Human Rights Facts (47): Sharia « P.A.P. Blog – Politics, Art and Philosophy

The term Sharia literally means “path” or “way” (”way to the water source”). So, originally, it wasn’t a legal code or a set or rules as it is now. With the passing of time, the word has come to mean the body of legal rules which were produced through a very long process of scholarly interpretation of the divinely sanctioned material of the Koran (or Quran). This interpretation is known as fiq (or fiqh), literally “understanding” or, more specifically in this context, “jurisprudence”, and involves such things as debate, precedent reasoning by analogy etc. The Sharia, therefore, is – in part at least – a human creation, unlike the Koran which is believed to be the word of God told through Muhammad.

Nowadays, many Muslims believe – mistakingly according to their own religion – that the early interpretations of the Koran – which, together with the rules contained in the Koran, form the Sharia – are also of Godly origin and therefore just as sacred and unchangeable as the Koran itself. The reason is that they lump together the rules in the Koran and the subsequent interpretations, thereby lumping together the revealed with the unrevealed, the sacred words of God and the subsequent human interpretations of these words. According to Islam, however, the Koran is the immutable Basic Code which should be kept separate from ever-evolving interpretive law (fiqh).

The diagram below, drawn by Dr Moojan Momen, shows the sources of Sharia. (In order to accommodate the differences between Sunni and Shi’i, the latter are shown in red).

(source – hadith are the sayings and doings of Muhammad and his companions)

As is apparent from this diagram, Sharia is understood in different ways by different groups within Islam. So the monolithic Sharia which we know from many scaremongering news-stories does not exist.

Sharia deals with many issues of day-to-day life, including politics, economics, banking, business, family, sexuality, hygiene etc. Some aspects of Sharia lead to violations of human rights, in particular the treatment of women and the punishments for certain “crimes” such as homosexuality, adultery and apostasy prescribed by certain schools of jurisprudence. These include amputation, flogging and stoning.

(source)

The rules prescribed by the Koran and the Sharia are a sufficient basis for the laws of a Muslim country. At best, human rights or other laws can only play a role when they do not contradict the law of God. At worst, the execution of the law of God is the only legitimate role of the state, even if this implies violating human rights. The problem is that changing the Koran or the Sharia is believed to be the same thing as changing the word of God, which is said to be impossible. Human rights advocates can try to convince people that part of the Sharia is clearly not of Godly origin, not even according to the Muslim faith.

These are the countries which apply, to some degree, Sharia law:

(source)

Most countries mix Sharia with other legal traditions, or apply Sharia only in some parts of the law, or some regions. There’s even talk of allowing Muslim minorities in western countries to apply Sharia law within their own communities.

Here’s an opinion poll in some Muslim countries on the desirability of Sharia: