I am a Muslim and I am afraid of Sharia law. Yes, Sharia law eliminated the century old culture of all kinds of whims of tribal leaders and kings applied as law. Yes, it may look inadequate by today’s standard but Sharia law standardized and codified people’s interaction with each other in all sectors of life. Also, the more than six thousand laws in Shafi’i or Hanafi law books are not bad either. It’s a small but critical portion that are obviously unjust such as laws concerning women, non-Muslims, Muslims of different opinion, freedom of speech, thought and expression etc. Laws with tribal elements, such as Kisas, Diyat and few more, are also of deep concern.
Sharia is more than stoning or amputing limbs or public beheading – Sharia is a spirit also. Its spirit is against current civilization. Sharia instigates its believers to destroy secular democracy (from within!) and establish so called Islamic State because law is pointless without a state. True that secular democracy is not problem-free but that is the best we have and it is evolving; but even a cursory look into the laws shows that problem with Sharia law is far deeper.
I want to alert the readers about the confusion the defenders of Sharia law create. They hide the violent laws behind sugar-coated sweet words by sidetracking critical issues and hiding facts such as:-
The Sharia courts do not apply “path to flowing water” (the linguistic meaning of the word Sharia); they apply the laws written in the Sharia books.
- The “six values of Sharia law” are only lip-service; those are not reflected in crucial Sharia laws.
- The claim that “FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) is only cultural” is bogus. FGM, one of the most dangerous and brutal practices in human history, is supported by 3 Sharia laws; six Sahi Hadises and the “List of Enormity against Islam” by Imam Ibn Hajar Haytami.
- The claim that “Honor killing is cultural” is partially false. The Qisas law of Sharia encourages Honor Killing.
- Except the Quran there are at least ten human sources of Sharia law. So, the cry against secular “manmade law” is foul.
- There are more than six thousand laws in each of Hanafi and Shafi’i law books but only thirteen were clearly ordained by God and Prophet. All the other thousands of laws are manmade. So the cry against secular “manmade law” is foul.
- People’s opinion was never reflected in the making the laws.
- Women’s opinion was never considered in framing the laws. There is not a single female Sharia-Imam in history. It was always men who decided how women must live and die.
- There was never any empirical study of the impact of Sharia law on human life.
10. There are Sharia laws that violate the Quran and Prophet. Those are purely anti-Islamic.
11. The four Imams of Sharia law (Imams Abu Hanifa, Shafi’i, Malik and Hanbal) wrote little; political and patriarchal clergies added their laws after the Imams had passed away.
12. The Imams never claimed their laws as divine; nor did they allow their use as State law.
13. The first impact of four kinds of “god’s law” was violent fragmentation of Muslim society. Followers of one Imam wouldn’t pray behind followers of other imams, marriage between Shafi’s and Hanafis was banned, Imam Shafi’i was beaten to death by Malikis, Imam Hanifa was poisoned to death in prison – the list of violence is long.
14. Muslim women are the primary victims of sharia law. The claim that “Sharia law is Islamic” destroys Islam’s image as a religion of peace and justice.
One of the first major conspiracies against Islam was changing the meaning of the Quranic word “Sharia” from “Moral Guidance” (which complies with the definition of the Quran and life-mission of all Prophets) to State law. Muslims, especially women, paid heavily for this crime. Is it possible to reform Sharia law? The committee of Justice Majida Rizvi (the first female judge in a Pakistani High court) examined it and finally observed that such reformation is impossible. Some scholars “negotiate” with Sharia law but what is the theo-mechanism to safely negotiate with a vice? Why must we “negotiate” with violence?
I urge all good people to ask one single question to believers of Sharia law – Show your laws !
hasan@hasanmahmud.com
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