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ISLAM: Is there a ¢â‚¬ËœChristian ¢â‚¬â„¢ Approach? A way of confronting the truth about Islam vis-a-vis Christianity irenically? Some notes from my recent reading: Islam: Human Rights and Public Policy (ed. David Claydon, 2009).
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3-6 Jihad, War and Terror
John Azumah, from a West African Muslim background, and currently Professor of Islam at the London School of Theology, makes these observations:
Although jihad includes the individual Muslim’s spiritual struggle against evil, historically it has been understood as armed military warfare in the cause of Islam, spurred on by the possibility of martyrdom. It is a religious duty, and is needed to protect the honour of the umma – the worldwide Muslim community – against insult, humiliation and abuse…
Armed jihad is enjoined by several verses in the Koran, and is obligatory upon every free male adult Muslim… There is no room for dialogue or compromise… Muhammed personally took part in 27 battles and ordered 46 raids against non-Muslims… According to Koranic teaching ‘jihad in the cause of Allah… only the best of [Muslims] attain’.
Ibrahim Sulaiman, a leading 20th century Nigerian Muslim activist, [opines that] ‘the sole purpose [of jihad is] either preserving the order of Islam or establishing it… The ideal is a situation in which all religions will have perished except Islam’.
Islam sees its duty and commitment to form an Islamic state. Its mandate is the reform of the whole world.
American, British and Australian citizens are… legimitate targets of jihad by the mere fact that they pay taxes and vote for their governments.
Radical Muslim groups like al-Qa’ida use the ‘humiliation’ or ‘oppression’ of Muslims – real and perceived – as an effective rallying cry. ‘Death is better than humiliation’ (Usama bin Laden). According to Islamic teaching, one who dies in jihad is considered a martyr and is promised automatic entry into paradise (Koran Q 9:111). A martyr’s death in combat is the pinnacle of the believer’s aspirations; it is the noblest way to depart this life and is a guarantee of Allah’s approval and reward. [36]
3-7 The Sharia – Islamic Law
Selected summary-quotes from John Azumah and Abdallah Bahri:
Many Muslim immigrants in the West believe that they should seek every opportunity to introduce Sharia law in their country of residence. Sharia is held up by Muslim scholars and organizations as superior to democratic legislation. However, Sharia openly discriminates against women and non-Muslims.
Islam is totally focused on the study of the Law rather than on God as a person and on humans as people who matter deeply to him.
What Islam grants… by positing the basic equality of all human beings, it takes away… by ruling that non-Muslims living in an Islamic state should be inferior to Muslims by incurring heavier financial liabilities and civic deprivations… Non-Muslims are free under Sharia – they have one freedom, namely to convert to Islam…
All established jurists of Sharia agree that Muslim women can have neither full political participation nor equal protection of the law, nor equal opportunity to earn an independent living. From Morocco to Malaysia, Sharia laws of marriage, divorce, custody over children and inheritance discriminate against women… In Pakistan, an ordinance on fornication makes a woman’s testimony inadmissable as evidence, even when she is the alleged victim of rape. In an Islamic (Sharia) state, only male Muslims are qualified to head the government.
Today, minorities in Islamic countries are treated as second-class citizens and subjected to various discriminatory restrictions and harassment. [Professor Samir]: [In television debates in the Middle East] accusations are often hurled at Christians, but there is no provision for presenting the other side and no right of reply. [37]
All four Schools of Islamic Sharia agree that the penalty for a married adulterer is stoning to death.
Around the world Sharia law is very much on the rise. In the past 50 years, virtually every Muslim state has taken steps, however small, towards re-implementing it… reintroduction of the stoning penalty in nations as widespread as Nigeria, Sudan and Malaysia is just one symptom of the worldwide Sharia revival. [38]
3-8 The World of the Fatwa
Fatwas are formal legal opinions issued by a recognized religious authority – offering guidance to Muslims on personal and social issues. However, in the words of one Muslim reformer, ‘practically anyone can call himself a mufti and proceed to spew out fatwas’ with virtually no legal or even social restrictions.’
Three of these, recently offered by high-ranking Islamic jurists:
* Slavery is lawful in Islam, but ought to be legalized
* The Jews prepare Passover bread using human blood
* It is acceptable to kill Muslim intellectuals as apostates
Fatwas commanding terror can only be countered by a clear opposing consensus (ijma) of mainstream ulama (religious scholars). Such a consensus does not exist; on the key issues relating to Islamic terror the mainstream ulama are silent. [39]
Further interesting chapters in Claydon (ed’s) book are headed Eurabia – Europe’s Future?, ‘Aspects of Sharia Introduced to Non-Islamic States, Islamic Finance, Migration as a Contemporary Political Tool, Da’wa – Jihad with a Velvet Glove, Religious Policy, Multi-Faith Dialogue and Australian Values (the last by Bishop John Harrower): we will pick up some of Harrower’s comments on Dialogue in the next article.
[36] Chapter 9, pp. 125 ff. in Claydon, op. cit
[37] John Azumah and Abdallah Bahri, ‘The Sharia – Islamic Law’ – chapter 10 in Claydon, op. cit. pp. 139 ff.
[38] Mark Durie, ‘Case Study: Amina Lawal and the Islamic Sharia’, Appendix to chapter 10 in Claydon, op. cit., pp. 148 ff.
[39] Abdallah Bahri, ‘The World of the Fatwa’, chapter 11 in Claydon, op. cit., pp. 155 ff.
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