has issued a report stating they are “greatly concerned” by the application of Sharia Law in Europe, specifically listing the U.K., Greece, Germany, and Chechnya. This imposition of Sharia Law has even created enough concern in the U.S. that 16 states have passed legislation banning Sharia Law, and more than two dozen have anti-Sharia bills introduced.

It’s not hyperbole or hysterics to be concerned about the imposition of Sharia Law and its inhumane practices in the United States. All one has to do is look at the scores of Western countries that have opened the door to it. In every case, human rights are being trampled and disregarded. It’s not at all unreasonable for every American to be concerned when the Democratic nominee of the nation’s largest city is a man who will not condemn the idea of a global intifada and its assault on human rights through the spread of Sharia Law.

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Brad Brandon is the founder and CEO of Across Nigeria. Since 2018, he has been actively serving in predominantly high-risk, highly persecuted areas like Northern Nigeria and other parts of West Africa.

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.