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Introduction
Since the events of 9/11 and 7/7, Islam and Muslims have increasingly been on the receiving end of a barrage of criticism. Many of the Islamic thoughts and practices have come under unprecedented attack under the banner of Freedom. The caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) and the banning of the Hijab in France are just two examples of the attempts of western secular countries to actively malign Islam. This attack on Islam and Muslims is however not restricted to certain Islamic thoughts and practices. Rather the whole concept of Shari'ah, the Islamic legal System, is ferociously attacked. The media portrayal of life under Shari'ah where beating of women, beheadings and lashings are everyday occurrences, are now all too familiar images.
Since the demise of Islam at a state level, the Shari'ah has ceased to be the basis of legislation in the Muslim world. What remains of the Shari'ah in the Muslim world is only a few scattered laws that are applied haphazardly. This has erroneously given the impression of the unsuitability of Shar'iah in the 21st century to deal with new issues and to solve modern, day-to-day problems.
This booklet will explore and contrast some of the problems of the 21st century and compare the manner in which secularism and Islam attempt to solve them. This booklet will look at how the Shari'ah texts are capable of dealing with any issue, be they social, economic or international. The book will scrutinise the applicability of the shari'ah in the 21st century through looking at a variety of 21st century issues. A comparison will be made between the Shari'ah approach to tackling issues and the secular methodology and its effects.
26th September 2009
Adnan Khan
Zaynab Ismail
Shabina Khan
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Zeital
said:
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Based in Rome, the authority of the Catholic Church in Europe replaced the Roman Civilisation which collapsed in Western Europe. Roman laws and legislation were assimilated into the proto-European states. Indeed, even in the 21st Europe defines itself largely by its view of being a heir of Greco-Roman Civilisation. Only the Byzantine Empire endured in the East encompassing North Africa, the Balkans, and Asia Minor (Turkey). The repression of the Church authorities and unquestioned hereditary rule of Kings took a heavy burden upon the Europeans. Western Europe, ruled by feudal kingdoms who owed their allegiance to Rome continued in this manner for centuries. The spread of Islam in the Iberian peninsular, Sicily, and Southern Italy allowed a transmission of new ideas which sparked the minds of restless thinkers in Europe. Paris was where the flames of dissent began. Church authorities desperately attempted to stamp out ideas deemed heretical and a threat to the established status quo. Europe under the Middle Ages a period roughly spanning 1400 – 1600 would see the emergence of nation states, discovery of sea routes connecting the far reaches of the globe, and a renewed challenge to Religious Authority. Post 1600, new geographic discoveries and scientific curiosities fuelled further debates between European intellectuals, scientists, philosophers, and established authorities. The Reformation and Counter Reformation would see the decisive battles played out across Europe between Secularism and Christianity. This coincided with the Rise and Fall of Imperial Spain, and prompted the emergence of the fledgling nation states in North Western Europe. Europe experience bitter inter-religious wars, pitching Catholics and Protestants against each other, and saw Central Europe (mainly present day Germany) ravaged. Yet the wars of the future hinted that they would not be over ‘religion’ but rather goals of commerce and overseas empire. The ideology of Capitalism, emerging from the Mercantilist economies would spread from Europe and gradually gain a foothold across the globe. |
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Abu Aisha
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With the Muslim world as a template, looking at the colonial institutions as the UN/IMF/WorldBank, a politicised Ummah will see the value of the shari'a rules in society and the world. |
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