Download Muslim migrants Fiqh al

Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity (Van Leer)
Fourth meeting, 18 April 2012
Summary of presentations by Qadi Iyad Zahalka and Teresa Harings
The Religious Law of Muslim Minorities (Fiqh al-Aqalliyyat al-Muslima): Ideology
and methodology
Iyad Zahalka, Chief Qadi of Jerusalem and PhD Candidate, Hebrew University
Fiqh al-Aqalliyyat al-Muslima is “the religious law of Muslim minorities,” that is, Muslims
living as minorities in non-Muslim countries. Qadi Iyad argued that this new Fiqh
category was developed by Muslim jurists after Muslims had already established
themselves in non-Muslim, or “Western,” countries. In response to the new situations
faced by these Muslims in the West, the Muslim jurists ruled that Islam should not cause
difficulties for Muslims. The new fatwas (religious opinions) that they issued, and
continue to issue, according to this concept are meant to allow Muslims to live as
Muslims in non-Muslim countries.
The idea that Muslims immigrated in order to promote Islam (i.e., to practice da’wa) is
historically inaccurate. Muslims immigrated to non-Muslim countries for economic,
political, and other practical reasons. Following the beginning of a revival of Islam in the
middle of the 20th century, Muslims living in the West, much like their compatriots in
the Middle East and North Africa, began to revive their Muslim identity. Contradictions
between the revived Muslim identity, with its emphasis on following shari’a (Islamic
law), and the civil law of Western countries forced Muslim jurists to acknowledge the
new reality that a large number of Muslims were now living, and would remain living,
outside of Muslim majority countries.
Qadi Iyad argued that there are three general ideological streams among jurists creating
this fiqh: the liberal and salafi, which fall at two ends of the spectrum, and the wasati, or
middle-ground, stream.
Liberals hold that Islam is a private, personal affair; it is something within one’s mind
and spirit. From the liberal point of view, when in the public sphere, the individual lives
as a citizen of his or her country and follows that country’s laws.
Salafis maintain that a Muslim should be and act Muslim everywhere, at all times, and
that one’s Muslim identity is one’s main, if not only, identity. Thus, one should try to live
mostly within the Muslim community. A good Muslim does not need to worry about
being seen as “good” in the eyes of non-Muslims and thus does not need to make
accommodations in order to live among non-Muslims.
Wasatis, who strike a more middle-ground approach to Muslim life in the West, tread a
more problematic path. They believe that while one should be Muslim in all ways, one
should also understand the practices of Islam in reference to the society in which one
lives. The Muslim should not experience conflict between his or her Muslim identity and
the public sphere. This causes them to allow some accommodations, or changes, to
shari’a based on particular situations.
To justify making accommodations for Muslims living in non-Muslim countries, Wasatis
utilize the concept of maslaha, or public interest. In practice, this allows some flexibility
in Islamic law. Wasatis categorize situations based on whether or not they are
Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity (Van Leer)
Fourth meeting, 18 April 2012
Summary of presentations by Qadi Iyad Zahalka and Teresa Harings
considered a “necessity” in the greater interests of the Muslim people. If the situation is
serious enough, it “necessarily” requires a bending of the rules, i.e., an accommodation.
There are a few classic examples of such accommodations, such as that regarding the
Qur’anic injunction against drinking alcohol. The accommodation specifies that if an
individual is dying of thirst but has only wine to drink, he or she is allowed to drink the
wine, even though it is forbidden. Drinking alcohol thus becomes a necessity for
survival.
A more contemporary example is the accommodation of riba, the taking of financial
interest, which is also prohibited in the Qur’an. Wasatis have ruled that taking a
mortgage can be a “necessity” in the West. They argue that if one wants stability in one’s
life, one needs a private home. Thus, Muslims in the West are allowed to take a
mortgage if they have no other way to afford a private home. In contrast, Salafis
consider the taking of riba to be forbidden and non-negotiable. It is not allowed in any
situation.
Qadi Iyad noted that it is difficult to divide the majority of Muslims, i.e. non-jurists, into
categories. Most Muslims do not make a distinction between salafi, wasati, and liberal
fatwas; a Muslim might follow one fatwa from a certain scholarly standpoint and a
different fatwa from another standpoint.
The main result of this new fiqh has been that it has dramatically liberalized Islamic law,
enabling flexibility and the integration of Muslims into non-Muslim countries.
Regarding the debate as to who is more qualified to issue fatwas to Muslims living in the
West, imams living in the West or imams living in Muslim countries:
Qadi Iyad explained that here we see another distinction between Salafi and Wasati
opinion. Salafis believe Islam is the same and valid everywhere in the world at all times.
Thus, fatwas can be taken from jurists in any country, as they should be valid
everywhere. Wasatis say that jurists should not issue fatwas if they do not live among or
have not experienced the situations of certain Muslim communities, such as Muslims in
the West. They believe the actual practice of Islam is changing from time to time and
place to place. Thus, an imam in Saudi Arabia should not issue a fatwa for a community
with which he is not familiar, as that community operates under different conditions.
Changes in Islamic Belief and Practice in the West: A Case Study of Somali
Migrants in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota
Teresa Harings, Master’s degree candidate, Tel Aviv University
Somalis began arriving in the U.S. in the early 1990s following the collapse of General
Siyad Barre’s military regime in 1991. They fled instability, war, and famine. Most were
processed as refugees or asylum seekers. Once accepted into the U.S., many Somalis
were settled in Minnesota due to the high job availability in the state at the time and the
capacity of social service groups to assist refugees. Today, there are at least 32,000
individuals of Somali origin living in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, but the
Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity (Van Leer)
Fourth meeting, 18 April 2012
Summary of presentations by Qadi Iyad Zahalka and Teresa Harings
number could be significantly higher, as the U.S. Census tracks statistics on race and not
ethnicity or national origin. The Somali diaspora community in Minnesota is the largest
in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world.
Somalis are, by a vast majority, Sunni Muslims, and comprise over 60 percent of
Minnesota’s Muslim community. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, there are today at least 38
mosques and 41 Islamic institutions, approximately half of which are Somali-run.
Traditional Islamic practice in Somalia seems to have focused more on mysticalspiritual relationships with God (i.e., forms of Sufism), and to have included some level
of ancestor or saint veneration. Today, Islamic reform and revival in the Somali
community appears to have brought the idea of textual authority to the forefront. The
instability following the outbreak of civil war seems to have accelerated this trend,
particularly in favor of more conservative and literal interpretations of scripture. In the
diaspora, Sufism is on the wane, while orthodox Sunnism the dominant practice.
Within the Somali diaspora, debates are starting to arise regarding who is qualified to
interpret religious scripture. Can any imam interpret scripture and issue fatwas? Do all
imams come to the same conclusions—e.g., are they “all the same”—or are there
different interpretations, and if so, to whom do we listen? Can I, as the simple, lesseducated individual (who does not speak or read Arabic), possibly interpret scripture
correctly on my own? And so on.
We can see the influence of religious authority figures on the community—and Somalis’
various responses to these figures—in the following cases:
(1) The relatively new phenomenon of most Somali women wearing hijab,
particularly a certain type of hijab, and the trend of putting hijab on preadolescent girls. Somali girls traditionally did not wear hijab and only covered
their hair upon marriage. Participants in the study revealed that since the mid1990s, religious leaders and, through them, community members have been
putting a great amount of pressure on young girls to wear a certain type of “big
hijab.” But some Somali women are choosing to wear a different, less enveloping
type of hijab as a sign of their freedom to interpret the Qur’anic injunction as
they wish. Not wearing a hijab at all, however, seems not to be an option if a
Somali woman wishes to be considered a good Muslim and to be accepted in her
community.
(2) Islamic teleconferences, most in the Somali language, in which Somali imams
from the global diaspora issue fatwas specifically for the Somali diaspora. The
teleconferences work to spread certain imams’ interpretations of religious
scripture on a large scale. The conferences are said to be popular among the
older Somali generation as well as stay-at-home mothers.
(3) The 2006 Minneapolis cab driver fatwa, issued by the Muslim American Society
of Minnesota, which declared that Muslim cab drivers (most of whom, in the
Twin Cities, are Somali) may not transport passengers carrying alcohol as this
Theology and Migration between Tradition, Modernity and Post-Modernity (Van Leer)
Fourth meeting, 18 April 2012
Summary of presentations by Qadi Iyad Zahalka and Teresa Harings
involves “cooperating in sin according to Islam.” Many Muslim cab drivers
refused to transport passengers due to this and similar earlier fatwas.
In response to customer complaints, the Airports Commission in charge of the
drivers began debating an increase in penalties for refusal of passenger fares,
leading to a showdown between the cab drivers and the Commission. Once the
issue became public, another Islamic institute in Minnesota issued a counterfatwa on the grounds of maslaha (public interest). Eventually, cab drivers either
quit their jobs or found an excuse (possibly maslaha) to continue driving.
This case demonstrates, first, that there is a group of extremely conservative,
Salafi-like imams in the community (the cab driver fatwa has not been issued in
other U.S. cities); second, that there are also Wasati imams; and third, that it is
possible, even in a country that prizes itself on religious freedom, to challenge
the rulings of Islamic scholars within the context of Western businesses and
social norms.