Is Shariah only about punishments?
When the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams recently tried to discuss the accommodation of aspects of Shariah law in Britain he triggered a vicious attack on the Islamic Shariah. This was shortly preceded by an incident involving schoolteacher Gillian Gibbons who was detained in Sudan - a country which selectively implements Shariah rules. This followed an uproar in the media regarding a survey where a significant percentage of Muslims, when asked, responded that they wished ‘to live by Shariah'. These incidents along with many others indicate the level of hostility that has developed in the Western world towards the notion of Shariah, even when it relates to what Muslims want implemented in their own countries.
Whilst Western governments have expressed a negative view of the Islamic Shariah, and any system of law other than their own, the political classes, media and others like the neo-conservatives have become extremely vocal in their attack. Criticisms that Western politicians initially made was aimed at addressing terrorism, which was then used to address extremism and is now directed against the fundamental tenants of Islam. Since the launch of the War on Terror, the western world, particularly America, Britain and other European countries, both at a state and media level have been engaged in a frenzied attempt to try to convince the Muslims that a state implementing the Islamic Shariah rules is not viable and would lead to a "pre-feudal State", as expressed by Tony Blair.
What is Shariah?
The Ahkam Shariyyah (Shariah Rules) is the body of rules that are derived from the revelation sent by Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala) to the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him - Sallalahu Alayhi Wassalam). These rules relate to all aspects of human life, whether they be regarding ritual worships, manners and morals, economics, political, governmental, social, judicial and international affairs.
The Shariah rules aim at protecting the society in which they are implemented. They are not prescribed by man, but rather by the commands and prohibitions of Allah, which are constant, neither changing nor evolving. They aim to achieve the protection of human life, mind, human dignity, private property, religion, security and the state. These rules establish a set of values for Muslims which ensures balance, dignity and respect within the society.
Some of these rules are a personal code for Muslims on how to act, informing the individual of the obligations and prohibitions that have been placed upon him. Other rules are implemented by a state and are forbidden for Muslims to implement individually such as the hudood (punishments), which can only be implemented by the person appointed by the Khalifah (authorised leader) of the Muslims. Unfortunately none of the Muslim countries today apply the Islamic Shariah comprehensively and therefore cannot be regarded as Islamic states.
The Attack on the Shariah: Is the West in a Position to Criticise or Advocate Secular Laws?
The West has based its criticism of the Shariah law on the basis of a relative comparison to itself. This is in no way an objective measure of the effectiveness of a law system. The effectiveness of the system should be measured on its ability to achieve protection and the security of the people in the society. While not implemented today, we have historical precedence from as recently as the 1900's when current day Turkey and the Middle East implemented the Islamic Shariah.
Can we say today that societies in the west are characterised by high levels of personal security, or that their dignity is protected? Sadly, the reality is that Western societies are characterised by girls as young as 12 being treated for sexually transmitted diseases and alcoholism. In the 8 years from 1998 to 2006 the statistics provided by the government indicate that violent crime has doubled from approximately half a million reported crimes annually to over a million. In that time crime against property has remained approximately constant at two million reported crimes annually and sexual crimes for the period has gone up approximately 177percent from 35 thousand to 62 thousand. These figures are an indictment of a society and system of law which is incapable of the protection of the society.
Can Muslims living in Britain today say that they feel secure given the incarceration of people without trial and draconian legislation targeted at them? This climate of fear has been created only because Muslims wish to speak out against Western colonial foreign policy and the oppression in the Muslim world.
It is correct to say that the Islamic shariah is in certain circumstances harsher than the west in its punishment of criminals. It does so in order to protect the innocent; it has safeguarded these most serious of punishments with a burden of proof that exceeds the British judicial system.
How does Shariah Address Peoples' Lives?
Shariah guides us to worship Allah (swt), who we turn to when we feel low, or burdened with problems. It gives us hope and strength because our convictions are built on strong intellectual reasoning. It provides us an objective in life and a source of comfort in hardships. The lack of such a strong basis and worship of the Creator means that people have nowhere to turn to when problems mount. In this society we witness people turn to drugs, alcohol abuse or other forms of escapism when they feel low. The rate of suicide is at an all time high as people struggle with depression and other mental problems.
The Shariah provides guidance about valuing oneself and the relationship between a person and themselves; it gives a code by which people can stay clean and hygienic, eat and drink the halal things and abstain from that which we have been warned against. A society that shuns this code, is a society characterised by binge drinking, drug taking and many other types of self destructive behaviour. The Metropolitan police reported that most anti-social crime is fuelled by a combination of drink and drugs, which stop people from acting "reasonably".
The Shariah also provides guidance on valuing other people and regulates relationships between a person and other people. By contrast, in the west disrespecting others is taken as the norm. We find abandoning the elderly to a life of solitude is common, such that an estimated 23,000 elderly people die of cold every winter in Britain alone. The lack of respect for others has had a devastating effect around us; children are murdered daily at school and on the streets, teachers are abused verbally and physically, paedophilia is rife across the society as well as other sexual crimes such as rape.
Shariah and the State
Of course the Shariah is not complete without the regulation of the State - a legitimate Islamic authority. This is the Islamic Khilafah system that Allah and His messenger mandated for the Muslims. This implements the Shariah rules in terms of government, criminal law, judicial system, economic system and social system. THe lack of these Shariah laws has led to the existence of dictatorships, the corruption of democracy, tyranny and manifest injustice, poverty and colonial exploitation. It is left to the very same unstable capitalist system that is causing so much concern today even in the west.
In this context, the Shariah rules dictate how the government is accounted; how people are protected from poverty; how the healthcare and education of citizens is provided; how people appoint their ruler and can remove him if he violates his contract.
Brothers and Sisters, we live in a world where the comprehensive implementation of Shariah is totally absent. Shariah gives value to the needs of the society - not to give priority to the individual at the expense of the wider society. The real barbarism that exists are the wars declared in the name of freedom and democracy; the self damaging behaviour by people in the west in the name of freedom of choice; the exploitation of women in the name of freedom of expression; and the dire poverty of millions in the name of the free market. To follow the Shariah is the submission of man to Allah, by his free choice. To follow any other legal code is to submit to the slavery to rich and powerful men, who decide the fate of millions according to their own, often purely financial interests.
Conclusion
Today, 66 percent of Egyptians, 60 percent of Pakistanis and 54 percent of Jordanians say that Shariah should be the only source of legislation in their countries.
Muslims are faced with this kind of pressure every week from the western media, who are simply spreading propaganda for the governments' imperialist adventures in the Muslim world, where they actively work to prevent the return of the Islamic Khilafah and Shariah system, through military occupation and support for corrupt brutal regimes. Hence Muslims must understand the dangers of this attack, and its role in the work to try and secularise Islam. Shariah is in no need for reinterpretation; Shariah is much more than just about punishments; and the west is in no position to condemn the Shariah of Allah.
