Top ten reasons why sharia (Islamic law) is bad for all societies
Does Islam really practice human rights?
James M. Arlandson
Muslim missionaries who understand the Quran and the hadith believe that sharia (Islamic law) expresses the highest and best goals for all societies. It is the will of Allah.
Reportedly, 85 sharia courts operate in the UK, dispensing rulings that are often illegal, per British jurisprudence.
Muslim polemicists boast that Islam is the best and fullest religion in the world, because it specifies duties and requirements for every aspect of life. But what happens if this control is oppressive? What if it is rooted in a harsh and outdated holy book?
Islamic websites that preach justice and human rights seem unwilling to confront the unpleasant truths lurking in the origins of their religion; instead, they whitewash the violence. For example, these three articles, representing others, preach "peace and love," but they fail to point out ALL of Islam: Islamonline.net, Jamaat.org, Islam-guide.com.
But does Islam practice justice? Does Islam really promote human rights?
This article says no for ten verifiable reasons.
Here are five points you must understand, before reading the rest of the article:
First, sometimes these ten points quote the Quran or omit it; sometimes they quote the hadith (reports of Muhammad’s words and actions outside of the Quran) or omit it. This is done only to keep the article from getting longer than it is. No one should be fooled into believing that these harsh and excessive laws were invented in the fevered imagination of extremists who came long after Muhammad. No. These harsh and excessive laws come directly from the founder of Islam in his Quran and in his example in the hadith.
Second, each of these ten reasons has a back-up article (or more than one) that is long and well documented with quotations and references to the Quran, the hadith, and classical legal opinions. The back-ups also examine the historical and literary context of each Quranic verse. If the readers, especially critics, wish to challenge one or all of these ten reasons, or if they simply doubt them, they should click on the supporting articles. They will see that Muhammad himself actually laid down these excessive punishments and policies.
Third, it must be pointed out that these harsh laws are not (or should not be) imposed outside of an Islamic court of law. Careful legal hurdles must be passed before the punishments are carried out. However, even in that case, it will become clear to anyone who thinks clearly that these punishments and policies are excessive by their very nature, and excess is never just, as Aristotle taught us in his Nicomachean Ethics.
Fourth, in each of the lengthy supporting article (or articles), a Biblical view on these infractions of moral law and civil law is presented. One of the reasons that we all sense that these Islamic punishments are harsh and excessive is that Christianity has also filled the globe. New Testament Christianity, when properly understood and followed, offers humanity dignity. Further, Christians honor and revere the Old Testament as inspired by God in its own era, and they can learn timeless truths from it, but they also believe that Jesus Christ has fulfilled this sacred text, so people no longer have to be stoned to death for a sin like adultery. Sins are dealt with in a new way under the New Covenant—forgiveness and restoration.
Fifth, we must answer a Muslim strategy. A Muslim missionary, who believes that Islam is the best religion in the world and who wants it to spread around the globe, attempted to refute this top ten list. But attempting to refute such a list is like reviewing a long, long book only from the last chapter. The reviewer has skipped over the hard work of reading all of the chapters. In the same way, the Muslim polemicist has skipped over the hard work found in the back-up articles (see the second introductory point, above). This top ten list is only a summary of many articles and a lot of strenuous labor from the present author and many other authors. The answers to the missionary’s criticisms are found in all of these articles. So he must refute all of them before he has earned the right to reply to a mere summary. Plus, in his abbreviated response, he whitewashes Islam either deliberately or unknowingly, which means that he does not know his own religion or he knows it, but covers it up. Whatever the case, the truth about ALL of Islam must get out.
"Islam" in this article stands for Muhammad (and the Quran and reliable Traditions), the earliest Muslim leaders, and classical legal scholars.
Here are the top ten reasons why sharia or Islamic law is bad for all societies.
10. Islam commands that drinkers and gamblers should be whipped.
In 2001, Iranian officials sentenced three men to flogging not only for illicit sex (see reason no. nine), but also for drinking alcohol.
In 2005, in Nigeria a sharia court ordered that a drinker should be caned eighty strokes.
In 2005, in the Indonesian province of Aceh, fifteen men were caned in front of the mosque for gambling. This was done publicly so all could see and fear. Eleven others are scheduled to undergo the same penalty for gambling.
After going through two previous confusing stages before coming down hard on drinkers and gamblers, the Quran finally prohibits alcohol and gambling in Sura 5:90-91; they do not prescribe the punishment of flogging, but the hadith does. This poor "criminal" was brought to Muhammad who became angry:
The Prophet felt it hard (was angry) and ordered all those who were present in the house, to beat him [the drinker dragged into Muhammad’s presence]. (Bukhari, Punishments, nos. 6774-6775 (online source; see the one just above, and the others below the one directly linked)
Read the whole article.
Johann.
Apologetics, Always be prepared to give an answer.
