Democracy. Although scholars say that Sharia law does not recommend any particular system of government, it is used by various groups to argue both against and for democracy. Some Muslims say that democracy is a purely Western concept imposed on Muslim countries. Others say that democracy has a basis in the Qur`an, because «mutual consultation» between people is recommended (42:38 Qur`an). For example, during the so-called Arab Spring, Egypt`s Al-Azhar University issued a statement stating that Sharia law promotes the transition to democracy. Moderate Islamist groups such as Tunisia`s Ennahda party also advocate democracy as the preferred form of government. Meanwhile, the leaders of Iran and Saudi Arabia insist that Sharia law requires undemocratic governance. In the South Asian countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan, a strong majority of those who favor making Islamic law the official law of the country also support the execution of apostates (79% and 76%, respectively). In Bangladesh, however, far fewer (44%) share this view. Sharia law is imposed only on Muslims and deals with moral and family issues. Non-Muslims are required to obey secular laws that deal with the same issues. European law also influences the legal systems of Muslim countries, even Iran and Saudi Arabia, which claim to follow only Islamic law.
This is due, in part, to the effects of colonialism, the demands of economic modernization, and the fact that many of the elites who built the legal systems in Muslim-majority countries had a Western education. Opinions on the best balance between Islamic and secular law vary, but political systems tend to incorporate Shariah-based laws in three ways: No. Early Islamic societies were ruled by caliphs (from Arabic «khalifa») – such as Al-Khulafa al-Rashidun (the «well-guided caliphs») – and later by kings and emperors. These rulers mixed Islamic ideas with secular rules that were already in place or common practice. These early Muslim empires did not have what we now call the «law,» with the government enacting laws that apply to all people and applying the laws equally everywhere. Muslim communities have applied Sharia law informally. Over time, the laws have changed. Some new rulers have tried to bring the law closer to Islamic law – as they understood it at the time, which may differ from how previous rulers understood it. Others have introduced new secular laws based on culture or personal goals. As a result, the basic principles of Sharia law are interpreted differently in different countries.
Secularism. Muslim countries where the government is formally secular include Azerbaijan, Chad, Senegal, Somalia, Tajikistan and Turkey. Nevertheless, Islamist parties run for office and sometimes take power in these countries. Turkey`s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is an example of this. Half or more in four of the 10 countries surveyed say their country`s laws should strictly follow the teachings of the Quran. This view is particularly prevalent in Pakistan (78%), one of the five declared Islamic republics in the world, and in the Palestinian territories (65%). Support for strict compliance has increased in the Palestinian territories. In 2011, only 36 percent of Palestinians said their laws should strictly follow the Koran. In Nigeria, only 27% of the general population believes that laws should closely follow the Quran, with 17% saying that laws should be guided by Islamic principles and 42% saying that the Quran should not affect laws at all.
Not surprisingly, there is a marked gap between Nigerian Muslims and Christians on this issue. About half of Nigerian Muslims (52%) prefer the strict interpretation of the Quran for the country`s laws, while 64% of Nigerian Christians prefer that the Quran has no influence. The Federal Sharia Court was established to judge the conformity of Pakistani laws with Islam according to the Quran and Sunnah. [154] He is responsible for the appeal, the original and the review. It consists of 8 judges, including three ulema, who must be qualified in Sharia. [155] The Federal Sharia Court declared 55 federal laws and 212 state laws invalid over a 30-year period. [156] Originally, certain legal documents such as Muslim personal law, the Constitution, tax and procedural laws were excluded from the original jurisdiction of the Federal Sharia Court. [157] In its 1994 decision, the Supreme Court stated that the term «Muslim personal right» used in Section 203B, which excludes the jurisdiction of the Federal Sharia Court under Section 203D, refers only to the personal right of each Muslim sect according to its interpretation of the Qur`an and the Sunnah. Therefore, the decision of the Federal Sharia Court in 2000 ruled that all other laws that apply to Muslims in general fall within the jurisdiction of the Federal Sharia Court under Section 203D.
The court also concluded that the constitution was not intended to reduce the role of the federal Sharia court. [158] Ghana is a secular state. All other laws incompatible with the national constitution shall be considered null and void. No religious law is applied in civil or criminal matters. [46] In Jordan, which is a constitutional monarchy, 54% say their laws should strictly follow the Koran. Another 38% say Jordanian laws should follow the values and principles of Islam, but not strictly the Quran. Only 7% believe that laws should not be influenced by the Islamic holy book. Since 2012, the number of Jordanians who say the Quran should be strictly followed when passing national laws has dropped by 18 percentage points. Article 2 of Egypt`s 2014 constitution states that the principles of Islamic Sharia law are the main source of legislation. [38] Egypt`s legal and enforcement system has been changing since the 2011 revolution; [39] However, the declaration of the primacy of Sharia law in Article 2 is a potential reason for the unconstitutionality of all secular laws in the Egyptian Code.
[40] Sharia courts and qadis are managed and licensed by the Ministry of Justice. [41] Personal status law, which governs matters such as marriage, divorce and custody, is governed by Sharia law. In family court, a woman`s testimony is worth half of a man`s testimony. [42] About half of Muslim-majority countries in the world have Shariah-based laws that typically regulate areas such as marriage and divorce, inheritance, and child custody. Only a dozen Muslim countries apply Sharia law in whole or in part to criminal law. Governments tend to favor one of the main schools or madhhabs of Islamic law, although individual Muslims do not usually adhere to a school in their personal lives. Each school bears the name of the scholar who founded it, and they differ in their methods of interpreting Islamic law: moreover, there is significant debate about what the Qur`an sanctions and what practices derive from local customs. For example, Muslim feminists have long argued that sexist interpretations of Sharia law stem from social norms, not from Islam itself. «The reality is that Islamic principles or Islamic laws can absorb a lot of things, so there is actually very little that Islamic law requires or dictates,» says Intisar Rabb, a professor of Islamic law at Harvard University.