"The Muslim fundamentalists use a provision of Islamic law called ‘bringing to account’ (hisba)… Hisba is a medieval idea that had all [but] lapsed when the fundamentalists brought it back in the 1970s and 1980s. In this practice, any individual can use the courts to intervene in the private lives of others." – Juan Cole

As Dr Cole notes, it’s lucky that we in the West have gone far beyond such medieval practices.