Download Shariah - YasSarNal QuR`aN

MYTHS & FACTS
WHAT DOES SHARIAH MEAN?
• The word Shariah comes from the Arabic: shara’a
• It means a way or path and by extension—the path to
be followed.
• The term originally was used to describe “the path that
leads to water,”
• Shariah is the way to the source of life.
• Shariah in Islam refers to the way according to divine
guidance leading to a peaceful and happy life in this
world and the next.
Goal of Shariah
• Shariah’s goal is to protect and promote basic human
rights, including :
1. Faith,
2. Life,
3. Family,
4. Property and
5. Intellect.
Scope of Shariah
• Shariah is all-embracing and encompasses personal
as well as collective spheres in daily living.
• Shariah includes the entire sweep of life: Prayers,
charity, fasting, pilgrimage, morality, economic
endeavors, political conduct and social behavior,
including caring for one’s parents and neighbors,
and maintaining kinship
Shariah concept is found in nearly all
of the world’s great religions
• In Judaism, the Halakhah and Haggadah comprise the
norms by which individuals of the Jewish faith are
governed
• Canon law is a body of law that applies to certain sects
of Christianity (Catholics, Episcopal Church)
• Adi Granth scriptures that guide Sikhs around the
world,
• United Methodist book of church law
• Colorful boxed set of the renowned Adin Steinsaltz
translation of Jewish Talmud
Myths about Shariah
1-Shariah is a “legal-political-military doctrine,”
2-Shariah is equated only to the punitive laws of
Islam
3- Shariah Law is a Threat to the Constitution
4-Advancing Islamophobia by insinuating that the
Shariah law will replace the American laws
Myths about Shariah
5-Muslims are using stealthy techniques and agendas with
the express aim of "destroying Western civilization from
within“ and establishing caliphate here.
6-Islamic Shariah only propagates violence,
intolerance and extremism. This image was blown
out of proportion by the mass media.
7-Exploit the sharia hysteria to rally the base for
political purposes. Mythical accusations are laid against
Shariah.
Myths about Shariah
• 7-Muslims think Christians and Jews are
infidels.
• 8-Muslim Americans do not believe in
Democratic principles
• 9-Islam instructs Muslims to subjugate
women.
• 10- Muslims are socially active only on issues
that affect other Muslims
Myth#1-Shariah is a “legal-politicalmilitary doctrine,”
• Two Tennessee legislators who authored anti Shariah
bill incorrectly defined Shariah “as a system of legal,
political, military and religious laws
• that calls its followers to overthrow the United
States’ government through brutal force, acts of
terrorism, and ‘holy war’ (i.e., jihad),
• in order to establish itself as the sole political and
religious power in the world.”
This does not define Shariah
• Shariah’ that this bill defines is a Shariah that we
don’t recognize, nor do the millions of American
Muslims who proudly claim allegiance to this
country, nor does the recognized body of Muslim
scholars formally trained in the study of Shariah
• The word ‘Shariah’ literally means ‘path,’ and for all
Muslims, the Shariah is a set of ethics and laws they
believe will lead them to God’s mercy.
What is truth about Shariah.
• The bulk of the Shariah, approximately 70 percent,
deals with rituals of worship.
• For example, the Shariah tells us that we should
regularly take time out of our day to remember
God.
• It advises us to give charity, and instructs us that a
percentage of our earnings and savings should be
dedicated for the poor.
Shariah explained
• The Shariah instructs us how to fast every year in
order to cultivate patience and to feel unity with
those who are less fortunate.
• It asks us to commemorate the faith of the Prophet
Abraham by visiting the house of worship that he
built in Mecca, and details the rituals that we should
perform during this pilgrimage
Shariah explained
• Approximately 25 percent of the Shariah deals with
dietary restrictions and personal economic and
family laws
• Family law in the Shariah requires Muslims to follow
religious customs when marrying or divorcing.
• The Shariah also prohibits Muslims from dealing in
usurious transactions.
Penal Laws in Islam
• Penal laws make up a portion of the remaining five
percent of the Shariah.
• However, these laws are intended to be applied in a
system of government that derives its rules from Islam.
• Such a hypothetical system of Islamic government is not
being championed by American Muslims.
• Constitution of the United States of America —
mandates the separation of church and state. American
Muslims understand, appreciate and fully support that
mandate
Components of Shariah
5
70
Myth#2-Shariah is equated only to
the criminal laws of Islam
FACT#2-Shariah is not equal to the
criminal laws of Islam
• Sharia is far from merely a set of punishments or
legal obligations. Rather, it is a set of comprehensive
guidelines of a personal and private nature dictated
by faith.
• Penal code makes only 5% of the Shariah.
• No Muslim has asked for its implementation
• Muslims respect and abide by the laws of the USA.
Examine Islamic Penal code in the
context of moral teachings
• The Islamic system of punishment must be examined in
the context of Islamic moral teachings, and the
atmosphere of high moral standards that Islam first
wishes to establish in a Muslim society.
• When that happens, society rises to such heights that
crimes become very rare and unnatural.
• Without creating that society first – where everyone’s
needs are met, where honesty, integrity and safety are
accepted principles and crimes are an anomaly – no
attempt can be made to institute criminal punishments.
That’s putting the cart before the horse.
Myth#3 Shariah Law- Threat to the
Constitution
Fact: Shariah Law- Is Not a Threat to
the Constitution
• This exposes absolute ignorance about Shariah and the
American Constitution itself.
• The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution
suffices to protect the Constitution as “the supreme law
of the land.”
• Furthermore, the Establishment Clause prohibits the
federal government from establishing or preferring any
religion (including Islam) in the United States.
• No law can trump the Constitution of the United States
Myth #4 Shariah law will replace the
American laws
Fact #4 Shariah law will not replace
the American laws
• Sharia is sometimes consulted in civil cases with
Muslim litigants who may request a Muslim
arbitrator.
• These may involve issues of marriage contracts or
commercial agreements, or probating an Islamic
will.
• They are no different than the practice of judges
allowing Orthodox Jews to resolve some matters in
Jewish courts, also known as beth din.
Shariah can not replace American
Law
• U.S. courts also regularly interpret foreign law in
commercial disputes between two litigants from
different countries,
• or custody agreements brokered in another country.
• In those cases, Islamic law is treated like any other
foreign law or Catholic canon law.
Foreign Laws can not override US
laws
• U.S. judges may decide to consider foreign law or
religious codes like sharia
• That doesn't mean those laws override the
Constitution.
• We have a criminal justice system that no outside
law can supersede.
• Additionally, judges consider foreign laws only if
they choose to.
• They can always refuse to recognize a foreign law.
Xenophobic Demagoguery
• Dearborn has been home to the largest community of
Arabs in the U.S.
• And yet after five or six generations, Dearborn's
Muslims have not sought to see the city run in
accordance with sharia.
• Those who cry "Sharia!" are engaging in one of the
oldest and least-proud political traditions -xenophobic demagoguery.
• One of the easiest ways to spot its use is when
politicians carelessly throw around a word simply
because it scares some voters
Myth#5 Sharia is part of a plan to
turn the US into an Islamic state
Fact#5 American Muslims support
the constitution of USA
• In the past, political parties targeted Catholics,
claiming that they might try to impose Roman
canon law in the U.S.—but that myth was dispelled
more than half a century ago.
• “Sharia” is a large corpus of norms and conventions
that guide daily Islamic practices.
Fact#5 American Muslims Support
the Constitution and the rule of law
• A recent report from the Center for American
Progress stated that Sharia is “overwhelmingly
concerned with personal religious observance such
as prayer and fasting, and not with national laws.”
• Muslims support Constitution and apply Sharia to
the private realm.
American Muslims Support the
constitution
Muslims seek to live under laws of
the land and tenets of their faith
• American Muslims, like all people of faith, are working
to navigate their way of life into the American
framework.
• No reputable Muslim group in America is calling for
overthrowing the U.S. government or establishing some
sort of Islamic government.
• What we are asking for is what all Americans of faith
ask for: that we be allowed to live under the laws of the
land and according to the tenets of our faith.
• To deny us this right is not just unconstitutional, it is
anti-American.
Myth#6- Shariah only propagates
violence, intolerance and extremism
Fact #6 Shariah promotes peaceful
coexistence and respect of Law
• Peaceful coexistence, not violent overthrow, is the
mandate of the Shariah
• When a Muslim lives in the U.S., they are doing so
while agreeing to follow the law of the land
• This agreement is binding upon them according to
Shariah
God commands Muslims to fulfill
their agreements
• “O you who have believed, fulfill (all) contracts.” (5:1)
• “Fulfill your agreement with them to the end of their
term. God loves those who are mindful of Him.” (9:4)
Myth #7-Muslims think Christians
and Jews are infidels.
Fact #7Islam embraces Christians
and Jews as “people of the book”
• As an Abrahamic faith, Islam embraces Christians
and Jews as “people of the book” and believers in
one God.
• The Quran recognizes the Torah and Injil (Gospel of
Jesus) as Divine revelations to mankind
• Many of the same revered figures and prophets
including Jesus and Moses, peace be upon them–
that appear in the Torah or the Bible, also appear in
the Quran
Shariah teaches tolerance and
respect for other faiths
• The precedent for religious tolerance was
established in the first constitution of Medina, in
622 CE in which the Prophet Muhammad ensured
religious freedom to its non-Muslim citizens
• In Islamic Spain, both Christians and Muslims
prayed in the Great Mosque of Cordoba.
•
Muslim Americans work with all faith
communities
• Muslim Americans have founded NGOs and
dialogue circles to renew the tradition of working
side-by-side with different faiths
Myth #8-Muslim Americans do not
believe in Democratic principles
Fact #8 American Muslims believe
and participate in democracy
• Over a thousand years before Thomas Jefferson wrote
the Declaration of Independence, the Quran stated that
humanity is created equal regardless of gender, race, or
religion.
O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made
you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise
each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the
most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all
things). Hujurat,49:13
American Muslims believe and
participate in democracy
• In 632 CE the Muslim community in Arabia set a
precedent by electing their first political leaders by
consensus.
• In 2008, the largest-ever survey of Muslim Americans
found that 95% of Muslims who regularly attend a
mosque believe that Islam and the American political
system are compatible.
• Muslim Americans are involved in all steps of the
political process from fundraisers, to door-to-door
campaigning, to holding political office in state and
national legislatures.
Myth #9- Shariah instructs Muslims
to subjugate women
Fact#9-Islam ensures equal dignity
and honor to women and men
• Muslims are taught from childhood to honor women
according to the Islamic maxim “Heaven is under the
feet of your mother.”
• Muslims believe there is no distinction between a
Muslim man and woman in faith: both have the same
rights and obligations, and are promised equal rewards
in heaven.
• The iconic Virgin Mary – whom Muslims believe will be
the first to enter Paradise – is a role model for Muslim
men and women
Islam ensures equal dignity and
honor to women and men
• Aisha, a wife of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), is
credited for preserving a large number of prophetic
traditions which serve as the basis for Islamic
jurisprudence
• In recent years, the four largest Muslim countries have
elected women as Presidents and Prime Ministers
• In Yemen, the face of pro-change movement is a female
journalist and human rights activist, Tawakkul Karman
who received Noble Peace Prize
US Muslim Women
• In the US, Muslim women are thriving as doctors,
university professors and executive directors of
NGOs.
• In fact Muslim American women are one of the
most highly educated female religious groups in the
United States, and they report incomes more nearly
equal to men, compared with women and men of
other faiths
Myth#10-Muslims are socially active
only on issues that affect Muslims
Fact #10Muslims are committed for
wellbeing of entire humanity
• It is obligation for Muslims to give charity
• Muslim Americans have raised funds and helped
Hurricane Katrina victims
• Built houses for Habitat for Humanity,
• Created soup kitchens to feed the homeless.
Islam teaches sincere service for
mankind
• A group of young professionals in the Washington
DC area created Green Muslims to practice
sustainable living to protect our environment.
• Countless NGOs such as ICNA Relief & Muslim
Women’s Coalition – establish and help local
women’s shelters
• They are driven by their love for America and the
belief that service to mankind is a central
component to Islamic practices
Conclusion
• In his landmark speech in Cairo, President Obama
said, “So long as our relationship is defined by our
differences, we will empower those who sow hatred
rather than peace.”
• In order to end social conflict between Muslims and
non-Muslims and foster cooperation, we have to use
our public diplomacy resources well.
Conclusion
• Extremists constitute a very small minority.
• Because they are well-funded and receive undue
media attention, they have led a successful campaign
to propagate these myths and created false fear
against Sharia
• The key to countering their narrative is to
emphasize the beliefs and practices of mainstream
Muslims who share our values and work towards
creating a better America
Conclusion
• Highlighting the examples of Muslim Americans
who are promoting religious tolerance, pluralism,
democracy, gender equality, and community service
will pay-off in the long run by marginalizing the
extremists that work against US interests.
• Muslim Americans ought to guide dialogue efforts
between Muslims and non-Muslims at the national
and international levels for better mutual
understanding and respect.
Prayer
O Allah! Creator of the heavens and the earth!
Knower of all that is hidden and open! It is Thou that
wilt judge between Thy Servants in those matters
about which they have differed. Zumar, 39:46
THANK YOU