What is Shariah or Shariah Islamic law?

By The Social Contract
Volume 21, Number 1 (Fall 2010)
Issue theme: "The menace of Islam"


Shariah is Islamic law and represents the traditional or “pure” normative interpretation of the Qur’an and teachings of Mohammed, as developed by Shariah scholars and jurists during Islam’s early centuries. It has remained largely unchanged for over 1,200 years and is practiced today in these areas:

• Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan

• Recognized as the supreme law of the land in almost all Arab regimes (although not always put into practice)

• Afghanistan and the Swat region of Pakistan, under Taliban control

• Parts of Nigeria, Indonesia, and Somalia

• As of January 2009, Hamas-controlled Gaza strip

• Al-Qaeda radicals practicing terrorism


How is Shariah related to Radical Islam?

Implementing Shariah is the agenda of what is often termed Radical Islam or Political Islam. Shariah Islam is a political movement much like communism, in that “true” Muslims are required to relinquish all control of personal, business, family, and religious life to the rulings of Shariah “authorities” (the ‘ulema’ who act as legislators, judges, and law enforcement) in the service of this totalitarian political order. The goal is to wage Jihad (cultural, financial, or violent) to create a one world order, united under Islam, where Church and State are one.


Do all Muslims want to live under Shariah law?

No. Newspapers report bloody struggles in Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Egypt, and Jordan between “secular” liberty-minded Muslims and theocratic Shariah militants. However, as Shariah Islam expands its reach worldwide, polls suggest increasing support for enforcing strict application of Shariah law in Islamic countries: 65 percent of Egyptians, 76 percent of Pakistanis, and 49 percent of Indonesians (www.worldpublicopinion.org). Yet Shariah law silences nearly 750 million women and children.


What are some examples of Shariah law?

The Reliance of the Traveller, Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law is the authoritative Sunni Shariah rulebook (available at www.Barnesandnoble.com).

• Offensive, military Jihad is a religious obligation.

• Inferior status for all non-Muslims (“dhimma”).

• Capital punishment for slandering Islam.

• Capital punishment for apostasy (leaving Islam).

• Women may not leave the house without husbands’ permission; beating disobedient women, polygamy, forced child marriage, and stoning of adulterers are permitted.

• Slavery is legal.

• Lying (taqiyya) to infidels is permitted.

• Capital punishment for homosexuals and lesbians.


Who is the Muslim Brotherhood?

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) was formed in the 1920s by Shariah advocates to create a one-world nation-state under Shariah Islamic law. Today, they are in 70+ countries. The Brotherhood works hand-in-hand with the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), a 57-member Muslim-majority block in the UN. Their 1982 plan to infiltrate and conquer the West was discovered in Nov. 2001 (see Patrick Poole’s article at www.frontpagemag.com).

Source: http://www.stopshariahnow.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1001&Itemid=245