The threat of 'sharia' to America

An Egyptian-born woman whose father died as a martyr for jihad says the West continues to remain ignorant of the threat that Islamic "sharia" law poses to Americans' religious and political freedoms.

Author Nonie Darwish claims she was a virtual slave to Islamic law for the first 30 years of her life. In her latest book Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law, she continues her personal mission to warn the West, by exposing efforts to force and enforce sharia law on unsuspecting nations around the globe. There is a reason, says Darwish, why the title of her book is Cruel and Usual Punishment.

"Unfortunately Islamic law is usual [practice] in the Middle East, in the Muslim world," she explains. "I'm familiar with how it can brainwash people. It can be devastating for the healthy growth of society." Darwish says now that she is in the West, she has noticed many Muslims who are demanding that Islamic sharia law be given to them as a religious right.

But according to Darwish, shaira has nothing to do with religion. "This is a very elaborate legal system that can [order you be put] to death if you leave Islam," the author points out. Darwish says no one can afford to be ignorant about the threat of sharia law.