Shariah law

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Islam and patriarchy 

Joys of Muslim Women 
by Nonie Darwish 

In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child. Consummating the marriage by 9.  The dowry is given to the family in exchange for the woman (who becomes his slave) and for the purchase of the private parts of the woman, to use her as a toy. 

Even though a woman is abused she can not obtain a divorce.  To prove rape, the woman must have (4) male witnesses.  Often after a woman has been raped, she is returned to her family and the family must return the dowry. The family has the right to execute her (an honor killing) to restore the honor of the family.

Husbands can beat their wives 'at will' and he does not have to say why he has beaten her. 

The husband is permitted to have (4 wives) and a temporary wife for an hour (prostitute) at his discretion..

The Shariah Muslim law controls the private as well as the public life of the woman. 

In the West World ( America &UK ) Muslim men are starting to demand Shariah Law so the wife can not obtain a divorce and he can have full and complete control of her.  It is amazing and alarming how many of our sisters and daughters attending American Universities are now marrying Muslim men and submitting themselves and their children unsuspectingly to the Shariah law. 

By passing this on, enlightened American & UK women may avoid becoming a slave under Shariah Law.  Ripping the West in Two. 

Author and lecturer Nonie Darwish says the goal of radical Islamists is to impose Shariah law on the world, ripping Western law and liberty in two.  She recently authored the book, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law.. 

Darwish was born in Cairo and spent her childhood in Egypt and Gaza   before immigrating to America in 1978, when she was eight years old. Her father died while leading covert attacks on  Israel . He was a high-ranking Egyptian military officer stationed with his family in Gaza ... 

When he died, he was considered a "shahid," a martyr for jihad. His posthumous status earned Nonie and her family an elevated position in Muslim society.  But Darwish developed a skeptical eye at an early age. She questioned her own Muslim culture and upbringing. She converted to Christianity after hearing a Christian preacher on television. 

In her latest book, Darwish warns about creeping sharia law - what it is, what it means, and how it is manifested in Islamic countries. 

For the West, she says radical Islamists are working to impose sharia on the world. If that happens, Western civilization will be destroyed. Westerners generally assume all religions encourage a respect for the dignity of each individual.  Islamic law (Sharia) teaches that non-Muslims should be subjugated or killed in this world. 

Peace and prosperity for one's children is not as important as assuring that Islamic law rules everywhere in the Middle East and eventually in the world.  While Westerners tend to think that all religions encourage some form of the golden rule, Sharia teaches two systems of ethics - one for Muslims and another for non-Muslims. Building on tribal practices of the seventh century, Sharia encourages the side of humanity that wants to take from and subjugate others. 

While Westerners tend to think in terms of religious people developing a personal understanding of and relationship with God, Sharia advocates executing people who ask difficult questions that could be interpreted as criticism. 

It's hard to imagine, that in this day and age, Islamic scholars agree that those who criticize Islam or choose to stop being Muslim should be executed. Sadly, while talk of an Islamic reformation is common and even assumed by many in the West, such murmurings in the Middle East are silenced through intimidation.

While Westerners are accustomed to an increase in religious tolerance over time, Darwish explains how petro dollars are being used to grow an extremely intolerant form of political Islam in her native Egypt and elsewhere. 

In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the  U.S. to elect the President by themselves! Rest assured they will do so... You can look at how they have taken over several towns in the USA .. Dearborn Mich. is one... and there are others... 

I think everyone in the U.S. should be required to read this, but with the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on! 

It is too bad that so many are disillusioned with life and Christianity to accept Muslims as peaceful.. some may be but they have an army that is willing to shed blood in the name of Islam.. the peaceful support the warriors with their finances and own kind of patriotism to their religion.. 
  
While America/UK is getting rid of Christianity from all public sites and erasing God from the lives of children the Muslims are planning a great jihad on America .. 

Nonie Darwish  
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendId=270469832

On Arab TV, I once saw a Muslim preacher telling little children that lying is not allowed except under three conditions 1- Lying to non-Muslims when it is in the best interest of Islam. 2- Lying to Muslims if it will end conflict between them. And 3rd: Lying to one's wife to improve the relationship.

Lying thus has become an obligation in international relationships, Muslim relationships and family relationships. Any wonder why Muslims were silent after 9/11? Those who expose the lying game are considered traitors. By allowing lying, Muslims have created a culture unable to distinguish between lies from truth; truth has become a convoluted game of saving face for the best interest of Islam.

* * *

Moslem clergy are constantly looking for the ideal Muslim State and cannot find it. They have failed miserably in stabilizing their society. Instead of being a source of comfort, stability and wisdom, they have become a source of hate, rage and subversion. To them, the solution is always an intifada, uprising, a coup d'etat, an assassination or violence on the streets. They have no respect for the legitimacy of any government and no government is Muslim enough for them; not even Saudi Arabia.

Leaders who want peace, modernity and reforms are assassinated, like Sadat. Every Muslim country is suffering from underground radical Muslim groups who are trying to overturn the government and the constitution, in their pursuit for the perfect Muslim state. That is why the Muslim world is in a constant turmoil, stagnation and conflict. Islamo-fascism is the end result.

* * *

On the subject of honour killings, she explains: 'It doesn't make sense in the West, but I can understand it. The honour of the man in the Middle East is so linked to the sexual purity of their wives and daughters. Society will shame you to death. This pressure does not exist in the West.'

* * *

'I come from a culture that's very sensitive to criticism,' she says. 'We were never brought up to look at what we had done to cause a particular problem. It's always about blaming others, saying, maybe it's the next-door neighbour who did it, or, no, it's the next town, or another country, or other religions. It's never, "What have we done?" or, "What is our part in this tragedy?" It's taboo. And if you do admit, "We've made a mistake and we are sorry for it", you become the bearer of the sin and everything will be thrown at you.'

Top ten reasons why sharia is bad for all societies  
By James Arlandson
August 13, 2005
http://www.americanthinker.com/2005/08/top_ten_reasons_why_sharia_is.html 

The myths and realities of Islam’s Shariah law  
by Jamila Hussain
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=4211

Reports in the Australian media relating to Islamic law almost invariably focus on issues such as “honour” killings, female circumcision (female genital mutilation), amputations for theft and the stoning of women to death for adultery in places such as Nigeria and Iran.

To many Australians, these things represent the Shariah. However, the media needs to sell. Therefore, reports of anything sensational, absurd, exotic or exceptionally cruel are more likely to attract readers than reports of everyday legal matters in other countries. Based only on the information available in the media, it is not surprising that the ordinary Australian believes that the Shariah is cruel and barbaric and has no place in Australia.

The Shariah is one of the world's great legal systems, an alternative to Australia's British derived Common Law in much the same way as the civil law system or the socialist legal systems are alternatives chosen by some countries as their law. Shariah is the sole living survivor in the modern world of a legal system based on religion. This itself is enough to condemn it in the eyes of those who regard any convergence of religion and law as anathema. But in Muslim countries, where religion is generally held in higher regard than it is in Australia, the religious basis of the law is accepted and, indeed, regarded by many as essential.

The Shariah is as complex as the Common Law. As in other legal systems, there are differences of interpretation and emphasis resulting in different laws and traditions in different places. There is sometimes felt to be a need for re-evaluation of old rules in the light of modern conditions, provided that this can be done without abandoning the sacred principles laid down in the Koran and the Sunnah (sayings and rulings of the Prophet Mohammed). In progressive Muslim countries attempts are being made to reinterpret old rulings, although often, conservative people get the upper hand and progress is slow. However, it must be remembered that the law in any jurisdiction is slow to evolve and often lags behind social change.

In the modern world, the Shariah is the complete legal system of only a very few countries. The majority of Muslim countries as a legacy of colonialism, or through deliberate westernisation as in Turkey, have mixed legal systems. They almost always retain the Shariah in matters such as family law and inheritance, and have adopted aspects of the civil law or Common Law systems in areas of public law. Only Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan and some states in Nigeria retain Shariah as their criminal law while Pakistan has re-introduced it in an unfortunately ultra-conservative interpretation.

Criminal law is one of the two areas which attracts the most criticism in the West. The other is the position of women. Few people understand that the Hudud penalties - those that involve amputation, stoning and other drastic penalties - are only a very small part of Islamic criminal law and are invoked only rarely, and then often in circumstances which give rise to a suspicion that the courts involved - usually lower courts - may not have been properly guided in their application of the law. Often these verdicts are overturned on review by a higher court. There is also now an emerging body of Muslim thought which believes that the Hudud penalties should not be regarded as requiring implementation except in a just, truly Islamic society - which today does not exist anywhere in the world.

Women's rights

As regards the position of women - there is no argument against the proposition that Islam gave women rights which were unprecedented in the world at the time of its revelation. Muslim women have always been entitled to a separate legal personality and may retain their own names on marriage. They are not considered as one entity with the husband as was the rule in Christian countries until the 19th century. Muslim women have been entitled to inherit and to acquire and control their own property since the seventh century and have been entitled to earn an income for themselves and keep it. They are entitled to an education and may be appointed to public office - as was illustrated by Shifa bint Abdullah who was appointed to the important position of Inspector of Markets by the Caliph Omar.

However, just as initial liberating ideas in other world religions such as Christianity and Judaism succumbed in time to the influence of patriarchy, so in Islam. The status of women became diminished over the ages as men reserved for themselves the right to interpret the scriptures and adopted interpretations which favoured men and kept women in their “place”. In time, for a variety of reasons, the status of women in Muslim societies declined so that today, in some Muslim countries, they are among the most oppressed in the world. Today many of the conservative interpretations are being challenged by progressive Muslim thinkers but change on the ground remains slow.

At the same time, local customs continued to assert themselves. The practices of “honour” killing and female circumcision are in no way endorsed by Islam and are directly contrary to Islamic laws that prohibit mutilation of the body and the killing of human beings except through process of law. Nevertheless these practices have continued in some Muslim (and some non-Muslim) countries as part of local custom. To attribute them to Islam is similar to attributing the burning of witches in past times to the teachings of Christianity.

In Australia, Muslim migrants bring the Shariah with them as their personal law, and in only a very few instances does it come into conflict with Australian law. In the area of family law, the Marriage Act permits Muslims to marry in compliance with both Australian and Islamic law at the same time. Divorce is more problematic because quite different rules apply. Only fairly recently has Australian law adopted the Islamic practice of requiring mediation in family disputes. Islamic law does not recognise adoption but endorses fostering, which is similar to the newer ways of thinking about this subject in Australia.

Islamic banking is now well established in Australia through local Islamic financial institutions. Local Muslims can now invest and borrow in interest free transactions according to Shariah rules. In July 2003 The Weekend Australian reported that Prime Minister Howard had endorsed a shared partnership scheme between home buyers and banks which was very similar to schemes already being used by Islamic financial institutions.

There are certainly aspects of law which are quite opposite between Australian law and the Shariah. The Shariah prohibits drinking alcohol, gambling, sex outside marriage and the taking of interest in financial transactions. Australian law permits all these things but no one is obliged to take them up, so sincere Muslims can comply with both sets of laws. On the other hand, the Shariah permits limited polygamy. Australian law prohibits polygamy but permits de facto relationships regardless of whether one party is already legally married. Second marriages contracted under religious law are regarded as de facto relationships under Australian law and so the two can co-exist in practice. There are, in any case, few polygamous marriages among Australian Muslims.

Recent media reports have concentrated much on the issue of terrorism and the possibility of local Muslims becoming terrorists. Islam does not endorse terrorism either by or against Muslims or anyone else. There are very specific rules of war which prohibit the killing of civilians and the destruction of the environment in the course of war. There are no doubt a certain number of radicals in any community, particularly in one which has been repeatedly told by politicians and the media that it cannot integrate and is not wanted in Australia. Nevertheless, the great majority of Australian Muslims are good citizens, interested in educating their children, furthering their careers and looking after their families in the same way as any other Australian.

There is little demand among Australian Muslims for the Shariah to be introduced in Australia although some would appreciate the right to legal recognition of divorce in accordance with Shariah. Too often, criticism of Australian Muslims for not “integrating” is really criticism for them not assimilating. In a truly multicultural Australia, the Shariah as a system of personal law can co-exist with the Australian legal system.

Links 

Islam its law and society 
by Jamila Hussain 
http://www.federationpress.com.au/bookstore/book.asp?isbn=1862874999 

Now in its second edition, this book is ideal for those who wish to acquire an introductory knowledge of Islamic law and culture in general and within Australian society in particular. The discussion includes a section on the position of women in Islam and the growth of Islamic feminism