Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Politics of Islamic Shariah in the Contemporary Muslim World


Affiliations
1 Department of Political Science at the University of Peshawar, Peshawar – KPK, Pakistan
 

Islam around the globe is considered as the world's second-largest religion and conservative's Muslim desire Sharia (Islamic jurisprudence) laws, which is a contested and highly controversial concept. The idea holds variety of interpretative power but still beyond the implementation within Muslim countries. Sharia perceived to be moral and spiritual notion, have no legal mechanism and can lead to socio-cultural disequilibrium. The focus of this paper is to evaluate the fragmented nature and conceived scope of Sharia in a modern democratic age and assess the compatibility of Sharia with the developments of human rights and women empowerment. It differs significantly from its moderate opponents therefore it cannot be part of the present pluralistic legal systems. It is clear that the contemporary Muslim world is backward in numerous significant areas including the science, technology and economic development. Thus, there is indeed a need of radical reforms for Muslim societies and they must revitalize Islamic laws and human values. In short, Muslims scholars and intellectuals have to codify Sharia according to the contemporary circumstances because without that the survival, growth and development of Muslims will be difficult in the highly technologically advanced world.

Keywords

Islamic Jurisprudence, Status of Shariah, Diversity of Muslims, Stagnation, Local Traditions and Religion.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • The Express Tribune, (2013, 04 30).
  • Ahmad, S. (2012, 10 December). Sharia: The way forward. Dawn.
  • Akbar, M. (2004). The shade of swords: Jihad and the conflict between islam and christianity, byline, and blood brothers. San Fransisco: Chronicle Books.
  • Ali, M. (2013, 17 March). All about conservation. Dawn Magazine, p. 04.
  • Ali, M. (2011, 27 September). Gilt-Ridden. Dawn Magazine, p. 02.
  • Ali, W. (2013, 08 03). Understanding Sharia Law. Huff Post Religion.
  • Ali, W., & Duss, M. (2012). Understanding Sharia Law. Washington DC: American Progress Press.
  • Al-Mehdi, A.-S. (1980). Constitutionalism Western and Middle Eastern. London, LDN: Oxford University Press.
  • An-Najm, A. A. (n.d.). Toward An Islamic Reformation: Civil Liberties, Human Rights/International Law. 83.
  • Assad, M. (1961). Principles of state and government in Islam. Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Bulliet, R. W. (1994). Islam: The view forum the edge. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
  • Controversies about Sharia. (1994, 11July). Time.
  • Coulson, N. J. (1964). A History of Islamic law. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
  • Dickey, C. (1995, May, 29). Muslim Europe. NewsWeek, pp. 22-29.
  • Durrani, M. K. (1988). Political trends in the Arab world. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
  • Elbayar, K. (2012, 03April). American Muslims Launch Campaign to repair Sharia's Reputation.
  • Elbayar, K. (2012). Reclaiming tradition: Islamic law in a modern world. International Affai, 21 (01), 2-7.
  • Engineer, A. A. (2012, 10 09). Is Renaissance Possible in Islamic World Today. Dawn. Engineer, A. A. (2012, 10 09). Is Renaissance Possible in Islamic World Today? Muslim World News.
  • Engineer, A. A. (2013, 02 01). Is Shariah immutable. Dawn.
  • Engineer, A. A. (2007). Islamic contemporary world. New Delhi: New Dawn Press.
  • Esposito, J. L. (1995, 03 18). Living with Islam. The Economist, pp. 13-14.
  • Esposito, J. L. (1991). The straight path. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
  • Gingrich. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.newsmax.com/Politics/Sharia-IslamicLaw-freedom/2011/12/22/id/421873.
  • Goldziher, I. (1981). Introduction to Islamic theology and law. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
  • Hassan, D. R. (2009, 04 24). Dispelling myths about Shariah. Dawn.
  • Hassan, D. R. (2009, 08 14). Surah 21:31 which states: We made out of water every living thing. as water is the essence of all living things, so shariah represents what is essential for a human being's spirtual and socail development. Dawn.
  • Hodgson, M. G. (1974). The venture of Islam. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Hoodbhoy. (1991). Islam and science: Religious orthodoxy and the battle for rationality. London, LDN: Zed Press.
  • Huntington, S. P. (1993). The clash of civilization. Foreign Affairs, 38(41), 22-28.
  • Hussain, R. (2009, 08 14). Understanding what is Sharia. Dawn.
  • IbnKhaldun. (1969). Muqaddima: An introduction to history. New Jersey, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  • Khan, M. A. (2009). Islamic Jihad: A legacy of forced conversion, imperialism and slavery. New York, NY: Bloomington.
  • Lane, W. E. (1972). Arabic-English lexicon. London, LDN: Williams & Norgate.
  • Levy, R. (1969). The social structure of Islam. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Loewentheil, H. (2013). Unraveling Western perceptions: Sharia law and human rights. BHHR Report.
  • Marie, D. A. (1995, 05). In Maloomat-e-Germany (Monthly Urdu Magazine of Embassy of the Federal republic of Germany. 11. Islamabad.
  • Martie, L. C. (1966). Introduction to the thought of Iqbal. Karachi: Iqbal Academy.
  • Marty, M. E., & Appleby, R. S. (1992). The glory and the power: The fundamentalism challnge to the modern world. Boston: Beacon Press.
  • Moysey, D. S. (2013, 01 03). Radical Islam law: Psychological threat to the West.Gerard Direct.
  • Nadawi, A. A. (1998). Islam and the world. Lahore: Sh. Muhammad Ashraf.
  • Nasr, S. H. (1988). Islam and the plight of modern man. Lahore: Suhail Academy.
  • Omar, A. M. (2010). Dictionary of the Holy Quran (Vol. 01). London: Noor Foundation International.
  • Parwez, G. (1968). Islam: A challenge to religion. Lahore: Idara-e-Tulu-e-Islam.
  • Professor Fazlur Rahman, arguably one of the most important thinkers of 20th Century Islam, was the Harold H. Swift Distinguished Service Professor of Islamic Thought at the University of Chicago at the time of his death in July 1988. (n.d.).
  • Rahman, F. (1982). Islam and modernity. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
  • Rahman, F. (1999). Revival and reform in Islam. London: Oneworld Publications.
  • Rahman, F. (1982). Roots of Islamic neo-fundamentalism. In Change and the Muslim world(pp. 28-35). New York, NY: Syracuse university Press.
  • Robert, R. R. (2010). The closing of the Muslim mind: How intellectual suicide created the modern Islamist crisis. Wilmington: ISI Press.
  • Roushdy, A. N. (2013, 03 March). The codification of Shariah. Al-Ahram Weekly.
  • Schacht, J. (1964). An introduction to Islamic Law. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  • Segal, A. (1996). Why does the Muslim world lag in science? Middle East Quarterly, 03(02), 61-70.
  • Sharia is the Arabic Word for Islamic Law, also Known as the Law od Allah (God).(n.d.).
  • Sir Muhammad Iqbal's 1930 Presidential Address to the 25th Session of the All Indian Muslim League at Allahabad (India),. (1930, 12 29). 13-14. India.
  • Toynbee, A. J. (1987). A study of history,(Vol. 01). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Venkatraman, B. A. (2009). Islamic states and the United Nations convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women: Are the sharia and the convention compatible? American University Law Review, 44, 45-67.
  • Vesey-Fitzgerald, S. (1979). Nature and the source of the sharia. In M. K. Durrani, & H. Liebesny, Law in the Middle East (p. 85). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
  • Vriens, L. (2009, 03 23). Islam: Governing under shariah. Council on Foreign Relations.
  • Watt, W. M. (1988). Islamic fundamentalism and modernity. London: Routledge

Abstract Views: 124

PDF Views: 0




  • Politics of Islamic Shariah in the Contemporary Muslim World

Abstract Views: 124  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

A. Z. Hilali
Department of Political Science at the University of Peshawar, Peshawar – KPK, Pakistan

Abstract


Islam around the globe is considered as the world's second-largest religion and conservative's Muslim desire Sharia (Islamic jurisprudence) laws, which is a contested and highly controversial concept. The idea holds variety of interpretative power but still beyond the implementation within Muslim countries. Sharia perceived to be moral and spiritual notion, have no legal mechanism and can lead to socio-cultural disequilibrium. The focus of this paper is to evaluate the fragmented nature and conceived scope of Sharia in a modern democratic age and assess the compatibility of Sharia with the developments of human rights and women empowerment. It differs significantly from its moderate opponents therefore it cannot be part of the present pluralistic legal systems. It is clear that the contemporary Muslim world is backward in numerous significant areas including the science, technology and economic development. Thus, there is indeed a need of radical reforms for Muslim societies and they must revitalize Islamic laws and human values. In short, Muslims scholars and intellectuals have to codify Sharia according to the contemporary circumstances because without that the survival, growth and development of Muslims will be difficult in the highly technologically advanced world.

Keywords


Islamic Jurisprudence, Status of Shariah, Diversity of Muslims, Stagnation, Local Traditions and Religion.

References