Shariah laws are not inhuman!!!
Posted on 30. Oct, 2012 by Editor in Faith and Religion
By Mushtaq Sethi
In General: The Shariah law and punishments were embodied in Quran when it was revealed upon Prophet Mohammad through the angel Gabriel, some 1400 years ago.
Prior to the advent of Islam, the period in history is known as "The Dark Ages." Times when a girl's birth was considered a matter of wailing! As if someone had died…They were inhumanly, buried alive at the time of birth by the idol worshipers. Incest was at its peak and women were treated as chattels, changing hands like a slave. There was no respect for their modesty or protection.
Islam brought about the change, gave protection to women, made the men folks respect them and declared the birth of a daughter an equall blessing as that of a son. Infidelity, prostitution and rape which were rampant then were abhorred, prohibited by Islam and considered to be sinful for many reasons; a few which included health , hygiene, danger of spread of STD and question of bad morality etc.
In fact Islam laid the foundation of a civil society. Now in order to control these uncivilized and uncultured ways strict measures as laws and punishments were needed and thus shariah laws suited perfectly well, proving extremely affective to the extent that today Islam is the second largest religion of the world having over 1.5 billion faithful followers.
If it was so repulsive and inhuman do you feel it would have grown in such numbers? Even today in this day and age it is the fastest growing religion in the world, almost every month thousands of people of other faiths or non-believer are converting and accepting Islam…can you tell me why ?. No you wouldn’t be able to because you are from those people who have personally not read the Holy Scripture of the Muslims, the Quran. You are possibly out of those people who are the victim of the media propaganda, made to create a wedge between each faith to sell their own product. It is a undeniable reality that the largest numbers of conversions have taken place amongst the US and other EU countries and that to without the enforcement of the shariah laws and that too from modern and liberated countries.
Islamic democracy is not the carbon copy of whats practiced in the West; here no rules can be framed that go contrary to the Islamic injunctions. Basically its a scholastic debate to determine if a law being framed falls within the Islamic puriew or not. Islamic parliament is primarily a consultative body where majority does not count but the righteous do. A presidential form of government is much closer to Islamic polity but it does not allow dictatorial powers to the person at the top. However, thanks to the so-called champs of the free world that they cannot tolerate political Islam for it challenges their capitalisitc ideology. Islam wants to spend on people and not lock the money in Central of Federal Reserves while the people suffer. Islamic Shariah protects the weak and the oppressed muchto the dislike of people in power. It is precisely for this reason that the mighty and the powerful resent Islam. Shariah in fact empowers the women or the other down trodden people in the society where even the non-Muslims get extra protection of the state.
The suicide bombing: Suicide is Haram (Prohibited and sinful) committed in any manner. Having said that allow me to clarify the misconception that a suicide attack (also known as suicide bombing, homicide bombing, or "kamikaze") was not invented by the Muslim's.
Historically, the Bible Book of Judges recounts the story of the Jewish hero Samson and how he killed himself by bringing down the temple of the Philistines in order to kill three thousand Philistines.
In the late 17th century, Qing official Yu Yonghe recorded that injured Dutch soldiers fighting against Koxinga's forces for control of Taiwan in 1661 would use gunpowder to blow up both themselves and their opponents rather than be taken prisoner. However, the Chinese observer may have well confused such suicidal tactics with the standard Dutch military practice of undermining and blowing up positions recently overrun by the enemy which almost cost Koxinga his life during the siege. During the Belgian Revolution, Dutch Lieutenant Jan van Speijk detonated his own ship in the harbor of Antwerp to prevent being captured by the Belgians. In the 18th century John Paul Jones wrote about Ottoman sailors setting their own ships on fire and ramming the ships of their enemies, although they knew this meant certain death for them.
Modern suicide bombing as a political tool can be traced back to the assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia in 1881. Alexander fell victim to a Nihilist plot. While driving on one of the central streets of Saint Petersburg, near the Winter Palace, he was mortally wounded by the explosion of hand-made grenades and died a few hours afterwards. The Tsar was killed by a member of Narodnaya Volya, Ignacy Hryniewiecki, who died while intentionally exploding the bomb during the attack.
Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff intended to assassinate Adolf Hitler by suicide bomb in 1943, but was unable to complete the attack.During the Battle for Berlin the Luftwaffe flew Selbstopfereinsatz against Soviet bridges over the Oder river. These missions were flown by pilots of the Leonidas Squadron under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Heiner Lange. From 17 April until 20 April 1945, using any aircraft that were available, the Luftwaffe claimed that the squadron destroyed 17 bridges, however the military historian Antony Beevor when writing about the incident thinks that this was exaggerated and that only the railway bridge at Küstrin was definitely destroyed. He comments that "thirty-five pilots and aircraft was a high price to pay for such a limited and temporary success". The missions were called off when the Soviet ground forces reached the vicinity of the squadron's airbase at Jüterbog.
Following World War II, Viet Minh "death volunteers" fought against the French Colonial Forces by using a long stick-like explosive to destroy French tanks.
Coming back to the topic there are a couple of Islamic country’s which implement Shariah laws as a standalone and that to for good reasons. Otherwise the rest of the Muslim states are governed by the normal Penal Codes with the provision of the Shariah law and court set-up separately for those crimes and complaints, depending on the nature of the violation. Very clearly no court of law has or does pass death sentence in infidelity case (Not sure about Saudi). For instance since most marriages take place under the Shariah law their annulation’s accordingly sought by the partners under the same law or in case of a murderer to be pardoned a system or law known as qiyas or Diyat (Forgiveness by the heirs for reasons and settlements best decided between the grieved and the aggrieved).Mind you to the best of my knowledge no court of law in Pan-Islamic countries has yet handed out that stoning to death punishment during these times.
As regards to the conditions enshrined in the Shariah about proving rape it was made stringent so that women of those dark age period wouldn’t be able to take unjust advantage and use the rape charge as a pretext to blackmail or take revenge from any male, she had a bone to pick with. Keep in mind there were no DNA testing facilities in those days. Today rape cases when lodged are investigated on the same modern scientific procedures and tried and punished according to the modern laws. Not Shariah in nearly all Muslim country except. Saudi Arabia, since it is the holy land with the house of Allah the Khan-e-Kaaba being located there and its sanctity is to be maintained. Thus the strictness of law of Shariah, acts as a successful deterrent. For better and good control of crime and sinful immoral acts.
To conclude, I would add that the sharia law was most appropriate in dark and grave era to bring about a controlled civil law and order and to bring about a change to civilize the illiterate idolaters. Though some of the laws in it may sound inhumane or harsh in this modern day and age like execution carried through means of beheading by sword (Islamic),but let us not forget that the French and European had similar method of carrying out executions too, with the apparatus called the Guillotine. Now they have been replaced by other painless invented tools such as Lethal injection or electric chair etc.
The truth is that is that these laws even to the extent of a comma or full stop cannot undergo any textual amendment by any one, because Quran has to be retained in its truest and original form and content from the time it was revealed upon Prophet Mohammad by angel Gabriel (saw).This in fact is the beauty and solemn attribute of it by virtue of which it is a heavenly scripture and not man made.
I believe the true essence of: ISLAM is that the 5 letter word Islam, encompasses within it the 4 letter word Love: I—Shall— Love—All— Mankind. I give below a quote which is self-explanatory and in a nut shell vindicates Islam and all faiths, as well.
That "Assess a religion on the basis of its teachings. The deeds of its followers are a different matter; whether good or bad, they belong to individuals and not the teachings. Don't mix up the two."
N.P
The above opinion is my personal assessment based on my own perception as a non-scholar, but a common individual Muslim faithfull.
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4 Responses to “Shariah laws are not inhuman!!!”
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Marivel Guzman
31. Oct, 2012
All what you write in the article sound beautiful in paper, and it is so truth that Qu'ran prescribe good things but the bad news it is that to be exercise you need to have men with golden heart, men free of sin, and that it is impossible. It is inhuman in all its form. The case # 1 to make it is that it is exercised by humans and humans are weak in their emotions. They get carry out by them. Anger, Impulse, Rigidness, Righteousness and the most important of all Corruption. You leave to men to carry out God's law! Really, I still need to find a perfect men on the face of the earth. A perfect men that it is not driven by emotion. A perfect men that can in the given moment discern between the Truth and a very very well though and structured lie. A men that can with close eyes can impart justice as God would do. I think we run into the impossibility to let justice to be impart by men. And men it is just human, and human are bound to error. I have all my life be against capital punishment because of this reasons. Now we have to come to the idea of God, that being the supreme being merciful and forgiving has the ability, the right to forgive. Why men in its position of inferior being could even think that they can charge a men with a crime and then execute the sentence specially if the sentence is death.. I really believe that the Sharia law it is put for men to test their stubbornness . Men thru history that have applied the Sharia law had always being guilty of righteousness …And Righteousness it is a virtue only of the creator.. "Part of our being human is that we make mistakes, no body is perfect. Sometime we make mistakes without deliberation and intention. But sometime we deliberately sin and do wrong to others. It is said, “to err is human and to forgive is divine.” Just look the cases on Saudi Arabia, how much injustice is carry out using the Shariah Law. The latest of the events is the Lady from Cairo that was doing business of one of the princes and something went wrong in the business relation and the prince abusing his power, corrupted by power I say, ordered incarceration and 500 lashes to the poor woman, she is being in Saudi jail for 3 years. OFF course she was charged with a bogus crime.. this is just one example of how injustice can happen, all because men is not perfect and driven by emotion… I could cite thousands of miscarried sentences that I can find in books, internet, testimonies from victims and families..But I won't do..it will take me all my life, specially if the victims or families still in the Muslim country that carried the sentence. I bring the example to give an idea, how something that it is in the Qu'ram has been misused by men. and off course this is my personal opinion..The problem is that we will never know if the persons that say are witness are acting by revenge, anger, retribution, or other wicked emotion.
Rehmat
01. Nov, 2012
The Shari'ah laws, though not all described in details in Holy Qur'an – are far less "inhuman" than the punishment and social laws commanded in Jewish Torah (OT) and Talmud or the Christian Bible (NT). For example:
“Thanks G-d for not making me a Gentile, a Woman or a Slave,” – Judaism’s holiest book, Talmud, Menahoth 43b-44a. or "Every female child is born in Original Sin," The Bible.
In 2009, American Christian professor John Esposito (Georgetown University) wrote on women treatment in Muslim societies which I discussed in my post below.
http://rehmat1.com/2009/12/30/women-in-islam-and-society/
Sarmad
01. Nov, 2012
With due respect!
whilst talking about the practice of the laws of Shariah we must not forget the time when and how people of the book started excercising it. Prohibition of licor, implementation of veil, seige of usury and several other precedences are found whilst reading the lift of Prophet of Islam and the life of his companions.
YOU can't have the baby start eating undigestibles when he needs food of other kinds. This is how Prophet of Islam taght the people of his time and thus the laws of Shariah were applicable because the active and passive were trained to it.
Emotions are integral to human and so to the prophet of Islam that he throughout his life when the culprits admitted their sins, asked them to seek forgiveness from Lord and at times he even told them that they never did the sin they were talking about because the messanger was polite and human but he had to obey his Lord.
Don't make things complex for the reader and come to the point.
Islam provides guidelines to control sin and even give leverage to ponder about solution viz a viz a particular situation albeit the precedences.
Unfortunately, today muslims throughout the world don't own religion Islam as a code of life but to use it for their vested interest and make fun of its teachings where possible sitting in the lapes of those who never bother reading it.
Materialism is such a resource curse that it doesn't let spirituality evolve rather it guises itself to betray those who are adhere of any Book from God.
Mark my words: O Believers, wake up and go back to your scriptures and the true stories of the nations before you. God never needed thou, We need HIM.
Marivel Guzman
02. Nov, 2012
Rehman the difference is that the Torah and the Bible are not followed in modern justice system. Because simply we lived in a different society. We have evolved. We are not ruled by barbarians of the old times, where kings and emperors own the life of the peopel.
Well, still in some Muslim countries, such Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to name two, they still own the life of the people.
And I know that Shariah Law will be perfect if the people will follow Islam,
but sadly very few people follow Islam in the correct way. Most of society is rotten to the core.
@Sarmat, you are correct in everything you say. Unfortuenelty 1600 years later Islam did not achieved what was written in the Qu'ran, and now we have entire societies run by corrupted leaders, and using the holy Text onlyu when it is convenient for them. And the same for most Muslims, that when it comes to argue they will have ready a Quranic Text to fight, but in real life they are corrupted on their heart.
If Muslim being the perfect religon, and the most growing religion was taken at heart, we would not have so much poverty, corruption in homes and in the house of government that speak of Islam so highly.
The text are perfect in perfect societies, but we live in corrupted society..