I was recently asked the following questions from a Journalist and my answers can be seen below.
Q.How would Britain benefit from Sharia law?
Answer: The law of the United Kingdom carries a legacy of its past, beginning with Roman laws which had erected their edifice on Greek philosophy. It has also benefited greatly from the ethics and teachings of both the Old and New Testaments, which in turn are very similar to Shariah laws. Trust laws are based mainly on the Islamic concept of Endowment. Shariah gives a great deal of consideration to ethics; the wisdom behind many laws will not be comprehensible unless these ethics are understood.
Muslim scholars have explained that the entire Shariah revolves around 5 objectives:
Q.What is the biggest misconception about Sharia law?
Answer: The biggest misconceptions regarding Shariah are confined generally to the penal code. The minute the word 'Shariah' is mentioned, the mind concludes that we are talking about flogging and chopping off the hands of thieves. In fact, the law allows courts and judges discretionary punishments such as imprisonment, community service, restorative justice and so forth. Unfortunately, critics have not understood this and assume that the Shariah only has space for extreme punishments, which incidentally are also contained in the Old Testament. A kingdom should not be judged by the prisons it builds but by its standards of justice, freedom of thought and so forth. Those who criticise Shariah should look at the amazing Welfare system introduced by the Caliph Umar, the second Caliph of Islam. Umar's great achievements in law and in state management will be an eye-opener for critics of Shariah. Further information can be found in “Al- Farooq” by Shibli Nomani and “The genius of Umar” by Mustafa Al-Aqqad.
Q.How compatible is Sharia law to Britain?
Answer:Shariah is not a system that can be imposed by a religious minority on the non-Muslim majority. We would like wider society to understand the wisdom inherent in Shariah, but only as an academic exercise. Only a Muslim government in a Muslim country can introduce Shariah for its Muslim subjects. This therefore does not apply to Britain. When Muslims ruled countries such as Arabia, Spain and India, they permitted their non-Muslim subjects to live by their own religious values. The Hindus, Jews, Christians and other faith groups were treated with incredible tolerance.
Even in the first Islamic state of Madina, the Jews and Christians were allowed to live by their own divine books.
Q.Before you said you believe democracy to be a “false idol”. Is it okay if you could expand what you meant?
Answer:The Islamic concept of Rule is based on three components:
a- Supremacy of the Legislator
b- Concept of justice
c- Concept of consultation.
therefore has many factors in common with democracy. Many Muslim countries have attempted to adopt democracy but with a strong injection of Islamic principles, such as in finance and in family law. In western countries today where large Muslim minorities live in harmony with their neighbours, Muslims would like to see a moral approach to international relations, so that each country does not act in a manner that provides it with stability but which causes chaos in other countries. An Islamic method of rule cannot be imposed or even demanded in non-Muslim countries. If a democratic government becomes so arrogant that it ignores the will of the people once it is in power, then it becomes a false idol.
Q.Do you think the attacks in Paris are a major setback to bringing Sharia law to the UK? Do you think there will a rise in Islamophobia?
Answer: There are no plans to bring Shariah into Britain. Please do not make assertions on my behalf in this respect as there will be legal ramifications.
The attacks in Paris were preceded earlier this year by the killings at Charlie Hebdo. It may be useful to first explain that many vigilante killers that we have seen in Europe may use religion to justify their actions, but reports have clearly pointed to deep psychological and social problems in their lives. The killings at Charlie Hebdo may have been triggered by the offensive cartoons mocking the Blessed Prophet (peace be upon him), but Muslims know that the Prophet himself repeatedly forgave those who mocked and slandered him. I believe that Muslims in Europe desperately wish to live in peace, understanding and tolerance with their neighbours. However, the rising tide of immigration from Muslim countries and the visibility of Muslim women on the streets because of their headscarves is being used by racist far-right groups to whip up hatred against Muslims. It is the far-right that is faking a desire for Shariah among Muslims. Muslims themselves are happy to live in countries in which there exists democracy, free speech, freedom of religion and peace. A few groups such as Al Muhajiroun have called for khilafah in the West, but they have been ignored or laughed at by the majority of Muslims. The values and traditions of Muslims are the same as Judaeo-Christian values.
Q.What do you think Muslims in the UK can learn from the Paris attacks?
Answer: Muslims are very concerned with the current political situation, which seems to have deteriorated rapidly since 9/11. We have responded to the rise in Islamophobia by:
a- creating more awareness of the true teachings of Islam, which are completely at odds with the violence that we see in the name of this great faith.
b- Monitoring the activities of our children, especially on the internet and social media
c- Making integration an important discussion
d- Refuting misconceptions about Islam, especially regarding jihad.
Government also needs to take note that there are root causes of political unrest, such as the bombing of Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and now Syria. The fact that the Palestinians still live in terrible conditions and are constantly subjected to bombing by the Israelis is an important factor in shaping political events around the world.
Q.How would Britain benefit from Sharia law?
Answer: The law of the United Kingdom carries a legacy of its past, beginning with Roman laws which had erected their edifice on Greek philosophy. It has also benefited greatly from the ethics and teachings of both the Old and New Testaments, which in turn are very similar to Shariah laws. Trust laws are based mainly on the Islamic concept of Endowment. Shariah gives a great deal of consideration to ethics; the wisdom behind many laws will not be comprehensible unless these ethics are understood.
Muslim scholars have explained that the entire Shariah revolves around 5 objectives:
- Preservation of life
- money
- intellect
- progeny and
- religious values.
Q.What is the biggest misconception about Sharia law?
Answer: The biggest misconceptions regarding Shariah are confined generally to the penal code. The minute the word 'Shariah' is mentioned, the mind concludes that we are talking about flogging and chopping off the hands of thieves. In fact, the law allows courts and judges discretionary punishments such as imprisonment, community service, restorative justice and so forth. Unfortunately, critics have not understood this and assume that the Shariah only has space for extreme punishments, which incidentally are also contained in the Old Testament. A kingdom should not be judged by the prisons it builds but by its standards of justice, freedom of thought and so forth. Those who criticise Shariah should look at the amazing Welfare system introduced by the Caliph Umar, the second Caliph of Islam. Umar's great achievements in law and in state management will be an eye-opener for critics of Shariah. Further information can be found in “Al- Farooq” by Shibli Nomani and “The genius of Umar” by Mustafa Al-Aqqad.
Q.How compatible is Sharia law to Britain?
Answer:Shariah is not a system that can be imposed by a religious minority on the non-Muslim majority. We would like wider society to understand the wisdom inherent in Shariah, but only as an academic exercise. Only a Muslim government in a Muslim country can introduce Shariah for its Muslim subjects. This therefore does not apply to Britain. When Muslims ruled countries such as Arabia, Spain and India, they permitted their non-Muslim subjects to live by their own religious values. The Hindus, Jews, Christians and other faith groups were treated with incredible tolerance.
Even in the first Islamic state of Madina, the Jews and Christians were allowed to live by their own divine books.
Q.Before you said you believe democracy to be a “false idol”. Is it okay if you could expand what you meant?
Answer:The Islamic concept of Rule is based on three components:
a- Supremacy of the Legislator
b- Concept of justice
c- Concept of consultation.
therefore has many factors in common with democracy. Many Muslim countries have attempted to adopt democracy but with a strong injection of Islamic principles, such as in finance and in family law. In western countries today where large Muslim minorities live in harmony with their neighbours, Muslims would like to see a moral approach to international relations, so that each country does not act in a manner that provides it with stability but which causes chaos in other countries. An Islamic method of rule cannot be imposed or even demanded in non-Muslim countries. If a democratic government becomes so arrogant that it ignores the will of the people once it is in power, then it becomes a false idol.
Q.Do you think the attacks in Paris are a major setback to bringing Sharia law to the UK? Do you think there will a rise in Islamophobia?
Answer: There are no plans to bring Shariah into Britain. Please do not make assertions on my behalf in this respect as there will be legal ramifications.
The attacks in Paris were preceded earlier this year by the killings at Charlie Hebdo. It may be useful to first explain that many vigilante killers that we have seen in Europe may use religion to justify their actions, but reports have clearly pointed to deep psychological and social problems in their lives. The killings at Charlie Hebdo may have been triggered by the offensive cartoons mocking the Blessed Prophet (peace be upon him), but Muslims know that the Prophet himself repeatedly forgave those who mocked and slandered him. I believe that Muslims in Europe desperately wish to live in peace, understanding and tolerance with their neighbours. However, the rising tide of immigration from Muslim countries and the visibility of Muslim women on the streets because of their headscarves is being used by racist far-right groups to whip up hatred against Muslims. It is the far-right that is faking a desire for Shariah among Muslims. Muslims themselves are happy to live in countries in which there exists democracy, free speech, freedom of religion and peace. A few groups such as Al Muhajiroun have called for khilafah in the West, but they have been ignored or laughed at by the majority of Muslims. The values and traditions of Muslims are the same as Judaeo-Christian values.
Q.What do you think Muslims in the UK can learn from the Paris attacks?
Answer: Muslims are very concerned with the current political situation, which seems to have deteriorated rapidly since 9/11. We have responded to the rise in Islamophobia by:
a- creating more awareness of the true teachings of Islam, which are completely at odds with the violence that we see in the name of this great faith.
b- Monitoring the activities of our children, especially on the internet and social media
c- Making integration an important discussion
d- Refuting misconceptions about Islam, especially regarding jihad.
Government also needs to take note that there are root causes of political unrest, such as the bombing of Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and now Syria. The fact that the Palestinians still live in terrible conditions and are constantly subjected to bombing by the Israelis is an important factor in shaping political events around the world.
