![]() ![]() In Saudi Arabia, for instance, only Muslims can construct places of worship and pray in public. Nigeria and Pakistan have carried out capital punishment for blasphemy and apostasy, as did Sudan for many years.Īdditionally, religious minorities in some Muslim countries have fewer rights under modern laws and are otherwise discriminated against. Scholars say that this intolerance largely stems from premodern restrictions applied to non-Muslim minorities in Muslim lands, which were supported by certain hadiths later introduced into the Muslim canon that recommend the death penalty for Muslims who commit apostasy. Some critics say that Muslim-led states that follow sharia are particularly intolerant of nonbelievers or those who practice other religions. ![]() However, as a tenet of sharia, it refers to the effort to achieve a moral aim, which could be an armed struggle against injustice, the desire to better oneself morally, or the pursuit of knowledge, for example. Many non-Muslims assume that this word, which means “ to strive,” only refers to an armed struggle by Muslim extremists against non-Muslims. Additionally, the Taliban implemented public executions and amputations when they ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s and have said these punishments will return under their new government. However, Indonesia, Iran, the Maldives, and Qatar are among the countries where flogging is still conducted and Iran, Mauritania, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan have in recent decades punished convicted thieves with amputations. Local and international backlash often dissuades authorities from following through with such sentences. Today, most Muslim-majority countries don’t administer physical punishments, though about a dozen of them have the authority to do so under state laws. (The Quran never mentions stoning, which is a punishment derived from the Book of Deuteronomy in both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles.) However, applying such punishments requires meeting extensive evidentiary thresholds, so scholars say they are largely meant to serve as a deterrent rather than have a punitive effect through application. Among them are the hudud punishments, which include stoning, lashing, and amputation. For certain crimes, such as theft, blasphemy, and adultery, traditional interpretations of Islamic law prescribe punishments that are considered draconian compared to those in most modern legal systems. Debates over sharia tend to center on certain topics:Ĭorporal punishment. Many observers view sharia as a rigid legal system that can’t evolve to reflect modern, Western values. Sharia can also be seen as problematic depending on who is interpreting it. “If sharia is being compared to premodern legal systems, there’s hardly anything controversial about it,” Abou El Fadl says. Among the many reasons sharia generates controversy is that it’s often contrasted with modern legal regimes in predominantly secular countries. Sharia is a source of debate among both Muslims and non-Muslims. ![]() “On any legal issue, there are ten different opinions,” Abou El Fadl says. Also, interpretations of sharia can conflict depending on who is interpreting them. However, modern Islamic seminaries have not standardized the level of competency nor the length of study necessary to qualify as a jurist, says Khaled Abou El Fadl, a Muslim jurist and law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. Interpreting sharia requires deep knowledge of the Quran and Sunna, fluency in Arabic, and expertise in legal theory. Muslims believe sharia refers to the perfect, immutable values understood only by God, while Islamic laws are those based on interpretations of sharia. The process of interpreting sharia, known as fiqh, developed over hundreds of years after he died in the seventh century and as the Islamic empire expanded outward from Mecca and Medina, where he lived and died, in modern-day Saudi Arabia. The Prophet Mohammed is considered the most pious of all believers, and his actions became a model for all Muslims. However, sharia largely comprises the interpretive tradition of Muslim scholars. Shiite Muslims include the words and deeds of some of the prophet’s family in the Sunna. Some of the traditions and narratives included in these sources evolved from those in Judaism and Christianity, the other major Abrahamic religions. Sharia is derived from two main sources: the Quran, which is considered the direct word of God, and hadith-thousands of sayings and practices attributed to the Prophet Mohammed that collectively form the Sunna. In Islam, it refers to the divine counsel that Muslims follow to live moral lives and grow close to God. Sharia means “the correct path” in Arabic. How Israel and Turkey Benefit From Restoring Relations ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |