Abstract
The dissonance between international criminal law, as it is currently developing, and the Islamic world is great. Likewise, the gulf between the criminal law of Western societies and that of Islamic societies is a wide one. Indeed, Westerners often only have tragic and brutal stories of stoning and honor killing on which to base their perspectives of the Muslim world. Treatment of women often lies along the deepest recess of this chasm. But that is slowly beginning to change in countries where Shari'a (traditional Islamic law) is not prevalent enough to block it.