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Sharia (شريعة Template:ArTranslit) refers to the body of Islamic law. The term means "way" or "path"; it is the legal framework within which public and some private aspects of life are regulated for those living in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence.

Sharia deals with many aspects of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business law, contract law, sexuality, and social issues. Some Islamic scholars accept Sharia as the body of precedent and legal theory established before the 19th century, while other scholars view Sharia as a changing body, and include Islamic legal theory from the contemporary period.

Before the 19th century, legal theory was considered the domain of the traditional legal schools of thought. Most Sunni Muslims follow Hanafi, Hanbali, Maliki or Shafii, while most Shia Muslims follow Jaafari (Hallaq 1997, Brown 1996, Aslan 2006).

Etymology

The term Sharia itself derives from the verb shara'a, which according to Abdul Mannan Omar's Dictionary of the Holy Qur'an connects to the idea of "system of divine law; way of belief and practice" (45:18) in the Qur'an.

Legal scholar L. Ali Khan explains that "the concept of sharia has been thoroughly confused in legal and common literature. For some Muslims, sharia consists of the Qur'an and Sunnah. For others, it also includes classical fiqh. Most encyclopedias define sharia as law derived from the Qur'an, the Sunna, and classical fiqh derived from consensus (ijma) and analogy (qiyas).This definition of sharia inappropriately lumps together the revealed with the unrevealed. This blending of sources has created a muddled assumption that scholarly interpretations are as sacred and beyond revision as are the Quran and the Sunna. The Qur'an and the Sunna constitute the immutable Basic Code, which should be kept separate from ever-evolving interpretive law (fiqh). This analytical separation between the Basic Code and fiqh is necessary to" dissipate confusion around the term Sharia..

General

Mainstream Islam distinguishes between fiqh, which means 'understanding of details' and refers to the inferences drawn by scholars, and sharia, which refers to the principles that lie behind the fiqh. Scholars hope that fiqh and sharia are in harmony in any given case, but they cannot be sure.

Sharia has certain laws which are regarded as divinely ordained, concrete and timeless for all relevant situations (for example, the ban against drinking liquor as an intoxicant). It also has certain laws which derived from principles established by Islamic lawyers and judges (Mujtahidun).

The primary sources of Islamic law are the Qur'an and Sunnah.

To this, traditional Sunni Muslims add the unanimity (ijma) of Muhammad's companions (Sahaba) on a certain issues, and drawing analogy from the essence of divine principles (Qiyas).

Qiyas — various forms of reasoning, including by analogy — are used by the law scholars (Mujtahidun) to deal with situations where the sources provide no concrete rules. The consensus of the community or people, public interest, and others are also accepted as secondary sources where the first four primary sources allow.

Shi'a Muslims reject this approach. They strongly reject analogy (Qiyas) as an easy way to inovations (bid'ah), and also reject consensus (ijma) as having any particular value in its own. During the period that the Sunni scholars devloped those two tools, the Shi'a Imams were alive, and Shi'a view them as an extension of the Sunnah, so they view themselves as only deriving their laws (Fiqh) from the Qur'an and Sunnah. A reaccuring theme in Shi'a jurisprudence is logic (Mantiq), something Shi'a believe they mention, employ and value to a higher degree than Sunnis do. They do not view logic as a third source for laws, rather a way to see if the derived work is compatible with the Qur'an and Sunnah.

In Imami-Shi'i law, the sources of law (usul al-fiqh) are the Qur'an, anecdotes of Muhammad's practices and those of the 12 Imams, and the intellect (aql). The practices called Sharia today, however, also have roots in local customs (Al-urf).

Islamic jurisprudence is called fiqh and is divided into two parts: the study of the sources and methodology (usul al-fiqh - roots of the law) and the practical rules (furu' al-fiqh — branches of the law).

The comprehensive nature of Sharia law is due to the belief that the law must provide all that is necessary for a person's spiritual and physical well-being. All possible actions of a Muslim are divided (in principle) into five categories: obligatory, meritorious, permissible, reprehensible, and forbidden. Fundamental to the obligations of every Muslim are the Five Pillars of Islam.

Sections of Sharia law

Sharia law is divided into two main sections:

1. The acts of worship, or al-ibadat, these include:
   1. Ritual Purification (Wudu)
   2. Prayers (Salah)
   3. Fasts (Sawm and Ramadan)
   4. Charities (Zakat)
   5. Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
2. Human interaction, or al-mu'amalat, which includes:
   1. Financial transactions
   2. Endowments
   3. Laws of inheritance
   4. Marriage, divorce, and child care
   5. Foods and drinks (including ritual slaughtering and hunting)
   6. Penal punishments
   7. Warfare and peace
   8. Judicial matters (including witnesses and forms of evidence)

See mu`amalat laws according to 5 major schools of jurisprudence and The Majallah

Divergent developments after the 19th century

During the 19th century the history of Islamic law took a sharp turn due to new challenges the Muslim world faced: the West had risen to a global power and colonized a large part of the world, including Muslim territories. Societies changed from the agricultural to the industrial stage. New social and political ideas emerged and social models slowly shifted from hierarchical towards egalitarian. The Ottoman Empire and the rest of the Muslim world were in decline, and calls for reform became louder. In Muslim countries, codified state law started replacing the role of scholarly legal opinion. Western countries sometimes inspired, sometimes pressured, and sometimes forced Muslim states to change their laws. Secularist movements pushed for laws deviating from the opinions of the Islamic legal scholars. Islamic legal scholarship remained the sole authority for guidance in matters of rituals, worship, and spirituality, while they lost authority to the state in other areas. The Muslim community became divided into groups reacting differently to the change. This division persists until the present day (Brown 1996, Hallaq 2001, Ramadan 2005, Aslan 2006, Safi 2003).

• Secularists believe the law of the state should be based on secular principles, not on Islamic legal theory.
• Traditionalists believe that the law of the state should be based on the traditional legal schools. However, traditional legal views are considered unacceptable by most modern Muslims, especially in areas like women's rights or slavery .
• Reformers believe that new Islamic legal theories can produce modernized Islamic law and lead to acceptable opinions in areas such as women's rights .
• Salafis believe that the traditional schools were wrong, and therefore failed, and strive to follow the generation of early Muslims.

Contemporary practice of Sharia law

There is tremendous variance in the interpretation and implementation of Islamic law in Muslim societies today. Liberal movements within Islam have questioned the relevance and applicability of sharia from a variety of perspectives. Several of the countries with the largest Muslim populations, including Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan, have largely secular constitutions and laws, with only a few Islamic provisions in family law. Turkey has a constitution that is officially strongly secular, but where the state systematically favours Sunni Islam. India is the only country in the world which has separate Muslim civil laws, framed by Muslim Personal Law board, and wholly based on Sharia. However, the criminal laws are uniform.

Some controversial sharia laws favor Muslim men, including rejection of alimony and polygamy.

Most countries of the Middle East and North Africa maintain a dual system of secular courts and religious courts, in which the religious courts mainly regulate marriage and inheritance. Saudi Arabia and Iran maintain religious courts for all aspects of jurisprudence, and religious police assert social compliance. Laws derived from sharia are also applied in Afghanistan, Libya and Sudan. Some states in northern Nigeria have reintroduced Sharia courts. In practice the new Sharia courts in Nigeria have most often meant the re-introduction of harsh punishments without respecting the much tougher rules of evidence and testimony. The punishments include amputation of one/both hands for theft, stoning for adultery and apostasy.

Many (including the European Court of Human Rights) consider the punishments prescribed by Sharia as being barbaric and cruel. Islamic scholars argue that, if implemented properly, the punishments serve as a deterrent to crime. In international media, practices by countries applying Islamic law have fallen under considerable criticism at times. This is particularly the case when the sentence carried out is seen to greatly tilt away from established standards of international human rights. This is true for the application of the death penalty for the crime of adultery, and other such punishments such as amputations for the crime of theft and flogging for fornication or public intoxication.

An unusual secular-state example was the rejected proposal for a Sharia arbitration court to be established in Ontario, Canada. That province's 1991 arbitration court law allows disputes to be settled in alternative courts to avoid congestion and delay in the court system. The proposed sharia court would handle disputes between Muslim complainants. Critics claimed that misogyny which they held to be inherent in Sharia might influence the Canadian justice system, but proponents argued that those who do not wish to go by the court's rulings are not forced to attend it. Moreover, these sharia courts in Canada would be only orthodox in a limited way as they respect the priority of Canadian civil law. Anybody not satisfied with a ruling from the sharia court could appeal to a civil court. Accordingly, this sharia court would be only a very pale version of Sharia.

On September 11, 2005, Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty stated in a telephone interview that religious arbitration would no longer be allowed. However, the proposed changes to the Ontario Arbitration Act do not specifically mention religious arbitration, but reduce the power of private arbitration in the area of family law, and introduce other changes. Specifically, under the proposed changes family arbitrators will be regulated, participants in family law arbitration cases will not be able to give up their right to appeal an arbitrator's decision to a court, and a pre-nuptial agreement to resolve family law matters, should they arise, through an arbitrator rather than through a court will no longer be binding.

Nevertheless, the proposed changes were condemned by parts of the Muslim community.

Though Islamic law is interpreted differently across times, places and scholars, following fundamentalist's literal and traditional interpretations, it is legally binding on all people of the faith and even on all people who come under their control.

Laws and practices under Sharia

Marriage laws

• The Muslim man who is not currently a fornicator can only marry a Muslim woman who is not currently a fornicatress or a chaste woman from the people of the book.
• The Muslim fornicator can only marry a Muslim fornicatress.
• The number of wives is limited to four, but only if they are treated equally
• The Muslim woman who is not currently a fornicatress can only marry a Muslim man who is not currently a fornicator.
• The Muslim fornicatress can only marry a Muslim fornicator.
• The woman cannot marry without the consent of her guardian. If she marries, her husband becomes her new guardian.
• The guardian may choose a suitable partner for a virgin girl, but the girl is free to contest and has the right to say 'no'.
• The guardian cannot marry the divorced woman or the widow if she didn't ask to be married.
• The number of husbands is limited to one.
• "Do not marry unless you give your wife something that is her right." It is obligatory for a man to give dowry(gift)to the woman he marries

.

Divorce laws

• A woman who wishes to be divorced needs the consent of her husband. If he consents she does not have to pay back the dowry.
• Under certain circumstances (abuse, for instance), the wife may ask a judge to separate the couple.
• If a man divorces his wife three times, he can no longer marry her again unless she marries another man and then divorces him.
• These are guidelines; Islamic law on divorce is different depending on the school of thought.

The penalty for theft

In accordance with the Qur'an and several hadith, theft is punished by imprisonment or amputation of hands or feet, depending on the number of times it was committed.

The penalty for adultery

In accordance with hadith, stoning to death is the penalty for married men and women who commit adultery. For unmarried men and women, the punishment prescribed in the Qur'an and hadith is 100 lashes.

Dietary laws

Sharia dictates that Muslims may only eat from meat that has been slaughtered in the name of God and meets stringent dietary requirements. Such meat is called halāl, or "lawful". Islamic law prohibits a Muslim from eating pork, and most juridical opinions also hold monkey, dog, cat, carnivores and several other types of animal as harām (prohibited). For the meat of an animal to be halāl it must be one of the declared halāl species, and the animal may not be killed by excessively cruel or painful means. The traditional means of slaughter is by slicing open the jugular veins at the neck, resulting in quick blood loss; a state of shock and unconsciousness is induced, and death soon follows through cardiac arrest.

According to the Qur'an, the animal does not have to be slaughtered by a Muslim, but may be slaughtered by a Jew or a Christian (People of the Book) as long as it meets their strict dietary laws. This does not normally apply in modern times as animals are normally not slaughtered by Christians in the name of God. The majority of Christians no longer have rituals associated with slaughter, nor do they ask for God's permission before the kill. The method of slaughter used by most Christian butchers is also considered inappropriate by many Muslims. (Al-Ma'ida 5: "The food of those who have received the Scripture is lawful for you.")- this is only provided it is killed in accordance with God's Law, and in His name. Most Muslims will accept kosher meat as halāl. (Qur'an 2:173, 6:121)

The role of women under Sharia

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In terms of religious obligations, such as the daily prayers, payment of Zakat, observance of the Ramadan fast and pilgrimage, women are treated no differently from men. There are, however, some exceptions made in the case of prayers and fasting. Women are not obliged to fast during menstruation, pregnancy, for forty days after childbirth or while nursing if there could be any threat to her health or her baby's.

Islam has no clergy, but women may become religious scholars. In practice, it is much more common for men to be scholars than women. Early Muslim scholars such as Abu-Hanifa and Al-Tabary held that there is nothing wrong with women holding a post as responsible as that of judge. Many interpretations of Islamic law hold that women may not have prominent jobs, and thus are forbidden from working in the government. This has been a mainstream view in many Muslim nations in the last century, despite the example of Muhammad's wife Aisha, who both took part in politics and was a major authority on hadith. Islam does not prohibit women from working, as it says "Treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers." Married women may seek employment although it is often thought that the woman's role as a wife and mother should have first priority.

Islam unequivocally allows both single and married women to own property in their own right. Islam restored to women the right to inherit property, in contrast with some cultures where women themselves are considered chattels that can be inherited. A woman's share of inheritance is completely hers and no one, including her father or husband, can make any claim on it.

According to Islamic Law, women cannot be forced to marry anyone without their consent. Besides all other provisions for her protection at the time of marriage, it was specifically decreed that a woman has the full right to her Mahr, a marriage gift, which is presented to her by her husband and is included in the nuptial contract. Like the man, however, the woman can divorce her husband with out resorting to the court, if the nuptial contract allows that. A Muslim may not marry or remain married to an unbeliever of either sex (2:221, 60:10). A Muslim man may marry a woman of the People of the Book (5:5); traditionally, however, Islamic law forbids a Muslim woman from marrying a non-Muslim man unless he converts to Islam.

In theory, Sunni Islamic law allows husbands to divorce their wives if there is a justifiable reason, by clearly saying talaq ("I divorce you") three times. The divorce becomes permanent if the couple has been divorced three times but in the Qur'an it is frowned upon. In 2003, for example, a Malaysian court ruled that, under Sharia law, a man may divorce his wife via text messaging as long as the message was clear and unequivocal. Such a divorce, known as the "triple talaq" is not allowed in most Muslim states. The divorced wife always keeps her dowry from when she was married, and is given child support until the age of weaning, at which point the child may be returned to its father if it is deemed to be best.

See also ma malakat aymanukum.

Dress codes

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The Qur'an also places a dress code upon its followers. The rule for men has been ordained before the women: "say to the believing men to lower their gaze and preserve their modesty, it will make for greater purity for them and Allah is well aware of all that they do." Women are required to cover all of their body, except face and hands. Allah says in the Qur'an, "And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof, and let them wear their khumūr over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers, or their sons,  . . ." (surat an-Nur verse 31). All those in whose presence a woman is not obliged to practice the dress code are known to be her mahrams. Men have a more relaxed dress code: the loins must be covered from knee to waist. The rationale given for these rules is that men and women are not to be viewed as sexual objects. Men are required to keep their guard up and women to protect themselves. In theory, should either one fail, the other prevents the society from falling into fitna (temptation or discord).

Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country, has controversial laws against these dress codes in schools and work places. After the declaration of the Republic in 1923, as part of revolutions brought by Atatürk, a modern dress code was encouraged. It is against the law to wear a head scarf while attending public school in Turkey, as well as France, where the recently enacted rule caused huge public controversy.

Some view Islamic women as being oppressed by the men in their communities because of the required dress codes. However, in more moderate nations, where these dress codes are not obligatory, there are still many Muslim women who practice it. Some choose to wear such clothes of their own free will because they believe it empowers women and discourages being viewed as sexual objects.

One of the garments some women wear is the hijāb (of which the headscarf is one component). The word hijab is derived from the Arabic word hajaba which means 'to hide from sight or view', 'to conceal'. Hijāb means to cover the head as well as the body.

Domestic punishments

According to most interpretations, authorization for the husband to physically discipline disobedient wives is given in the Qur'an. First, admonishment is verbal, and secondly a period of refraining from intimate relations. Finally, if the husband deems the situation appropriate, he may hit her lightly:

"Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has given the one more than the other, and because they support them from their means. Therefore the righteous women are devoutly obedient, and guard in absence what Allah would have them guard. As to those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct, admonish them , , refuse to share their beds, beat them ; but if they return to obedience, seek not against them Means : For Allah is Most High, great ." ] 4:34 English translation: Yusuf Ali.

The medieval jurist ash-Shafi'i, founder of one of the main schools of fiqh, commented on this verse that "hitting is permitted, but not hitting is preferable."

The Arabic verse uses idribu¯hunna (from the root daraba ضرب), whose commonest meaning in Arabic has been rendered as "beat", "hit", "scourge", or "strike". Besides this verse, other meanings for daraba used in the Qur'an (though not with a human direct object) include 'to travel', 'to make a simile', 'to cover', 'to separate', and 'to go abroad', among others. For this reason — particularly in recent years (e.g. Ahmed Ali, Edip Yuksel) — some consider "hit" to be a misinterpretation, and believe it should be translated as "admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and separate from them." Certain modern translations of the Qur'an in the English language accept the commoner translation of "beat" but tone down the wording with bracketed additions. Whatever idribu¯hunna is meant to convey in the Qur'an -- and multiple, complementary meanings are quite common in Islam's holy book -- the verb is directed, not at a single husband, but to the community as a whole.

Several Hadith urge strongly against beating one's wife, such as: "How does anyone of you beat his wife as he beats the stallion camel and then embrace (sleep with) her? (Al-Bukhari, English Translation, vol. 8, Hadith 68, pp. 42-43), "I went to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) and asked him: What do you say (command) about our wives? He replied: Give them food what you have for yourself, and clothe them by which you clothe yourself, and do not beat them, and do not revile them. (Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 11, Marriage (Kitab Al-Nikah), Number 2139)". Others hadiths do indicate that husbands have a right to discipline their wives to a certain extent:

Fear Allah concerning women! Verily you have taken them on the security of Allah, and intercourse with them has been made lawful unto you by words of Allah. You too have right over them, and that they should not allow anyone to sit on your bed whom you do not like. But if they do that, you can chastise them but not severely. Their rights upon you are that you should provide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner. (Narrated in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Jabir.)

According to Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the European Council for Fatwa and Research:

"If the husband senses that feelings of disobedience and rebelliousness are rising against him in his wife, he should try his best to rectify her attitude by kind words, gentle persuasion and reasoning with her. If this is not helpful, he should sleep apart from her, trying to awaken her agreeable feminine nature so that serenity may be restored, and she may respond to him in a harmonious fashion. If this approach fails, it is permissible for him to beat her lightly with his hands, avoiding her face and other sensitive parts. In no case should he resort to using a stick or any other instrument that might cause pain and injury. Rather, this 'beating' should be of the kind the Prophet (peace be on him) once mentioned to a disobedient maid-servant, when he said 'If it were not for the fear of retaliation on the Day of Resurrection, I would have beaten you with this miswak (tooth-cleaning twig)' .

However, punishments are authorized by other passages in the Quran and Hadiths for certain crimes (e.g., extra-marital sex, adultery), and are employed by some as rational for extra-legal punative action while others disagree (quotations provided by Syed Kamran Mirza):

Quran-24:2 "The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication—flog each of them with hundred stripes: Let no compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by God, if ye believe in God and the last day."

Quran-17:32 "Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is a shameful (deed) and an evil, opening the road (to other evils)."

Sahi Muslim No. 4206: "A woman came to the prophet and asked for purification by seeking punishment. He told her to go away and seek God's forgiveness. She persisted four times and admitted she was pregnant. He told her to wait until she had given birth. Then he said that the Muslim community should wait until she had weaned her child. When the day arrived for the child to take solid food, Muhammad handed the child over to the community. And when he had given command over her and she was put in a hole up to her breast, he ordered the people to stone her. Khalid b. al-Walid came forward with a stone which he threw at her head, and when the blood spurted on her face he cursed her."

Sahih Al-Bukhari Vol 2. pg 1009; and Sahih Muslim Vol 2. pg 65: Hadhrat Abdullah ibne Abbaas (Radiallahu Anhu) narrates the lecture that Hadhrat Umar (Radiallaahu Anhu) delivered whilst sitting on the pulpit of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wa Sallam). Hadhrat Umar (Radiallahu Anhu) said, "Verily, Allah sent Muhammad (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) with the truth, and revealed the Quran upon him. The verse regarding the stoning of the adulterer/ess was from amongst the verse revealed (in the Quraan). We read it, secured it and understood it. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) stoned and we stoned after him. I fear that with the passage of time a person might say, ‘We do not find mention of stoning in the Book of Allah and thereby go astray by leaving out an obligation revealed by Allah. Verily, the stoning of an adulterer/ress is found in the Quraan and is the truth, if the witnesses are met or there is a pregnancy or confession."

For a more detailed examination of the Islamic view of adultery, see Zina.

For a more detailed examination of "honor killing", see the Misplaced Pages entry.

Customs and Behavioral laws

There are many customs associated with Islam, coming mainly from Sunnah (practices of Muhammad as part of the religion). These customs are generally considered mandatory. These include:

• Taking God's name before eating and drinking and using the right hand for the purpose.
• When meeting someone, saying As-Salamu Alaykum (Arabic: السلام عليكم , literally: peace be upon you) and answering with Wa alaykumus-Salam.
• When sneezing, saying Alhamdulillah (Arabic:الحمد لله, literally: all gratitude is for only Allah) and person who listens, should respond with Yarhamukallah (literally: God have mercy on you).
• Saying the Adhan in the right ear of a new born and the Iqama in his/her left.
• Clipping the moustache, shaving the pubes, removing hair from under the armpits, cutting nails, and circumcising the male offspring.
  • In Islam, the universal practice is male circumcision, but there are places in Africa where female genital cutting is also carried out, which is strongly condemned by Islamic scholars.
• Cleaning the nostrils, the mouth, and the teeth.
• Cleaning the body after urination and defecation.
• Abstention from sexual relations during the menstrual cycle and the puerperal discharge. Ceremonial bath after the menstrual cycle and puerperal discharge.
• Ceremonial bath after Janabah (seminal/ovular discharge or sexual intercourse).
• Bathing a dead body except in extra-ordinary circumstances as done in Battle of Uhud.
• Enshrouding a dead body in coffin cloth.
• Burying the dead in a grave.

Festivals

Two festivals of Muslims are celebrated universally in Islamic world, which are sanctioned by Sunnah.

1. Eid ul-Fitr
2. Eid ul-Adha

Rituals associated with these festivals are:

1. Sadaqah (charity) before Eid ul-Fitr prayer.
2. The Prayer and the Sermon on Eid day.
3. Takbirs (glorifying God) after every prayer in the Days of Tashriq (the 10th, 11th , 12th, and 13th of Dhu al-Hijjah).

Muslim apostates

In most interpretations of Sharia, conversion by Muslims to other religions, basically one of the freedoms guaranteed under universal human rights, is strictly forbidden and is termed apostasy. Muslim theology equates apostasy to treason, and in most interpretations of sharia, the penalty for apostasy is death.

In many Muslim countries, the accusation of apostasy is even used against non-conventional interpretations of the Quran. The severe persecution of the famous expert in Arabic literature, Prof. Hamid Nasr Abu Zayd is an example of this. In some countries, Sunni and Shia Muslims often accuse each other of apostasy. The current civil strife in Iraq is explained by many in terms of the extremely harsh religious opposition between Sunni's and Shia's in Iraq.

Illegal sexual relations: adultery, fornication and homosexuality

Adultery (fornication) is a crime and except in the case of rape, both man and woman are equally guilty. Thus it is said in Surah An-Noor (24th Chapter of the Quran): (24:2) "The woman and the man guilty of adultery, inflict on each of them one hundred lashes. Let not compassion move you in their case because it has been prescribed by Allah, if you believe in Allah and the life Hereafter (i.e. on the fact that since these are Allah's Commandments, their results are bound to appear forth) and let a party of the believers witness their punishment (so as to make sure that the punishment has been given according to Law).".

There are many references in the Qur'an which have been cited as referring to gay and lesbian behavior. Some obviously deal with effeminate men and "masculine women." Sura 4:20-21: "Against those of your women who commit adultery, call witnesses four in number from among yourselves; and if these bear witness, then keep the women in houses until death release them, or God shall make for them a way. And if two (men) of you commit it, then hurt them both; but if they turn again and amend, leave them alone, verily, God is easily turned, compassionate." 1

Some translations of the Qur'an call for the long-term or permanent house arrest of women guilty of adultery -- they are to be confined to "houses of death." An accurate translation is that their husband (or their parent or guardian) is to keep them -- not abandon them. Also, if they repent of their sin, God will accept their repentance. A woman can only be found guilty if four witnesses testify against her. Verse 21 seems to call for physical punishment for men who engage in same-sex activity, followed by their release if they abandon the practice. Verse 24:2 calls for a man or woman guilty of adultery or fornication to be flogged 100 times.

Homosexuality, moreover, is an abomination and a grave sin. In Hadith, Muhammad clarifies the gravity of this abomination by saying: "Allah curses the one who does the actions (homosexual practices) of the people of Lut," repeating it three times; saying in another Hadith: "If a man comes upon a man then they are both adulterers." Here, he considered homosexuality tantamount to adultery in relation to the Shari’ah punishments because it is an abomination on the one hand, and the definition of adultery applies to it on the other hand.....As for lesbians, Muhammad said about them: "If a woman comes upon a woman, they are both adulteresses." The homosexual receives the same punishment as an adulterer. This means, that if the homosexual is married, he/she is stoned to death, while if single, he/she is whipped 100 times.

Freedom of speech

Sharia does not allow freedom of speech on such matters as criticism of Muhammad. Such criticism is considered blasphemy against Muhammad.

The Qur'an says that Allah curses the one who harms the Prophet in this world and He connected harm of Himself to harm of the Prophet. There is no dispute that anyone who curses Allah is killed and that his curse demands that he be categorized as an unbeliever. The Judgment of the unbeliever is that he is killed. There is a difference between ... harming Allah and His Messenger and harming the believers. Injuring the believers, short of murder, incurs beating and exemplary punishment. The judgement against those who harm Allah and His Prophet is more severe -- the death penalty.

In Egypt, public authorities annulled, without his consent, the marriage of Prof. Nasr Abu Zayd when he got in conflict with an orthodox Islamic cleric from the Al-Azhar University in Cairo. The cleric had condemned Abu Zayd's reading of the Qur'an as being against the orthodox interpretation and labelled him an apostate (seen as a non-believer and consequently not permitted to marry or stay married to a Muslim woman). Abu Zayd fled to the Netherlands, where he is now a professor at the university of Leiden.

Dhimmitude, the treatment of non-Muslims

Under Sharia law non-muslims are goverened by the laws of their own specific communities however it codifies the treatment of dhimmis (Arabic) and rayahs (Turkish) in relation to the Muslim state and in cases of over-lapping jurisdiction. The rules include good and humane treatment of non-Muslims with full privilege to practice their own religion, except for public demonstration of non-muslim religious practices and the right to convert muslims (denied, but the reverse is allowed). Dhimmi are also taxed additionally.

The core component of treatment is the jizya, or tax specifically upon non-Muslims. The jizya originates in the Koran , which says "Fight against those who do not believe in Allah nor in the Last Day, and do not make forbidden what Allah and His messenger have made forbidden, and do not practice the religion of truth, of those who have been given the Book, until they pay the jizya off-hand, being subdued." The "Book" refers to the People of the Book, Jews and Christians, but the jizya was extended to all conquered non-Muslims. The jizya ultimately is less that the Zakah (money given to the poor and needy) and Sadaqah (charity) that Muslims give. In practice, this was rarely the case.

The religious police could stop Muslims who were engaging in Islamically illegal activities (i.e. drinking alcohol, not wearing Hijab, not having a beard, etc). It would often be difficult to differentiate between Muslim and dhimmis, so the religious police sometimes had non-Muslims wear a distinctive color or identity marker so that they wouldn't be harassed by the religious police. Distinctive clothing had the additional effect of humiliating dhimmis and attracting abuse from passers-by. See yellow badge.

Sharia, democracy and human rights

Many democrats, and several official institutions in democratic countries (as the European Court for Human Rights) are convinced that Sharia is incompatible with a democratic state. The reasons for this involves several of the most basic aspects of democracy and universal rights:

• Sharia does not recognise pluralism in the political sphere, nor the religious freedoms;
• Major differences in criminal law and criminal procedure;
• Shariah's rules on the legal status of women;
• The way Shariah intervenes "in all spheres of private and public life".

These incompatibilities have been clarified in several legal disputes.

In 1998 the Turkish Constitutional Court banned and dissolved Turkey's Refah Party on the grounds that the "rules of sharia", which Refah sought to introduce, "were incompatible with the democratic regime," stating that "Democracy is the antithesis of sharia." On appeal by Refah the European Court of Human Rights determined that "sharia is incompatible with the fundamental principles of democracy" Refah's sharia based notion of a "plurality of legal systems, grounded on religion" was ruled to contravene the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. It was determined that it would "do away with the State's role as the guarantor of individual rights and freedoms" and "infringe the principle of non-discrimination between individuals as regards their enjoyment of public freedoms, which is one of the fundamental principles of democracy". It was further ruled that

he Court considers that sharia, which faithfully reflects the dogmas and divine rules laid down by religion, is stable and invariable. Principles such as pluralism in the political sphere or the constant evolution of public freedoms have no place in it. It is difficult to declare one’s respect for democracy and human rights while at the same time supporting a regime based on sharia, which clearly diverges from Convention values, particularly with regard to its criminal law and criminal procedure, its rules on the legal status of women and the way it intervenes in all spheres of private and public life in accordance with religious precepts.

On the other side, legal scholar L. Ali Khan concludes "that constitutional orders founded on the principles of Sharia are fully compatible with democracy, provided that religious minorities are protected and the incumbent Islamic leadership remains committed to the right to recall". However, Christian Pippan argues, that this contradicts the political reality in most Islamic states. "While constitutional arrangements to ensure that political authority is exercised within the boundaries of Sharia vary greatly among those nations", most existing models of political Islam have so far grossly failed to accept any meaningful political competition of the kind that Khan himself has identified as essential for even a limited conception of democracy. Khan, writes Pippan, dismisses verdicts as from the European Court of Human Rights or the Turkish Constitutional Court "as an expression of purely national or regional preferences."

Several major, predominantly Muslim countries criticized the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) for its perceived failure to take into account the cultural and religious context of non-Western countries. Iran claimed that the UDHR was a "a secular understanding of the Judeo-Christian tradition", which could not be implemented by Muslims without trespassing the Islamic law. Therefore the Organization of the Islamic Conference adopted the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, which diverges from the UDHR substantially, affirming Sharia as the sole source of human rights. This Declaration was severely criticized by the International Commission of Jurists for allegedly gravely threatening the inter-cultural consensus, introducing intolerable discrimination against non-Muslims and women, restricting fundamental rights and freedoms, and attacking the integrity and dignity of the human being.

The teaching of sharia laws

The Algerian case

In Algeria, "islamic education" starts at the first year of primary school, but it limits itself to islamic moral values. In junior high, Islamic punishments and laws are introduced (The penalty for theft, Marriage... etc.). In high school things get more "serious" since the subject's name changes into "islamic sharia" and deals with subjects such as Stoning and Zina.

The Algerian matric includes the "islamic sharia" subject in its exams for all disciplines (Humanities, Mathematics....etc) even if the student is not muslim, those who get a zero in this subject fail their matric even if they have a 50% average mark.

At university, there is a course named "islamic sharia".

See also

• Aqidah
• Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam
• Irth, farā'iḍ, or wasāyā - Islamic Laws of Inheritance")
• Hudud - Severe crimes (sometimes considered "crimes against God")
• Tazir - Less severe crimes (thus, "crimes against society", not God)
• dhimmi
• Dīn
• Halakha - Jewish law
• Homosexuality and Islam
• Human Rights
• Islamic banking
• Islamic finance
• Islamic Rulings - A list of the most controversial rulings in Islam
• Islam in Turkey
• Qisas - Retaliatory crimes
• Mizan - A comprehensive treatise on the contents of Islam written by Javed Ahmed Ghamidi
• Zakat - Payment of portion of one's wealth for charity

Template:Countries with sharia

References

• Human Rights and Islamic Law
• Laleh Bakhtiar and Kevin Reinhart (1996). Encyclopedia of Islamic Law: A Compendium of the Major Schools. Kazi Publications. ISBN 1567444989
• Muhammad ibn Idris al- Shafi'i (1993). Risala: Treatise on the Foundations of Islamic Jurisprudence. Islamic Texts Society. ISBN 0946621152
• Khaled Abou El Fadl 2003). Reasoning with God: Rationality and Thought in Islam. Oneworld. ISBN 1851683062
• Cemal Kafadar (1996). Between Two Worlds: The Construction of the Ottoman State. University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-20600-2
• Omid Safi (2003). Progressive Muslims: On Justice, Gender, and Pluralism. Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1-85168-316-X
• Mumisa, Michael (2002) Islamic Law: Theory & Interpretation. Amana Publications. ISBN 1-59008-010-6
• Daniel W. Brown (1996). Rethinking traditions in modern Islamic thought. Cambridge University Press, UK. ISBN 0-521-65394-0
• Human Rights Documents Archives

News articles

A bill proposed by lawmakers in the Indonesian province of Aceh would impose Sharia law on all non-Muslims, the armed forces and law enforcement officers, a local police official has announced. The news comes two months after the Deutsche Presse-Agentur warned of "Taliban-style Islamic police terrorizing Indonesia's Aceh".

Notes

1. The Second Era of Ijtihad, 1 St. Thomas University Law Review 341
2. On the Sources of Islamic Law and Practices, The Journal of law and religion Souaiaia yr:2005 vol:20 iss:1 pg:123
3. http://al-islam.org/index.php?t=258&cat=258
4. Dispute Resolution in Family Law: Protecting Choice, Promoting Inclusion : Marian Boyd
5. Qu'ran, Surah Al-Maeda,
6. Islamic Law: Myths and Realities, by Denis J. Wiechman, Jerry D. Kendall, and Mohammad K. Azarian, muslim-canada.org
7. ,
8. Qur'an, Surah Al-Noor ,
9. the last sermon of Muhammad
10. "The Problems of Turkey Rest on Women's Heads". Washington Post. October 29, 2000. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |First= ignored (|first= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Last= ignored (|last= suggested) (help)
11. "Effort to ban head scarves in France sets off culture clash". USA Today. February 3, 2003. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |First= ignored (|first= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Last= ignored (|last= suggested) (help)
12. ^ Ghamidi, Javed (2001). "Customs and Behavioral Laws". Mizan. Dar al-Ishraq. OCLC 52901690. {{cite book}}: External link in |chapter= (help)
13. Sunan al-Tirmidhi 1513
14. Sahih Muslim 2020
15. Sahih Bukhari 6234
16. Sahih Bukhari 6224
17. Sahih Muslim 257, 258
18. Yusuf al-Qaradawi, Islamic Ruling on Female Circumcision
19. Sahih Muslim 252
20. Sunan Abu Da'ud 45

21. Quran
    History Waḥy First revelation Asbab al-Nuzul Historicity Manuscripts Samarkand Kufic Quran Sanaa manuscript Topkapi manuscript Birmingham manuscript Codex Mashhad
    Divisions Surah List Meccan Medinan Āyah Juz' Muqatta'at
    Content Prophets No compulsion Women Animals Legends Miracles Parables Science Eschatology God
    Reading Qāriʾ Hifz Tajwid Tarteel Ahruf Qira'at
    Translations List English Ahmadiyya
    Exegesis List Hermeneutics Esotericism Abrogation Biblical parallels Related persons Mentioned by name
    Characteristics I'jaz Inerrancy
    Related Criticism Attempted imitations Quran and Sunnah Quranism Shi’a view
    Category Islam portal
    v t e

22. Quran
    History Waḥy First revelation Asbab al-Nuzul Historicity Manuscripts Samarkand Kufic Quran Sanaa manuscript Topkapi manuscript Birmingham manuscript Codex Mashhad
    Divisions Surah List Meccan Medinan Āyah Juz' Muqatta'at
    Content Prophets No compulsion Women Animals Legends Miracles Parables Science Eschatology God
    Reading Qāriʾ Hifz Tajwid Tarteel Ahruf Qira'at
    Translations List English Ahmadiyya
    Exegesis List Hermeneutics Esotericism Abrogation Biblical parallels Related persons Mentioned by name
    Characteristics I'jaz Inerrancy
    Related Criticism Attempted imitations Quran and Sunnah Quranism Shi’a view
    Category Islam portal
    v t e

    ,

    Quran
    History Waḥy First revelation Asbab al-Nuzul Historicity Manuscripts Samarkand Kufic Quran Sanaa manuscript Topkapi manuscript Birmingham manuscript Codex Mashhad
    Divisions Surah List Meccan Medinan Āyah Juz' Muqatta'at
    Content Prophets No compulsion Women Animals Legends Miracles Parables Science Eschatology God
    Reading Qāriʾ Hifz Tajwid Tarteel Ahruf Qira'at
    Translations List English Ahmadiyya
    Exegesis List Hermeneutics Esotericism Abrogation Biblical parallels Related persons Mentioned by name
    Characteristics I'jaz Inerrancy
    Related Criticism Attempted imitations Quran and Sunnah Quranism Shi’a view
    Category Islam portal
    v t e

23. Sahih Bukhari 1254
24. Sahih Bukhari 1346
25. Sahih Muslim 943
26. Sunan Abu Da'ud 1134
27. Sahih Bukhari 1503
28. The proof of the necessity of killing anyone who curses the Prophet or finds fault with him, masud.co.uk
29. Judgement in the case of Refah Partisi and Others v. Turkey, Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, February 13 2003
30. Hearing of the European Court of Human Rights, January 22 2004 (PDF)
31. ECHR press release Refah Partisi (2001)
32. Refah Revisited: Strasbourg's Construction of Islam, by Christian Moe, Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, published at the site of The Strasbourg Conference
33. WILL THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS PUSH TURKEY TOWARD ISLAMIC REVOLUTION? by Professor Ali Khan
34. L. Ali Khan, A Theory of Universal Democracy: Beyond the End of History, The Hague, Kluwer Law International, 2003, ISBN 90-411-2003-3
35. Nathan Brown, Islamic Constitutionalism in Theory and Practice in Cotran, Eugene and Adel Omar Sherif (eds.), Democracy, the Rule of Law and Islam, London, Kluwer Law International, 1999
36. Bookreview of Khan's "A Theory of Universal Democracy: Beyond the End of History" by Christian Pippan for "The European Journal of International Law"
37. Draft law on Indonesia's Aceh province to impose Islamic law on all residents, The Associated Press / The Sacramento Bee, May 24, 2006
38. Indonesia's dilemma by Vaudine England, The Standard - China's Business Newspaper, May 6, 2006
39. Taliban-style Islamic police terrorizing Aceh, Deutsche Presse Agentur / ASAP Aceh News, March 10, 2006

External links

• Amnesty - Afghanistan: New forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment - 01/09/92
• The American Thinker - Top ten reasons why sharia is bad for all societies - 13/08/05
• Applying Islamic Principles in the Twenty-first Century: Nigeria, Iran, and Indonesia U.S. Institute of Peace Report, September 2005
• BBC Religion & Ethics - Islam - Sharia
• CBS News - Saudi Arabia's Beheading Culture - 25/06/04
• Council On Foreign Realtions - Islam: Governing Under Sharia - 14/03/05
• The Daily Telegraph - Poll reveals 40pc of Muslims want sharia law in UK - 19/02/06
• Dhimmitude.org
• Execution of a teenage girl, BBC News, July 27, 2006
• Free Muslims Coalition - Anti-Terrorism Resources: Can Sharia (Islamic Law) work in the 21st Century? - A critique by Muslims
• Human Rights and Islamic Law
• International Campaign Against Sharia Court In Canada
• The International Lesbian and Gay Association - Shari'a Law: Islamic Law and Homosexuality
• The International Society For Human Rights - Sharia in Nigeria
• The Islamic Sharia Council UK
• The Purposes of the Shari`ah
• Sangstar: The Stoning - 35m 8s video by Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
• Shariah.net
• Shari'ah, Laws and Islam: Legalism vs. Value-orientation by Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq
• Sharia: Video of Cutting of Hands and Feet implemented according to Islamic law in Qur'an (Note: May be disturbing to some viewers)
• What is Sharia? - Definition/Description Potpourri by Dr. Mohammad Omar Farooq
• Why No To Political Islam - Why Sharia Law must be Opposed

• Arabic words
• Sharia
• Legal codes