Download Islam: Governing Under Sharia Law

Islam: Governing Under Sharia Law
Authors: Toni Johnson, Deputy Editor, and Lauren Vriens
Updated: October 24, 2011
Article Vocabulary-
Sharia Law- is Islamic law that is compiled from the teachings of Muhammed, community
values, and segments of the Quran.
Secular- means that there is a separation between government and religion. The United States is
a secular country.
Democracy- is a government chosen by the people. Unlike a monarchy where the people are
stuck with a king or queen that they didn’t chose.
Constitution- plan of government.
What is Sharia?
Also meaning "path" in Arabic, sharia law guides all aspects of Muslim life including daily
routines, family, religious duties, and how Muslims spend their money. Sharia law comes
primarily from the Quran (Muslim holy book) and the Sunna— collections of sayings, practices,
and teachings of the Prophet Mohammed.
Sharia law developed several hundred years after the Prophet Mohammed's death in 632 CE as
the Islamic empire expanded to the edge of North Africa in the West and to China in the East.
Since the Prophet Mohammed was considered the most holy of all believers, his life and ways
became a model for all other Muslims and were collected by scholars into what is known as the
hadith. Each region of the Islamic Empire tried to make sure that local customs and Islam, hadith
could coexist. Since the Islamic Empire was so big each region had its own slightly different
version of the hadith.
Controversy: Punishment and Equality under Sharia
Marriage and divorce are the most significant topics of sharia law, but criminal law is the most
controversial. In sharia, there are categories of offenses: those that are prescribed a specific
punishment in the Quran, known as hadd punishments, those that fall under a judge can decide
on. There are five hadd crimes: adultery, false claim of adultery, drinking of alcohol, stealing in
the city, and highway robbery. Punishments for hadd offenses--beatings, stoning, cutting off
hands, exile, or execution--get a significant amount of media attention when they occur (news
stations cover these punishments when they are carried out.) These punishments are not often
carried out, however. "In reality, most Muslim countries do not use traditional classical Islamic
punishments," says Ali Mazrui of the Institute of Global Cultural Studies in a Voice of America
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interview. These punishments remain on the books in some countries but lesser penalties are
often considered sufficient.
Despite official reluctance to use hadd punishments, vigilante justice (everyday citizens who act
like police) still takes place. Honor killings, murders committed in retaliation for bringing
dishonor on one's family, are a worldwide problem. While precise statistics are scarce (hard to
find), the UN estimates thousands of women are killed annually (every year) in the name of
family honor (National Geographic). There are other social issues that sharia law deals with
including the rights of women, marriage issues, and global studies’ students who don’t read what
they are supposed to.
There is significant debate (argument) over what the Quran sanctions (says is okay) and what
practices were pulled from local customs and predate Islam (what part of Sharia Law comes
from local beliefts). Those that seek to eliminate or at least modify these controversial practices
cite the religious tenet of tajdid. The concept is one of renewal, where Islamic society must be
reformed (updated) constantly to keep it in its purest form. "With the passage of time there must
be new thought to address these changes and events," says Dr. Abdul Fatah Idris, head of the
comparative jurisprudence department at Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Though many scholars
share this line of thought, there are those who consider the purest form of Islam to be the one
practiced in the seventh century.
Sharia vs. Secularism
The issue of sharia law (Islamic law taken from the Quran) versus secular law (law created
without using the Quran) gained new attention in 2011 due to several revolutions in Arab
countries, such as Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt. These countries jailed corrupt leaders who
supported Secular law. Islamist political parties that supported Sharia law started to become
popular.
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 (where the people chose there government). Whether
democracy and Islam can coexist (work together) 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
Noah Feldman, a former CFR adjunct senior fellow, wrote in a 2008 New York Times Magazine
article that the full incorporation of Islamic law is viewed as creating "a path to 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,"
Feldman argues.
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On the other hand, some Muslim scholars say that secular government is the best way to observe
sharia. Opinions on the best balance of Islamic law and secular law vary, but sharia law has been
incorporated into political systems in three general ways:


Dual (two) Legal System. Many majority Muslim countries have a dual system in which
the government is secular but Muslims can choose to bring familial and money disputes
to sharia courts. What these Sharia courts can do varies from country to country, but
usually includes marriage, divorce, inheritance, and guardianship. Western countries are
also exploring the idea of allowing Muslims to apply Islamic law in familial and financial
disputes. In late 2008, Britain officially allowed sharia tribunals (NYT) governing
marriage, divorce, and inheritance to make legally binding decisions if both parties
agreed. However, some research suggests the Sharia law to be discriminatory toward
women (BBC) (unfair to women). Britain's Muslims come from all over the world,
Ishtiaq Ahmed, a spokesperson for the Council for Mosques in England, told the BBC,
noting that this makes it hard to understand at times where the law the people follows is
Sharia or Secular.
Sharia has recently become a topic of political concern in the United States. The state of
Oklahoma passed a ballot measure in November 2010 to ban the use of sharia law in
court cases. Several opponents of new mosques being built around the United States,
including one near Ground Zero, have cited fear of the spread of sharia as a reason for
opposition.

Government under God. In those Muslim countries where Islam is the official religion
listed in the constitution (plan for government), sharia law is declared to be a source, or
the source, of all the laws and rules of the country. 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 against
the law to come up with a rule that goes against the teachings of Islam. Saudi Arabia
employs one of the strictest interpretations of sharia law. 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 (do not follow Sharia
law as strictly), as in the United Arab Emirates, where it is legal to drink alcohol. NonMuslims are not expected to obey sharia and in most countries, there are special
committees and courts under the control of the government for non-Muslim citizens.

Completely Secular. Muslim countries where the government is declared to be secular
(the government and laws are completely separate from Islam) include Azerbaijan,
Tajikistan, Chad, Somalia, and Senegal. Islamist parties run for office occasionally in
these countries and sharia law often influences local customs (how the people live).
Popular Islamist groups are often viewed as a threat by existing governments who don’t
want to have Sharia law. As in Azerbaijan in the 1990s, secularism was sometimes
upheld by severe government crackdowns on Islamist groups and political parties.
Similar clashes have occurred in Turkey. Under the suspicion that the majority party, the
Islamist Justice and Development Party, was trying to establish sharia, Turkey's chief
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prosecutor petitioned the constitutional court (Economist) in March 2008 to bar the party
from politics altogether. One of the politicians convicted of trying to bring Sharia law to
Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told Newsweek, "Turkey has achieved
what people said could never be achieved--a balance between Islam, democracy,
secularism and modernity." Secular Muslim countries are a minority, however, and the
popularity of Islamist political parties are narrowing the gap between religion and state.
Define:
Sharia Law-
Secular-
Democracy-
Constitution-
Questions- answer in complete sentences.
What influences Sharia law?
Explain hadd.
Explain tajdid
Why has Sharia Law gained new attention in 2011?
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What happened in Oklahoma in 2011?
In Muslim countries there are three different kinds of governments. For each of the three
governments explain how Sharia law impacts daily life and List the countries that have each
system.
Dual Legal System
Governed under God
Completely Secular
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