Transcript Sharia * The Islamic Law - Muslim Alliance of New York

MLK Muslim Student Association
Introduction
 Sharia – Islamic law that influences most Muslim
countries.
 Some interpretations are used to justify cruel
punishments such as amputation and stoning as
well as unequal treatment of women in
inheritance, dress, and independence.
 The debate is growing as to whether sharia can
coexist with secularism, democracy, or even
modernity.
What is Sharia?
 Sharia – meaning “path” in Arabic - guides all
aspects of Muslim life including daily routines,
familial and religious obligations, and financial
dealings.
Controversy: Punishment and Equality under Sharia
In sharia, there are categories of offenses:
 offenses to which are affixed a specified punishment
(hadd);
 those for which the punishment is at the judge's
discretion (ta'zir);
 those offenses in which a form of retaliatory action
or blood money is inflicted against the perpetrator
or his kinsmen by the victim's kinsmen (jinayat);
 offenses against the public policy of the state,
involving administrative penalties (siyasa); and
 offenses that are corrected by acts of personal
penance (kaffara)
…Continued…
Those that are prescribed a specific punishment in
the Quran, known as hadd punishments. There
are five hadd crimes:
 unlawful sexual intercourse (sex outside of
marriage and adultery),
 false accusation of unlawful sexual intercourse,
 wine drinking (sometimes extended to include
all alcohol drinking),
 theft,
 and highway robbery.
Punishments for Hadd crimes
Punishments for hadd offenses
 flogging
 stoning
 amputation
 exile
 or execution
Questions to ponder
 Should we live under the sharia?
 Does it allow freedom?
 Would you be happy if you lived in a theocratic
country?
 How do you feel about religion governing you?
¿Tu estás loco?
 These sentences are not often prescribed.
 While precise statistics are scarce, the UN
estimates thousands of women are killed
annually in the name of family honor.
 Other practices that are woven into the sharia
debate, such as female genital mutilation,
adolescent marriages, polygamy, and genderbiased inheritance rules, elicit as much
controversy.
Sharia vs. Secularism
 A 2010 Pew Poll conducted in seven countries
including Egypt found strong support for Islam in
politics and for harsh punishments for crimes such as
theft, adultery, and conversion away from Islam. At
the same time, a majority of those polled in every
country except Pakistan believed democracy is the
best form of governance.
 Whether democracy and Islam can coexist is a
topic of heated debate.
 Some Islamists argue democracy is a purely Western
concept imposed on Muslim countries. Others feel
Islam necessitates a democratic system and that
democracy has a basis in the Quran since "mutual
consultation" among the people is commended
(42:38 Quran).
Questions to ponder
 Women’s status: no education and no
medication. Is this because of the Sharia or is
there another element for female subjugation?
 How would you feel about the leader of your
country, say Iran for example, making
international decisions based on the Qur’an or
the Islamic Law (Sharia)?
 When do things get too far? (Do you think the
Sharia is too extreme, is there a need for
moderation?)
 Should we be governed by rationality or faith?
Argument #1: Pro-Sharia
 Noah Feldman, wrote in a 2008 New York Times
Magazine article that the full incorporation of
Islamic law is viewed as creating “a path to a
just and legitimate government in much of the
Muslim world." It places duplicitous rulers
alongside their constituents under the rule of
God. "For many Muslims today, living in corrupt
autocracies, the call for [sharia] is not a call for
sexism, obscurantism or savage punishment but
for an Islamic version of what the West considers
its most prized principle of political justice: the
rule of law."
Argument #2: Pro-Secularism
 On the other hand, some Muslim scholars say
that secular government is the best way to
observe sharia. "Enforcing a [sharia] through
coercive power of the state negates its religious
nature, because Muslims would be observing
the law of the state and not freely performing
their religious obligation as Muslims," says
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, a professor of law
at Emory University and author of a book on the
future of sharia.
Which argument do you support?
 Which argument do you support? Pro-Sharia or
Pro-Secularism?
 Why?
 Did you choose ___ because it fits with your
ideologies on secularism/religious background
or because it fit with your rationality?
Sharia’s incorporations
 Opinions on the best balance of Islamic law and
secular law vary, but sharia has been
incorporated into political systems in three
general ways:
1. Dual Legal System
 Many majority Muslim countries have a dual
system in which the government is secular but
Muslims can choose to bring familial and
financial disputes to sharia courts. The exact
jurisdiction of these courts varies from country to
country, but usually includes marriage, divorce,
inheritance, and guardianship.
2. Government under God
 In those Muslim countries where Islam is the official
religion listed in the constitution, sharia is declared to be
a source, or the source, of the laws. Examples include
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Yemen, and the United
Arab Emirates, where the governments derive their
legitimacy from Islam.
 In Pakistan, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq, among others, it is also
forbidden to enact legislation that is antithetical to Islam.
 Saudi Arabia employs one of the strictest interpretations
of sharia. Women are not allowed to drive, are under the
guardianship of male relatives at all times, and must be
completely covered in public. Elsewhere, governments
are much more lenient, as in the United Arab Emirates,
where alcohol is tolerated.
Wait a minute, I thought Islam meant equality!
 Is it the religion that is making all this chaos or is it
the Sharia – the Islamic law?
 How do you differentiate between the two?
 If you were a woman living in Saudi Arabia right
now, what would you do? Is there anything to
do? Think about the charges and
consequences you will face if you speak up.
Would you do it anyways?
3. Completely Secular
 Muslim countries where the government is
declared to be secular in the constitution
include Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Chad, Somalia,
and Senegal. Islamist parties run for office
occasionally in these countries and sharia often
influences local customs. Popular Islamist groups
are often viewed as a threat by existing
governments. Secular Muslim countries are a
minority, however, and the popularity of Islamist
political parties are narrowing the gap between
religion and state.
Wait… what?
 Theocratic countries with rules such as chopping
off hands if convicted with robbery or death
penalty as a charge of rape, such as Saudi
Arabia, have the lowest crime rates in the world.
 Why is this so? Is it because women who get
raped do not speak up? Or is it the fear installed
in people to not rape or commit robbery?
Questions to ponder
 If the Sharia was implemented in the American
constitution, would it make our country better or
worse? How would it change your life? What
would the hardest thing you would have to give
up? What would be some positive effects of
Sharia in your life?
 What are some alternatives to achieve the
same results as Saudi Arabia’s lowest crime rates
without such brutal punishments? Are there
any? Which works better: Installing fear or love?
Activity
 Break up into two rows, both chairs will be facing each





other.
One side of the entire column will act to be a sharia
supporter or a religious leader.
The other side of the entire column will be a pro-secular
activist.
Both sides will argue why his/her ideology is better than
the other.
You will have only 1 MINUTE to argue for your side and
then you will switch. We will have 4 rounds in which you
switch your side each time.
You can makeup whatever story you want. Get creative
with it. I want to hear the crazy laws or “logical
inferences” you guys make when we share out at the
end!
Questions to ask/think about
These are some questions or things you should
think about while debating with your adversary.
 Why are my ideas, when implemented into
society, better than yours?
 What are the positives to your side of the
argument? For example, pro-secularism might
say “We have freedom of speech!”
 What are some of the negatives OF YOUR
OPPONENT’S SIDE? Point it out to them to get
the argument heated.