A Different Perspective, Probably, Than You’ve Typically Seen Regarding Shari‘a

Sultan Hasan and al-Rifa‘i — In the background are, on the left, the fourteenth-century Madrasa and Mosque of Sultan Hasan and, on the right, the Mosque of al-Rifa‘i, which was completed in the early twentieth century. They are two of my favorite buildings in Cairo. The woman in blue is standing on Cairo’s Citadel, looking roughly westward toward the Nile. (Wikimedia Commons)

I share with you an additional passage that caught my notice in John L. Esposito and Dalia Mogahed, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think (New York: Gallup Press, 2007):

The heightened sense of the West’s threat to political freedom and to Islamic identity has likely reinforced the desire for Sharia. Recourse to Sharia, the blueprint for an Islamic society, provides a centuries-old paradigm. Thus, however different and diverse Muslim populations may be, for many, Sharia is central to faith and identity.

While moderates (83%) and political radicals (91%) alike want Sharia as a source of law, a significantly higher percentage of the politically radicalized (59% vs. 32% of moderates) want to see Sharia as the only source of law.

This desire for Sharia is reminiscent of the reasons behind the early development of Islamic law, to create a rule of law as a shield against the power of the caliph or sultan. As Richard Bulliet notes in The Case for Islamo-Christian Civilization: “All that restrained rulers from acting as tyrants was Islamic law, sharia. Since the law was based on divine rather than human principles, no ruler could change it to serve his own interests.”

Today, greater interest by the politically radicalized in the implementation of Islamic law reflects their desire to limit the powers of rulers and regimes that they regard as authoritarian, “un-Islamic,” and corrupt. However, this is not a call for theocracy. When asked to what extent they want religious leaders involved in public life (secular family law, curricula in schools, drafting new laws or a constitution, deciding who may run for office or how women may dress in public, or determining their country’s foreign policy), majorities of the politically radicalized and moderates say they do not want religious leaders to be directly in charge. Nevertheless, radicals are more likely to want religious leaders to play an “advisory” role, consistent with the traditional role of ulama as “advisers” to rulers. (92-93)

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This was a ridiculous case, which is putting it very charitably:

“Pakistan Acquits Catholic Mother of Five on Death Row for Blasphemy”

I’m extremely pleased that she has been acquitted, but I doubt that the extremist loons will take the verdict lightly.

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“China’s secret Muslim internment camps revealed: BBC investigation exposes ‘prison-type structure’ exclusively for Xinjiang’s Muslim minorities”

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Here, in honor of the holiday, is an Islamic viewpoint on Halloween:

“Halloween and Conformity”

Just in case you’re interested, here’s a Latter-day Saint point of view for purposes of comparison:

“What the Church Has Said About Halloween”