Imam Faisal, author of “What’s right with Islam” says, “America is the most shariah compliant country in the world“. He means, that the right of the individual, the freedom of speech, the lack of violence, vendetta, and the omni-presence of tolerance for others are all Islamic values adopted by the USA. There is nothing to be afraid of Muslims and Islam. By association Imam Faisal should also declare that “present Britain is the most shariah compliant country in the world.”
Islam is more about Haqqoq e Ibad (Rights of fellow humna beings) than about Haqooq e Allah (rights of God). Healthcare, social security, minimum wage, privacy, basic standard of living all come under “Haqooq e Ibaad“, and Britina certainly provides a better standard of living to her citizens than most Muslim countries. The Muslim world would be a much better place to live in if all the freedoms allowed to British citizens were given to Muslims.
Those who have defined Islamic Shariah Law as some neanderthal, troglodyte law which takes humanity back to the cave ages, represses women, and generates violent murderers, have limited knowledge of Islam and Muslims. Certainly a small minority of vocal and politically motivated illiterate “Muslims” have incorrectly defined “shariah“ as a system of justice based upon harsh punishment and a license to kill non-Muslims ad-neuseum. Many Western Muslims also grew afraid of the “shariah’ because they see it linked to horrendous acts of brutality, and state oppression in dictatorships. They take the clips and mis-label all of Islam with these horrible images. Muslims have refuted this, but their voice is not heard.
Karen Armstrong, T.B Irving, John Bulliett, John Esposito, Edward Said, and many others have done tremendous research on the subject. The research of John Maksudi sees the origins of British Common Law in Muslim Spain. Cave men living in Britain during the dark ages did not have access to advanced knowledge of laws and history. They had to get this information from the enlightened Muslims in Spain and Baghdad. Haq a Qol (Freedom of speech), Haq e Insaan (Human rights), Haq e Huriah (Right to Freedom) were all defined first in “Misaq e Medina” (Covenant of Medina), and then in Muslim Spain and Muslim Baghdad. Trial by jury, the formalization of rules, and judges are all parts of Muslim “Qanoon” which creates the origins of British “Canons“. The robes of the judges have Muslim origins. The returning Crusades saw Al-Azhar “kulliat”, and created “colleges” Oxford and Cambridge patterned on Muslim universities. Laws absed on the Ten commandments are fully complaint with Muslim laws.
There is a firestrom brewing in England over the remarks made by the Archbishop.
“In his BBC interview, Williams said some provisions of sharia were already recognised under British law and he noted that orthodox Jews are already allowed to use their own courts to settle some issues based on religious law.
At least 10 Islamic courts, dealing mainly with divorce or financial disputes, operate in Britain, news reports said…..he referred to the use of sharia in some personal or domestic issues, much like orthodox Jews already have their own courts for some matters.
The message to the Archbishop of Canterbury…Britain already has shariah law, you just don’t know it!
Shariah law in Britain unavoidable: archbishop
* Canterbury archbishop calls for ‘constructive accommodation’ with Muslim practices
* Says he does not endorse ‘harsh punishments’
LONDON: Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world’s Anglicans, said on Thursday the introduction of some aspects of Islamic Shariah law in Britain was unavoidable.
Other religions enjoyed tolerance of their laws in Britain, he said, and he called for a “constructive accommodation” with Muslim practice in areas such as marital disputes. Asked in a BBC interview if the adoption of Shariah law was necessary for community cohesion, Williams said: “It seems unavoidable.
“Certain conditions of Shariah are already recognised in our society and under our law, so it is not as if we are bringing in an alien and rival system.”
The issue of integrating Britain’s 1.8 million Muslims has been widely debated since July 2005 when four British Islamists carried out suicide bombings on London’s transport network, killing 52 people.
Harsh punishments: Williams said he was not endorsing the harsh punishments issued in countries such as Saudi Arabia, where murderers and drug traffickers were beheaded.
“Nobody in their right mind would want to see in this country the kind of [behaviour] that has sometimes been associated with the practice of the law in some Islamic states, the extreme punishments, the attitudes to women.”
Any use of Shariah in Britain should not take precedence over “the rights that are guaranteed to… citizens in general”.
Muslims should have a choice in legal disputes over marriage and financial matters, Williams said.
“There are ways of looking at marital dispute, for example, which provide an alternative to the divorce courts as we understand them. In some cultural and religious settings they would seem more appropriate.”
A Church of England bishop sought police assistance this month after receiving death threats over an article which claimed Islamist radicals had turned some parts of the country into hostile “no-go areas” for non-Muslims.
The Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, said calls had been made to his home, threatening him and his family. “We have got a fragmented society at the moment,” Williams said. “Many Muslims would say that that they feel bits of British society are no-go areas for them.” reuters
Statistics of rape in Pakistan vs. the USA: The results are surprising!http://moinansari.wordpress.com/wp-admin/edit-pages.php?s=rape&post_status=0&author=0
It is estimated that more than 9 million women were burned in the inquisiton against the women in Europe. The Roman Catholic Church created a science for the torture and etermination of women who on the slightest mistake would be labeled as witches and then burned. Rebuffed suitors, jilted priests, or a simple refusal to allow sex could be used to get the woman killed.
Malleus Maleficorum was a highly significant factor in shaping the ideas behind the sixteenth century persecution, due to its influence on beliefs about witchcraft and about how to deal with problems of witches. The Malleus Maleficorum was published in 1486 and the persecution of witches began in earnest at about this time. This is not to imply direct causality. The Malleus Maleficorum was as much the product of a general climate in which the persecution of witches took place as its instigator. However, the Malleus Maleficorum was influential in expressing and shaping the ideas that underpinned persecution of witches throughout Europe. The fact of widely varying levels of witch persecution throughout Europe as a whole and and even within different localities in England suggests that there were other influences shaping the nature of the persecution of witches. This paper will consider the role of the Malleus Maleficorum in England, arguing that its influence was mediated by a combination of historical factors
The Inquisition was set up in 1199. However, persecution of witches did not reach a significant level begin until the late 15th century, after the publication of the Malleus Maleficorum and the issue of papal bulls against witches. An important Bull was that of Pope Innocent II (1484) who ordered the inquisitors to seek out witches and defined witchcraft as a heresy..
Some of the qualities associated with witchcraft before the publication of the Malleus Maleficorum were expressed in a letter to the inquisitors by Pope Eugenius IV in 1437 (Oldridge, 2002: 4) The letter refers to sacrifice to demons, the concept of a written contract that grants powers to do malicious deeds, the use of wax images, the reversal of Christian symbols and perversion of Christian liturgy. These formed most of the “ingredients of the Renaissance concept of witchcraft” (Oldridge,2002, 14) The 1484 Bull referred to the use of witchcraft to do malicious acts to people and animals. It also spoke of witches consorting with devils, incubi and succubi and of “preventing conceptions” (Hart, 1971: 16)
Other features of the beliefs about witches were that they met at night in groups, sabbats, when they took part in a wide range of shocking and superhuman activities The sources of these beliefs were various, from local folk-beliefs to classical Roman and Greek myths. However, it would be mistaken to imagine that the belief that humans have supernatural powers to do evil was unique to Renaissance and medieval Europe. Anthropologists have identified and studied such beliefs in almost all societies. (Thomas, K ,1971) Beliefs about magic and supernatural powers are not in themselves sufficient to explain persecution. Trevor-Roper argued that set of folk beliefs about magic could not explain the origins of the early modern witch crazes. (Trevor-Roper, 1967) The significant factors in determining whether such a set of beliefs is expressed in violent action against those perceived as having supernatural powers must be sought in the historically specific features of a given situation.
There was widespread acceptance of belief in magical effects – expressed in a variety of forms and at all levels in society. Science and magic overlapped- chemistry grew out of alchemy, for instance. The aristocracy were as likely to consult magicians as poor were to call upon the aid of a local witch. (Queen Elizabeth and John Dee, for example.) The distinction between magical and religious thought is very difficult to make, in any case. It usually reflects to the level of social power of those who make the definition. However, at this time, the social power of the formal Churches was not safe anywhere in Europe. The Reformation had split the Christian world into two camps. Catholic leaders sought to hold on to their power in those countries where it had not been overthrown (such as Spain) and to reclaim it in those countries where Protestants had won control. Protestant rulers, such as Elizabeth, constantly faced with attack from Catholics and sought to extend their influence by encouraging the spread of Protestantism. Neither Catholic nor Protestant Churches were stable. Drives against heresy could represent attempts to avoid the further fragmentation of beliefs.
At the same time, ideas about the Devil and devils were being developed and expressed in numerous publications, including those listing the various devils that witches dealt with (Hart, 1971: 16) Hart argued that the “enormous literature” on witchcraft (Hart, 1971: 31) had begun to contain new elements – covens, Black sabbats, familiars and pacts with the devil. The latter became the central issue in the persecution in Protestant Europe. Its existence allowed both Catholic and protestant religions to denounce witchcraft as heresy.
Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger, the authors of the Malleus Maleficorum were German inquisitors. They produced the text that became the central reference. The authors defined witchcraft as heresy. At the same time, they specifically defined witchcraft as female. “It is better called the heresy of witches than of wizards, since the name is taken from the more powerful party.”
A central element in the Malleus Maleficorum is its quite astonishing targeting of women, and specifically midwives “who surpass all others in wickedness” (Malleus Maleficorum Part 1 Question VI) The text expresses the idea that more witches are women and explains it in terms very much focussed on female sexuality. They refer to such authoritative sources as the Bible, Cicero, Seneca and others to justify the argument that women are much more prone to vice than are men – feebler in intellect, more prone to wickedness and conclude that “All witchcraft comes from carnal lust which is in women insatiable.” The document prefigures the enormous numbers of women who would be tortured, burned or hanged in following century. However, it cannot be claimed that the Malleus brought about the fear and hatred of women that was such a clear feature of the persecution. Rather it reflected a view of women that was already prevalent in the church and the educated world, as attested by the number of authorities that the authors refer to.
Why did the concept of a witch cult become credible to educated Europeans? Anglo argued that the Church’s authority gave the evidence reality. Evidence for satanic witchcraft was derived from scripture and the writing of church fathers. “These citations were generally regarded as authoritative and carried at least as much weight as empirical investigations into the alleged activities of witches” (Oldridge, 2002: 17) Thus, the Malleus Maleficorum made a strong case, as its citations were beyond question. Oldridge argued that the persecution became much harder to pursue once the concept of empirical evidence became more widespread in the later 17th century. This argument seems somewhat circular. If the persecution remained as strong, a preference among educated people for empirical evidence and rationality would have not been able to develop.
Oldridge argued, from a technological perspective, that the development of print made it possible for the views expressed in the Malleus Maleficorum to be widely disseminated and for news of sensational trials to be distributed, thus spreading the ideas that fueled the cult. “The result was a largely self-referential and self-perpetuating body of literature, which encouraged exactly the kinds of confessions that could be fed back into the genre as ‘evidence’” (Oldridge, 2002: 17-18).
Why therefore did the impact of the Malleus Maleficorum strike England less forcefully than it struck the rest of Europe, particularly Germany or Scotland? One argument is the distinction between Catholic and Protestant religions. The intense hatred of women which is expressed in the Malleus Maleficorum can be understood partly as the product of a religion based on a male priesthood required to be celibate. The philosophy that underpins such religious practice is inevitably likely to appeal to some men who are misogynistic and is unlikely to be challenged when celibacy is a core part of the faith. The triumph of celibacy was still relatively recent in the Roman Church’s history (established about three centuries earlier.) In Protestant England, a celibate priesthood was no longer an issue. Hence, levels of religious misogyny were probably lower, at the institutional level.
In England, heresy was not such a pressing concern. The Inquisition was the creation of the Catholic Church; its objective of rooting out heresy, that became mingled with the witch craze, was not the objective of the English church or state. In England, as compared to Germany, Scotland and France, for instance, witches were hanged rather than burned. Torture was not routine. The stress on English trials was largely on the accusations of causing malicious acts maleficium, rather than on heresy or on pacts with the devil. In contrast, in Germany and Scotland for instance, “The worst atrocities were committed in the name of religion” as the accused witches were searched for marks and tortured for evidence of having made pacts with the devil, the ultimate heresy. (Hart,1971 :108)
In England, witch persecutions largely focussed on locally unpopular women in small towns and villages. Conviction levels were low even in the assizes which covered the areas of most activity, such as Essex. Without the formal apparatus of the church – in the person of the feared Inquisitors and the wholehearted backing of the state – locally malicious prosecutions tended to reflect local accusations of having committed malicious acts. Even at the beginning of the persecutions, there were sceptics, such as Reginald Scot. Scot pointed out that burning of all witches would still have no effect in preventing misfortunes such as the worsening climate of the time. He also pointed out that old, poor, sullen, mad and superstitious women were easily convinced of their own guilt, that such women would utter curses to prevent themselves being injured by others and that those who feared them could easily believe their misfortunes were due to the curses. (Scot,1584). It is unlikely that this scepticism was widespread. However, the fact that it could be expressed at all illustrates the different intellectual climate of England, where the Inquisition – and a probable accusation of heresy for protesting the witch persecution – was not a constant cause for fear.
Thus, the Malleus Maleficarum was not the direct source of the impetus to persecute witches, and was less significant in Protestant England than in Scotland or continental Europe. However, it shaped cultural views on witchcraft, identifying the features which were to become central to the persecution, providing witch finders with a template to guide their investigations.
Bibliography
Glucklich, A, (1997) The End of Magic, New York & Oxford, Oxford University Press.
Hart, R 1971, Witchcraft, London, Wayland.
Malleus Malficarum. Extract at www.malleusmalficarum.org
Oldridge, D, 2002, The Witchcraft Reader, London & New York, Routledge
Purkiss, D, (1996) The Witch in History, London & New York, Routledge.
Trevor-Roper Hugh (1967) The European Witch Craze of the 16th and 17th Centuries
Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic. Weidenfeld and Nicholson 1971
Ahmadu Friday Page 3 24/02/2005
Name one single country existing under Shari’a that isn’t currently on multiple human rights violation lists? Go on, name just one.
This oh-so-blessed code of laws you’re espousing is a myth in practice. Shari’a in the truth of implementation is a brutal, repressive and vile judicial system. It has no place in a civilized society and must be utterly irradiated from the earth.
Now, if your mythical Shari’a could replace it, then the world might be a better place.
Nothing, we say is going to convince a masked face who does not divulge his/her identity, throws remarks but does not respond to them.
Nothing will convince you. Nothing.
One cannot talk to person who is deaf or feigns deafness! Kindly read the article again and read it slowly!
However we respond to a masked face without vulgarity. This cogent response will of course be not read by you, just like you did not read the original article which claimed that the USA is the most compliant shariah nation on earth.
In 2000 the USA heralded the appointment of a Jewish Vice Presidential candidate Mr. Lieberman was heralded as a great mark of tolerance.
Rabbi Hasdai Shaprut an Orthodox Jew in Muslim Spain was commander of the Armed Forces and the Prime Minister for more than 30 years. Jews generally prospered.
That great cultural diversity was of course destroyed by the Spanish Inquisition which killed, converted or expelled all Jews and Muslims in Spain.
The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire sent ships to Spain and rescued more than 350,000 Jews who recently celebrated their 500th anniversary in Istanbul. All this under Shariah Law.
Rabbi Moses Maimonides, an orthodox Jews, often called the 2nd Moses was the Surgeon General of Sultan Salahhudin and refused to work for Richard the Lionhearted.
From 711 to 1492 Muslim Spain under spawned the most tolerant society in recent memory. The Muslim-Jewish-Christian symbiosis was not perfect but it was close to Camelot we have come. All this under Shariah Law.
Under Akbar the great, Hindu Muslim unity and communication prospered. The Mughal Empire exited from 1496-1857. All under Shariah Laws.
India has Shariah Laws for more than 150 million Muslims. However secular laws do not prevent the forced incarceration of 50 million white widows in temples and sold into prostitution. Secular Laws in the USA do not prevent the rape of 1 million women. Secular laws in Europe did not prevent the massacre of 5 million Jews.
Secular Laws did not prevent the killing of more than 100,000 Kashmiris in occupied Kashmir in India.
Secular laws did not prevent the burning of 3000 Muslims in Gujarat a few years ago. The perpetuator has been identified, and he may be the next PM of India.
Secular laws burned 3-9 million women in a systematic manner in Europe.
Secular laws imposed the Crusades, Colonialism, and wars upon the entire world.
Secular laws and countries were responsible for the death of 15 million Europeans in WW1, 50 million Europeans in WW2, 6 million Korean, 3 million Vietnamese, and 2 million in Cambodia.
The highest crime rates for murder and rape are in the US, UK, and South Africa.
Afghanistan has ostensibly been liberated. Abuses agasint women continue. Their lot has not been improved. However the daily CNN diatribes are absent.
The lowest in shariah compliant countries. They however get the worst press……
..and so it goes…like we said before…nothing we say can convince you…because your attempt it simply to throw stones…not to learn or educate…
God Bless you and take care!
Sir, I read the article and found it lacking in practical truth, if not philosophical accuracy. The Shari’a you describe America as complying with does not to my knowledge exist as a judicial system anywhere in the world. Shari’a – as it is implemented in the real world – bears little or no resemblance to the Utopian ideal you’ve described.
You’re list of grievances against every other form of law does not change the fact that Shari’a – as countries implement it as law – is barbaric and repressive.
Does Shari’a in practice follow the teachings of Islam? That depends on who you ask. Are the laws as laid down in the Qur’an as least as good of an ethical base as any other? Yes. Does Hadd law include some of the most barbarous laws, provisions and sentences ever written by man? Again yes.
Perhaps we have a linguistic barrier. I prefer that thought to deciding you’re (personal insult deleted)
Allah yisallimak
The purpose of posting the discussion was not to convince you.
Ability to type does not eliminate vacuuity of ideas. You may contact the Governemnt of India and ask them to rescind the Shariah Laws (allowed to Muslim as personal Laws), and write to the Governemnt of Britian which is read to allow Shariah Law in many areas.
We already know your Islamphobic bigotry. Hadd laws are all based on Jewish Laws as written in the Torah and the Bible. “Shariah” is not about Hadd Laws. “Hadd Laws”: are not mine. Hadd laws evolved from the Judeo-Christian-Muslim symbiosis. The Hadd laws had many authors, Jews, Christians and Muslim.
“Hadd” by definition means the limit. Other punishments are also acceptable. Shariah is about equlaity, non-exploitation, no corruption, freedom to move about, freedom or religion, freedom of speech etc.
The Jews left behind in Spain begged Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand to continue the Shariah Laws in Spain. The Jewish please fell on deaf ears. The Shariah which allowed them the freedom of more than 800 years was abolished, and they were killed, converted, or expelled.
Please take up the discussion with the author of Imam Faisal who makes the notation in his book “What’s Right with Islam”. He has defeind all the points of view very carefully.
We are Rupee News agree with Imam Faisal, and Dr. Hatouth.
God Bless You
Yes, I can see that there is no further need for discussion here. You and your media outlet are more concerned with furthering your agenda than in honest discourse.
I find it interesting though that you blame the Haddith on Jews and Christians.
BTW – you refuse to answer my original question: cite one single nation existing under Shari’a that isn’t currently on multiple human rights violation lists? By that I mean one single nation who’s laws are solely or primarily based on Shari’a.
I do recognize the value of using Shari’a or rabbinical courts for “out-of-court” arbitration of civil matters.
Islam is a synthesis of Judaism and Christianity. When you criticize Islam you will always find the roots in Judaism and Christianity. Sorry!
I said “Had” and “Hadood”, which is different than “Hadith”. Hadd and Hadood are based on Jewish Laws straight out of the Jewish Torah and the Christian Bible.
Please read Deuronomy, and Numbers for the punishments that you define as “barbaric”. Please do not ask me to repeat the punishments listed in the Talmud in public. I don’t want this site to be reated “adult”. I can send them to you via email.
Roman punishment for being Christian: Torn apart by lions
Jewsh punishment for adultery: Stoning to death
Jewish and Christian punishment for blasphemy: Crucifixtion
Many countries with “Shariah Laws” past and present were listed. Please read the post again.
Bless you!
I think the miscommunication were having is that I’m talking about Shari’a as a national Penal Code and I think you’re speaking more of civil courts and arbitration – “personal laws. If this is the case, we may actually have no argument since Shari’a as an alternative to secular civil courts seems to be working well enough some places.
I know the Talmudic laws quite well and can review them – in a linguistically modified form – by looking at Saudi or Iranian Penal Codes. Strange how you decry the Talmudic laws but stay silent on the fact that Shari’a as it has been enacted by governments mimics it quite closely.
Shari’a punishment for being Christian: subjugation
Shari’a punishment for adultery: stoning to death
Shari’a punishment for blasphemy: death (methods seem to vary)
Claiming how bad other systems are doesn’t make the system your defending any better, sir.
COMPARISION OF PUNISHMENTS IN ISLAM JUDASIM AND CHRISTIANITY
The purpose of this message is not to disparage, but to simply show the interconnectivity of religions, and the fact that allegorical stories cannot be used to put down any religion or its followers. There is only ONE human family and one planet that we enjoy. We should bridges of harmony.
The issue with discussing religion is that if it is done in isolation then the context is lost. Islam cannot be discussed in isolation. It is a synthesis of Judaism and Christianity. It grew up in the same area.
Crime and punishment are dependent upon climatic, topographical, and social factors. The Hebrew and Arab traditions are different than the crime and punishment as developed in Southeast Asia,South Asia, Latin America or Africa. The punishments meeted out to traitors in Haiti was called the “garland” being burned in a tire on fire. Burning on the stake was the punishment for witches in France and Britian. Viking punishments of death with the sword are based on thier experiences. Swedish traditions on nudity are not acceptable to Sikh traditions in the Punjab. Morals have changed. The Kama Sutra was displayed in Hindu temples. Today the same pictures are not acceptable even in India. The Muslim painter Husain who simply reproduced the nude paintings already present in Hindu tempels has a death sentence on him.Burning widows on the fire along with the body of the husband are a Sati tradition in Hinduism. African traditions dictate various types of witchcraft traditions. South African Aparthied traditions used torture on blacks in many inhuman ways. The Catholic Church developed torture techniques for women and codified them in the book called Malleus Malfulcrum (http://medieval.etrusia.co.uk/malleus/). 9 million women were burned at the stake.Bishop Torquamada during the Spanish Inquistion beheaded Jews and Christians who did not convert.
The Chinese concubines were acceptable in Chinese society. Binding the feet of women was acceptable behaviour. Adultery is acceptable in French culture but not American. Gay priests are acceptable in some American churces but not Italian churches. Factions in Congo use rape as a weapon of war. 5 million women were raped a couple of years ago. Ugandan tribes punish each other by kiling them any way possible. Romans in Pompeii used eels to suck the blood of slaves as punishment. We are confident that in islands with plenty of water drowning would be the punishment. 50 million Hindu women known as “White Widows” are incarcerated in temples and sold as prostitutes in India today. The Incas and Mayas practiced human sacrifices and threw the bodies and heads down the pyramids. Hindu sacrifices of humans are sanctified under the banner of Kali Devi (see some in Indian Jones and the temple of doom–a movie banned in India). Each culture considers the other barbaric. Sexual promiscuity of Hilton, Spears and Lohan are considered dacadent by Latin America, and South East Asia!! Many parts of the world uses hanging as a punishment. The US uses lethal injection and the elctric chair, which in some states is now calssified as “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Quranic rules for crime and punishment are all based upon, Biblical, and Talmudic punishments. I did not decry any other religion. I simply informed you that Muslim laws were extracted from Talmudic laws, Torah and Biblical Laws.
Talmudic laws used stones because they are abundant. The Middle did not have an abundance of cliffs, like Greece (for example). Romans in Capri used to throw people off the cliffs.
The Torah precribes punishments, the Talmud places restrictions of two witneses for the crimes. In Islam, this has been more stringent and 3 witnesses are required.
Crime and punishments arise because of ethnic, geographical and cultural reasons. The purpose of listing these is to discuss the fact that many of these injunctions are not known to people.
You described and labeled many of the punishments as “barbaric” (your words not mine).
These punishments are all described in Numbers, Leviticus, Exodus, Deutronomy etc.
(May God forgive me if I have transgressed!!)
“Ye shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer…he shall surely be put to death” (Numbers 35:31).
“Thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe” (Exodus 21:23-25)
Punishments for the Amalkites are clearly defined in Deutronomy. If memory serves me right it is 12:24 or thereabouts. (I’ll check it in my Torah and then correct this post). The Rabbi in the synagogue said that the Palestinians were the new Amalkites and deserves the punishments listed in Deutronomy.
And When the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them, thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;
Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. . . .(Deuteronomy 7:2-6)
When you draw near a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it. And if its answer to you is peace and it opens to you, then all the people who are found in it shall do forced labor for you and shall serve you. But if it makes no peace with you . . . you shall put all its males to the sword, but the women and the little ones, the cattle, and everything else in the city, all its spoil, you shall take as booty for yourselves; and you shall enjoy the spoil of your enemies . . . Thus you shall do to all of the cities which are very far from you, which are not cities of the nations here.
But in the cities of these people that the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and Jebusites, . . . (Deuteronomy 20:10-18)
Know, therefore, that only the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant and steadfast love to those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations and requites to their faith those who hate him, by destroying them — never slow with those who reject Him, but requiting them instantly. Therefore, observe faithfully the instruction-the laws and the rules — with which I charge you today. (Deuteronomy 7:6-12
As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are round about you.You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their families that are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you, to inherit as a possession forever; you may make slaves of them, but over your brethren the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another, with harshness. (Leviticus 25:44-46)
Bearing false witness in a capital case was in itself a crime punishable by death (Sanhedrin 9B, 32B, 86A, & 89A).
The first five Mishna deal with the laws of wicks, oil and so forth mShab 2:6 states, “for these sins women die during childbirth: Because they are not careful about the laws of mensturation, the dough offering, and lighting the sabbath lamps”.
The Mishna (Mishna Sanhedrin 49b-50) mentions four methods of execution,stoning, burning, strangulation, and beheading. T
The Torah specifies a full litany of offenses for which a person may be put to death, including murder,
idolatry, blasphemy, adultery, violating the Sabbath, wizardry, and rebelling against one’s parents. The punishments for each transgression are noted as well–stoning, burning, and slaying by the sword.
Shariah is based on Abrahamic Laws, it does not deviate from the laws in vogue. In many cases, it places severe restrictions on its implementation.
For example on “adultery”, the punishment is the same, however the mandatory 3 witnesess, who should have seen the actual act and genitals makes it hard to implement.
Because you are an expert on Talmudic Laws, let me simply say that all the five areas of Talmudic Laws in fact describe crime and punishments in a vivid manner.
1. ZERAIM: concerning seeds. It treats of seeds, fruits, herbs, trees; of the public and domestic use of fruits, of different seeds, etc.
2. MOED: concerning festivals. It treats of the time when the Sabbath and other festivals are to begin, end and celebrated.
3. NASCHIM: concerning women. It treats of marrying and repudiating wives, their duties, relations, sicknesses, etc.
4. NEZIKIN: concerning damages. It treats of damages suffered by men and animals, penalties and compensations.
5. KODASCHIM: concerning holiness. It treats of sacrifices and various sacred rites.
6. TOHOROTH: concerning purifications. It treats of the soiling and purifying of vessels, bedclothes and other things.
I do not even want to list the punishments described in Abhodah Zarah, 15b, 22a, 22b or in Zohor (I,46b, 47a)
Mishna (San Hedrin 7.4) punishments:
Mishna, Sanhedrin 7.4 concerns offenders sentenced to death by stoning:
[1] one who has intercourse with his mother or his father’s wife, his daughter-in-law, a male or a beast;
[2] a woman who copulates with a beast;
[3] the blasphemer and the idol-worshipper;
[4] one who curses his father or his mother;
[5] one who has intercourse with a betrothed girl;
[6] the instigator (to apostasy) [mesith] and the imposter [maddich;
cf. Deut 13];
[7] the sorcerer, and
[8] the disobedient or rebellious son.
In addition to stoning crimes such as adultery or rape with a betrothed girl, …………..idolatry,blasphemery,sorcery, cursing parents, bestiality,adultery, and incest
The Old Testament prescribed stoning as the penalty for other different crimes:
- “If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl’s virginity can
be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and
there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done a
disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her
father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you”
(Deuteronomy 22:20-21). Contrary to this approach, in Islam even
regency of woman does not determine adultery.
- “For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day shall be your
holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on it
must be put to death.”(Exodus, 35:
- “If, however, the bull has had the habit of goring and the owner has
been warned but has not kept it penned up and it kills a man or woman,
the bull must be stoned and the owner also must be put to death”
(Exodus, 21:29).
- “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have
done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be
on their own heads” (Leviticus, 20:13).
As we mentioned in my earlier post, 15 million people were murdered in WW1, 50 million in WW2. The Holocoust happened in Europe.
Stalin murdered 10 million Muslims in the USSR.
1 million women are raped in the USA every year. there are 10,000 murders in the USA. Statistics posted on this site.
Pro-Slavery passages in the New Testament:
Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brethren; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these duties. (1 Timothy 6:2)
Bid slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to be refractory, nor to pilfer, but to show entire and true fidelity, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior. (Titus 2:9-1)
Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to the kind and gentle but also to the overbearing. (1 Peter 2:18)
Slaves, be obedient to those who are your earthly masters, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as to Christ… (Ephesians 6:5)
Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be defamed.
Anti-Semtic passages in the New Testament:
…the Jews; who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16.
Which echo the words of Jesus himself about the Jewish Scribes and pharisees:
Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes … that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias … All these things shall come upon this generation. Matthew 23:34-36.
Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: that the blood of all the prophets, which shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation … verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Luke 11:47-50, 51.
New Testament that accuse Jews or the Jewish religious leaders of violent intentions or physical violence against Jesus or his followers:
Matthew 12:9-14, 16:21, 20:17-19, 21:33-46, 26:1-5, 14-16, 47-50, 26:57, 66, 27:1-2, 19-26. Scathing attacks on the Jewish religious leaders of the day and their teachings. (Matthew 15:12-14, 16:5-12, 21:12-13, and chapter 23,
Mark 11:15-17, 12:38-40, Luke 12:1-3, 16:14-15).
Mark 3:1-6, 8:31, 10:33-34, 12:1-12, 14:1-2, 10-11, 43-49, 64, 15:1, 8-15.
Luke 9:22, 20:9-26, 22:1-6, 52-53, 22:26, 23:5, 23:13-25.
John 5:15-18, 7:1, 10-13, 19-20, 28-34, 8:20, 37-40, 57-59, 10:30-39, 11:45-57, 12:9-11, 18:3-14, 19-24, 28-32, 19:6-7, 12-16. Acts 2:22-23, 3:13, 4:22, 5:17-42, 6:8-15, 7:50-60, 8:1-3, 9:1-2, 9:21, 13:28-29, 50, 14:1-6, 19, 17:5-9, 20:19, 21:11, 22:22-23, 23:2-3, 10, 12-15, 20-21, 27, 24:1-9.
Acts 15, 21:17-26, Galatians 2:3-6.
Acts 13:14-16, 14:1, 17:1-4, 18:1-4).
Acts 28:16-17, 21-25
2 Corinthians 11:24.
1 Thessalonians 2:15-15.
I can’t even reproduce (Sanhedrin 105a-b),(Sanhedrin 106),
The Buddhists killed millions in the killing fiends of Cambodia. The Hindu scriptures talk about millions killed in the Mhabharta. Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists kill by the dozens every day in Sri Lanka.
It is NOT about religion…..it is about misusing religion. It is about playing the blame game.
The Pakistani constitution states that no law will be made that is repugnant to the Quran and Sunnah. Hadd and Hadood Laws are subject to “Council of Islamic Ideology”. No Biblical punishments of hand amputation, beheading, lashes, or stoning are meeted out.
God, please forgive me if I have transgressed. We will remove this comment ASAP.
Peace be upon you and May God Bless you.
Subject: Europe in the house of war By Spengler
Dear Editor:
Here we go again with Spengler playing “an expert on Islam. His creadbility ended when he brought up the discarded British bigot named Enoch Powell’s. Spengler then said “Wilders is not provoking violence.” Are you kidding? Even the Dutch don’t agree with Spengler. The rest of the article went down hill from that point onwards. Mr. Nazir Ali is another person with an opinion. He may or may not have bearing on the opinion of people beyond his earshot. THousands of Britins live a good life in Britain. Spengler then regurgitates the incorrect translation of archaic or arcane terms, “Darul Harb” (land of war) vs “Darul Islam” (land of peace). A Muslim land could be “Darul Harb” and a Christian land could be “Darul Islam”. The terms are from medeval times and have no religious or polticial significance now.
In typical Islamphobic fashion Spengler brings up insignificant isolated incidents and then tries to tie them together in a grand conspiracy. Who died and left Mr. Ramadhan the leader of the Muslims. Mr. Ramdhan is a college professor with an opinion. An opinion is worth a dollar or a cup of tea. You have as many of them as you have mouths. Who cares, if Mr. Ramdhan was unable to give a politically correct sound bite. We are not even sure what he said, because of the excised and redacted quote given by Mr. Spengler.
Islamic Shariah law is based on Talmudic, Torah, and Biblical law. All penalties can be found and traced back to the Torah, Talmud or the new testament. Imam Faisal in his book “Whats right with Islam” says that the United States is the most shariah compliant country in the world. He means that peace, justice, human rights and freedoms prevail here.
But in the cities of these people that the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall utterly destroy them, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and Jebusites, . . . (Deuteronomy 20:10-18)
And When the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them, thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them;
Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. . . .(Deuteronomy 7:2-6)
As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are round about you.You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their families that are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. You may bequeath them to your sons after you, to inherit as a possession forever; you may make slaves of them, but over your brethren the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another, with harshness. (Leviticus 25:44-46)
The Mishna (Mishna Sanhedrin 49b-50) mentions four methods of execution,stoning, burning, strangulation, and beheading.
The Torah specifies a full litany of offenses for which a person may be put to death, including murder,
idolatry, blasphemy, adultery, violating the Sabbath, wizardry, and rebelling against one’s parents. The punishments for each transgression are noted as well–stoning, burning, and slaying by the sword.
The purpose of reproducing these quotes is to show that any scripture can be used to disparage a race or a religion. All religions have similar punishments based on their cultural norms. The Romans in the Mediterrnian used to throw Christians to the lions and killed slaves by allowing eels to suck their blood. The Incas sacrificed people by behaeding them. Kali Devi practiced human sacrifice. The Chinese bound the feet of the concubines etc etc. Picking in Muslims and Islam has to stop. The Neocon theology has died. We should all be building bridges of harmony not hate.
I think Jonolan’s argument regarding “Sharia as a national penal code” and his examples of the “Saudi or Iranian Penal Codes” highlight a common misconception about Sharia: that Sharia is a codified set of fixed laws. For anyone who shares this misconception, I strongly recommend they read John Maksidi’s article “The Islamic Origins of the Common Law”, which makes it clear that Sharia is not a fixed set of laws.
For most of Islamic history, since the 7th century up until the 19th century, Sharia had almost never been codified. It has always been a flexible legal system that was always constantly being updated and adapted by jurists through the methodology of legal precedent and reasoning by analogy. It was in fact this very same methodology which formed the basis of the English common law (according to John Maksidi, this transfer of Islamic legal concepts to England occured during the Norman conquests, when the Normans inherited the Islamic legal administration of Sicily and then laid the foundations for the common law in England).
The only elements of Sharia law that were fixed were the Qur’an and Sunnah, which were equivalent to the US Consitutition, and were subject to various methods of interpretation similar to the methods used today to interpret the US Consitutition. Besides that, Sharia law was in many ways a flexible and secular man-made law, i.e. a “lawyer’s law”.
It wasn’t until the 20th century that Sharia began being codified in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia primarily due to influence from the European civil law traditions. In fact, the current Iranian law was itself heavily influenced by the Napoleonic code and German civil code. However, Iran and Saudi Arabia are only the worst examples; the Sharia-compliant orthodox Sunni countries on the other hand are nowhere near as harsh.
In its essence, Sharia is simply a self-improving methodology similar to the common law, which gives it enough flexibility to adapt to different nations (and their laws). On the other hand, attempts by countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia to codify Sharia (in its oudated medieval form) into a fixed set of strict laws have largely failed.
After reading Rowan Williams’ lecture on Sharia, I think his views on Sharia are similar to what I’ve described.
Thanks. You reaffirmed my original article.
The portrayal of “shariah” as beheading, head-chopping, and women supression laws is a lot of Islamphobic propoganda.
You are right
Shariah is based on Talmudic and new Testament laws as codified in Muslim Spain. the Magna Carta and British Common Law was imported from Muslim Spain and is heavily influenced by Shariah.
Your clarification that Shriah is not codified is as accuratre as saying that the British constitution is not codified. Both statemenst are correct, however we can find a plethora of material on both the Shariah and the “unwritten” British constitution.