Sharia Law: cited in WorldPublicOpinion.org by Steven Kull
Psychological Article Review: World Religions and Types of Discrimination
According to Steven Kull, editor of WorldPublicOpinion.org:
“………. large majorities agree with goals that involve expanding the role of Islam in their society. On average, about three out of four (of the countries polled; Morocco, Egypt, Pakistan, and Indonesia) agree with seeking to “require Islamic countries to impose a strict application of sharia,” and to “keep Western values out of Islamic countries.” Two-thirds would even like to “unify all Islamic counties into a single Islamic state or caliphate.”
Additionally, Steven Krull continues that:
“……Most significantly, large majorities approve of many of al Qaeda’s principal goals. Large majorities in all countries (average 70 percent or higher) support such goals as: “stand up to Americans and affirm the dignity of the Islamic people,” “push the US to remove its bases and its military forces from all Islamic countries,” and “pressure the United States to not favor Israel.”
Alarmingly in interpreting Steven Krull’s findings it appears that people from Islamic countries view US leaders expansion of the war on terror as a war against Islam!
Psychological articles inform us that religions fulfill roles in human societies that vary from one religion to another. Followers of religions share values that provide commonality and others that divide and differentiate. This, in turn, has heralded conflicts and wars; including one today that involves a militant extremist Islam. According to popular opinions cited in psychological articles in some Islamic countries is that what they feel are “minor misperceptions” acquire a disproportionate importance and deserve to be removed. One of those aspects of Islam that has been most misunderstood is the Sharia, the code of law that Islam prescribes for its followers.
Islam, as a belief system, consists of the same concepts that most religions have, for example, the existence of God, a prophet, a revealed book and a code of morality. It, however, does not distinguish between the private and public life of its believers. A set of duties and rituals are set for practicing Muslim, and non-codified principles and clear commands for practice in public life. Thereby, making Islam an all-encompassing religion, in principle making no distinction between man or man and theoretically prohibiting all types of discrimination.
Sharia, is the expression of edicts of Divine origin, sayings of its messenger, logic of analogy and consensus, each called The Quran, Sunnah, Qiyas and Ijma respectively. Sharia law does not exclude anyone or anything from its scope, meaning a ruler, state and citizens are bound by it, wherein which lies its immediate and powerful appeal. In the turbulent Islamic world of dictatorship and arbitrary law, the appeal of the slogan of the ‘rule of law’ is powerful and harking back to a nostalgic era while having manifestations in modernity as well. In effect, Sharia is written to be a platform for gathering support against all types of discrimination.
Nonetheless, Sharia can be easily misperceived. The best way to describe the present perception of Sharia would be if everyone thought of English common law as that of 16th century England, and Christianity as that of the Spanish Inquisition, with healthy contributions by Clerical Iran and the Taliban’s well known version. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was to find himself a target of vociferous criticism as a result of this common twisting (or type of discrimination) when he suggested that family laws for Muslim and Jewish communities in Britain could be dealt with in accordance with the religious laws.
Sharia suffers from a problem that is not unusual to any system of law. Law, is not an immutable fixed phenomenon, but often takes shape from the moral values and thoughts of the community in which it prevails. Today, certain parts of the Muslim world is plagued by poverty, illiteracy, types of discrimination, social and political oppression, and the citizenry reflect their condition in the literal, often extreme and distorted views of their faith; which in the case of Sharia, is in sharp contrast to the Islamic dictates created by spiritual leaders such as Avicenna, Omar Kayyam and Rumi.
The Psychological Article on Sharia:Islamic Law is part of Boomer Yearbook’s continuing series of psychological articles on World Religions, Spirtuality, and Solutions to Types of Discrimination. While we are not taking a stance on any position, we do feel that knowledge is a powerful tool to opening dialogues. These are very sensitive issues. We’d love to hear what you think.
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