Sharia For America
By now most Americans know that Sharia is the sacred law of the religion of Islam. Many Americans don’t know, however, what the reality of that law is. Many may think that it’s similar to Christian canon law (mass once a week, confession of sins, meatless Fridays, etc), or Jewish Rabbinical Law derived from the Torah (keeping the Sabbath, abstaining from pork, circumcising male babies, etc.). As a result of that benign conception of Shariah, many Americans claim to have no objection to the activists, already among us, that advocate implementation of The Sharia in the United States. This issue came to a head several weeks ago, when Fox News, under pressure from CAIR (Council of American Islamic Relations) and other Islamic activists, briefly suspended commentator Jeanine Pirro for SUGGESTING that Sharia might be incompatible with our Constitution. As is often the case, Judge Jeanine Pirro is correct: Sharia IS, in fact, incompatible with the Constitution of the United States Of America. And the naive view of a milquetoast Sharia is a serious misconception. Acquiescence to the promulgation of Sharia Law, in part or in toto, will have ramifications that will be quite contrary to our cherished way of life.
Over the 14 centuries that have passed since the ministry of Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullāh of Mecca, countless volumes concerning Islamic Law (The Sharia) have been written by Muslim imams, jurists and scholars. Trying to penetrate that immense mass of religious literature would, of course, be nigh impossible for the average English speaking American Citizen. Fortunately, there is a relatively succinct rendering of The Sharia that is much more accessible: it’s a single volume titled: Umdat as-Salik wa ‘Uddat an-Nasik. Or, in English: The Reliance Of The Traveller (yes, it’s spelled with two ‘l”s) And Tools Of The Worshiper by Shihabuddin Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad ibn an-Naqib al-Misri, written in the 14th century. The original text is, of course, in Arabic. The translation I use is by the American Islamic scholar Nuh Ha Mim Keller and was published in 1991. It is the ONLY European language translation to be certified by Al-Azhar University. Al-Azhar is considered to be the pre-eminent authority on fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) in the world. A hardcover edition is available through Amazon for $43.43. I highly recommend the reader purchase and read this text. (It is, by the way, a much easier read than the Koran itself). It will be an eye opener, I suspect, for most Americans.
In leu of reading the “Traveller”, however, the interested reader can also get a sense of what The Sharia is by simply keeping a sharp eye out for Sharia stories in the news. There are many. I’ll discus three from the month of March, 2019, alone.
Perhaps the most well known of the Sharia stories from last month was one that was publicized by actor George Clooney. On March 25, 2019, Negara Brunei Darussalam, The Nation Of Brunei, Abode Of Peace (Brunei, for short) announced that, starting April 3, 2019, it would implement punishment for gay sex. What would that punishment be?… STONING the participants to DEATH. The justification for such a harsh penalty? The Sharia, of course. (Source: Jon Emont in the Wall Street Journal; April 1, 2019. See: www.wsj.com). Also, Brunei plans to implement harsh punishment for other crimes. Thieves, for example, will have their right hand cut off – for a FIRST offense.
Saudi Arabia was also in the Sharia news in March. Mark Harwood writing in the British newspaper, The Sun, noted that, at the current rate of executions, Saudi Arabia is on course to set a record in 2019 for the most in one year (in contemporary times), despite claims that the “Kingdom is modernizing”. Executions are usually carried out by beheading, but there have also been crucifixions reported. One HUNDRED and fifty eight executions were carried out last year. At the current rate the Kingdom will reach 172 this year. Of the executions carried out thus far, 21 were for drug related offenses. Other capital convictions were for adultery, espionage, burglary, murder, terrorism and rape. Nearly half of those executed were poor migrants, often who were coerced into being “mules” in the illicit drug trade. Derra Square in Riyadh, where most of the beheadings are carried out, is known as “Chop Chop Square”. Not all punishments are capital, however. Lesser sentences include eye gouging, paralysis, amputations, stoning and flogging. And the justification for all of this? Yes, I’m afraid it’s The Sharia again. (Source: www.thesun.co.uk)
And, I think I’ll end with the example of an Iranian attorney, Nasrin Sotoudeh. Attorney Sotoudeh has advocated, in court, for the rights of women in the Islamic Republic Of Iran for many years. On March 13, 2019, she was sentenced to 38 YEARS in prison and ONE HUNDRED AND FOURTY EIGHT LASHES. What were the charges? “Inciting corruption and prostitution”. And, “Openly Committing A Sinful Act by appearing in public without a hijab.” ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY EIGHT LASHES AND THIRTY EIGHT YEARS IN PRISON. The justification? The Sharia, yet again. (Source: www.amnesty.org)
It is also very important to note, that the “jurisprudence” described above is NOT the work of terrorists or ISIS or Al-Qaeda. It is the normal excercise of criminal justice by modern countries under Sharia Law.
To conclude, I should probably concede that, in this era of extreme moral relativism, it may be seem overly judgmental, at least to some, for me to condemn the penal code discussed above. Different cultures and societies, it is said, have different systems by which they maintain order and different rationales for the systems they choose. It is probably safe to assume that societies with such harsh punishments will have very little in the way of crime, which, I’m sure, they cite as justification. Some might consider it parochial of me or chauvinistic, even, to render a cross cultural judgement. Accordingly, I’ll leave it to the reader, therefore, to draw their own conclusions. My major point here, however, is that Americans MUST learn what the reality of The Sharia is. It is crucial that they come to grips with an understanding of its true nature, rather than to just assume it’s “similar to all the other religions” and, as a consequence, acquiesce to its spread in America.
