Concept for integrating Sharia

Concept for integrating Sharia law into secular law systems

Presentation by Dr. Abdel Rahman Mihalffy

REMARKS

When we say the word Muslim I don’t think we comprehend the real and classical meaning of the word. Does anyone of you know who Muslim is? In English the one who bow to God with full submission. I collected here some of those Ayas from the Holy Quran where the word “Muslim” occurs.

It will surprise you:

2. Surah: Baqara, Cow

  see: 2:132

132.  And this was the legacy that Abraham left to his sons, and so did Jacob; “Oh my sons! Allah hath chosen the Faith for you; then die not except in the Faith of Islam.”

  see: 2:133

133.  Were ye witnesses when death appeared before Jacob? Behold, he said to his sons: “What will ye worship after me?” They said: “We shall worship Thy Allah and the Allah of thy fathers, of Abraham, Isma’il and Isaac,- the one (True) Allah. To Him we bow (in Islam)”  See footnote #70 of Surah Al-Baqara

see: 2:136

136.  Say ye: “We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them: And we bow to Allah (in Islam).”

3. Surah: Al Imran, The Family of Imran

  see: 3:52

52.  When Jesus found Unbelief on their part He said: “Who will be My helpers to (the work of) Allah.” Said the disciples: “We are Allah’s helpers: We believe in Allah, and do thou bear witness that we are Muslims.  See footnote #19 of Surah Al-Imran

  see: 3:64

64.  Say: “O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah.” If then they turn back, say ye: “Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah’s Will).  See footnote #23 of Surah Al-Imran

  see: 3:80

80.  Nor would he instruct you to take angels and prophets for Lords and patrons. What! would he bid you to unbelief after ye have bowed your will (To Allah in Islam)?  See footnote #28 of Surah Al-Imran

  see: 3:84

84.  Say: “We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and in (the Books) given to Moses, Jesus, and the prophets, from their Lord: We make no distinction between one and another among them, and to Allah do we bow our will (in Islam).”

see: 3:102

102. O ye who believe! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and die not except in a state of Islam!  See footnote #37 of Surah Al-Imran

5. Surah: Al-Maeda, The Table

see: 5:111

111. “And behold! I inspired the disciples to have faith in Me and Mine Messenger. they said, ‘We have faith, and do thou bear witness that we bow to Allah as Muslims'”.

29. Surah: Al-Anqaboot, The Spider

  see: 29:46

46.  And dispute ye not with the People of the Book, except with means better (than mere disputation), unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong (and injury): but say, “We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one; and it is to Him we bow (in Islam).”  See footnote #27 of Surah Al-Ankaboot

When I write this document people kill each other in the name of religion without knowing what religion says. The aim of my humbled effort was to introduce the harmony and peace what Islam means. No matter we are Muslims or not Muslim our common duty is to preserve Islam according to its real form and understanding as it was revealed fourteen centuries ago.

EMPIRES AROUND ARABIA AT THE TIME OF THE ADVENT OF ISLAM

Byzantine and Persian Empires at the time of the Prophet (PBUH)

The conflict between the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius and the Persian King Khasrau Parwiz (Chosroes II) is referred to in Surah 30. (Al Rum).

The Yemen coast of Arabia, which was easily accessible by sea to Persia, was the battle-ground between the Persian Empire and the Abyssinian Empire just across the Red Sea. Abyssinia and Arabia had had cultural and political relations for many centuries. Amharic, the ruling language of Abyssinia, is closely allied with Arabic, and the Amharic people went as colonists and conquerors from Arabia through Yemen. Shortly before the birth of the Holy Prophet, Abyssinia had been in occupation of Yemen for some time, having displaced a Jewish dynasty. The Abyssinians professed the Christian religion, and although their Church was doctrinally separate from the Byzantine Church, there was a great deal of sympathy between the Byzantines and the Abyssinians on account of their common Christian religion.

1. SITUATION AT MECCA

1.1. “QURAISH” THE TRIBE OF THE PROPHET (PEACE BE UPON HIM)

The tribe of Quraish was scattered throughout Hijaz until the time of Qusayy bin Kilab, the ancestor of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be Allah’s peace). First of all, Qusayy gathered it in Makkah and this tribe was able to gain authority over the Ka’bah. On that very basis Qusayy was called mujammi (uniter, assembler) by his people. This man by his sagacity and wisdom founded a city state in Makkah and made excellent arrangements for the welfare of the pilgrims coming from all over Arabia, with the result that the Quraish were able to gain great influence among the Arabian tribes and lands.

After Qusayy the offices of the state of Makkah were divided between his sons, Abdi Manaf and Abd ad-Dar, but of the two Abdi Manaf gained greater fame even during his father’s lifetime and was held in high esteem throughout Arabia. Abdi Manaf had four sons: Hashim, Abdi Shams, Al-Muttalib, and Naufal.

Of these Hashim, father of Abdul Muttalib and grandfather of the Holy Prophet, first conceived the idea to take part in the trade that passed between the eastern countries and Syria and Egypt through Arabia, and also to purchase the necessities of life for the Arabians so that the tribes living by the trade route bought these from them and the merchants living in the interior of the country were attracted to the market of Makkah. This was the time when the Sasanian kingdom of Iran had captured the international trade that was carried out between the northern lands and the eastern countries and Byzantine Empire through the Persian Gulf. This had boosted up the trade activity on the trade route leading from southern Arabia to Syria and Egypt along the Red Sea coast. As against the other Arabian caravans, the Quraish had the advantage that the tribes on the route held them in high esteem on account off their being keepers of the Ka’bah. They stood indebted to them for the great generosity with which the Quraish treated them in the Hajj season. That is why the Quraish felt no fear that their caravans would be robbed or harmed anywhere on the way. The tribes on the way did not even charge them the heavy transit taxes that they demanded from the other caravans. Hashim taking advantage of this prepared the trade scheme and made his three brothers partners in it. Thus, Hashim obtained trade privileges from the Ghassanide king of Syria, Abdi Shams from the Negus, Al-Muttalib from the Yamanite nobles and Naufal from the governments of Iraq and Iran, and their trade began to flourish. That is how the four brothers became famous as traders and began to be called ashab al-ilaf (generators of love and affection) on account of their friendly relations with the tribes and states of the surrounding lands.

Because of their business relations with Syria, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Yaman and Abyssinia, the Quraish came across such opportunities and their direct contact with the culture and civilization of different countries so enhanced the level of their knowledge and wisdom that no tribe in Arabia could match and equal them. As regards wealth and worldly goods they became the most affluent tribe, and Makkah became the most important commercial center of the Arabian Peninsula. Another great advantage that accrued from these international relations was that they brought from Iraq tile script which later was used for writing down the Quran. No other Arabian tribe could boast of so many literate people as Quraish. For these very reasons the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) said: “Quraish are the leaders of men.” (Musnad Ahmad: Marwiyat Amr bin al As). And according to a tradition from Hadrat Ali in Baihaqi, the Holy Prophet said: “First the leadership of the Arabians was in the hands of the people of Himyar, then Allah withdrew it from them and gave it to Quraish”.

When Prophet Mohammed was born Mecca under Quraish administration took great advantage from:

• Caravans crossing the Arabian peninsula
• Polytheism followed by pilgrims coming to Mecca
• Muharram period when people had to cease wartime
• Their international relations with their neighbors
• Their knowledge of languages, cultures and trade experiences.

The advent of Mohammed harmed those interests which were established by Quraish since Qusayy bin Kilab.

2. ANCESTOLOGY OF MOHAMMED AND SEQUENCE OF PROPHETS

Holy Quran prescribes for Muslims to say: We follow Abraham according to the teachings and instructions of Mohammed (PBUH).

If Jews and Christians follow Abraham according to the teaching of Moses and Jesus where is the problem?

Please go back to the REMARKS above and see who is Muslim and what Islam means according to the Quranic revelations. After Mohammed (PBUH) there is no new revelation, no new prophet and nothing can change the context.

Surah Al-Maeda (5), The Table, Verse 3.

  see: 5:3

3.   Forbidden to you (for food) are: dead meat, blood, the flesh of swine, and that on which hath been invoked the name of other than Allah. that which hath been killed by strangling, or by a violent blow, or by a headlong fall, or by being gored to death; that which hath been (partly) eaten by a wild animal; unless ye are able to slaughter it (in due form); that which is sacrificed on stone (altars); (forbidden) also is the division (of meat) by raffling with arrows: that is impiety. This day have those who reject faith given up all hope of your religion: yet fear them not but fear Me. This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion. But if any is forced by hunger, with no inclination to transgression, Allah is indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.  See footnote #3 of Surah Al-Imran

Conclusion:

• Anything comes after 633 A.C. is considered history of Islam and not Islamic doctrine.
• Regarding Islamic jurisprudence Ulemas, Fuqahas (scholars and jurists) when issuing fatwas have strictly follow (Ijtihad) the rules if Qiyas (deduction analogy) where the above principles have to be taken into consideration.

3. DOCTRINES AND SHARIA TOGETHER = ISLAM

It is a big mistake if one thinks that Islam is only a faith what can be classified together with other religions according to the Universal terminologies.

The period of Prophecy of Mohammed (PBUH) took 23 years (610-633). This period can be divided into two main parts:

3.1. Revelations in Mecca (610-623). At this time Islam was a pursued religion what taught three main doctrines:

• Monotheism: returning back to the way of Abraham, the father of all Monotheistic faiths.
• Prophecy: Accepting every Scriptures, Prophets, Angels, Judgement day which are based on Abraham’s Monotheism. Accepting that Mohammed (PBUH) is the last Prophet in the sequence of the prophetic line and the Quran is the last revelation summing up and clarifying all the previous ones.
• Belief in the Hereafter and final reckoning.

All the three teachings are dogmas what nobody can dispute however they meet the basic doctrines of the previous monotheistic religions. In different ages and places the Islamic thought resulted different schools and movements.

In the Islamic understanding of Islam doctrines and sharia cannot be divided. Only both of them together can be considered Islam. For Muslims freedom of faith means freedom of practicing Islamic sharia as well. And this is the point where problems start!

3.1.1.  Traditional schools (referring to Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_schools_and_branches) :

• Kalam

Kalām is the Islamic philosophy of seeking theological principles through dialectic. In Arabic, the word literally means “speech/words”. A scholar of kalām is referred to as a mutakallim (Muslim theologian; plural mutakallimūn). There are many schools of Kalam, the main ones being the Ash’ari and Maturidi schools in Sunni Islam.

• Ash’ari

Ash’arism is a school of theology founded in the 10th century by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari. The Asharite view was that comprehension of the unique nature and characteristics of God were beyond human capability.

• Maturidi

Maturidism is a school of theology founded by Abu Mansur Al Maturidi, which is a close variant of the Ash’ari school. Points which differ are the nature of belief and the place of human reason. The Maturidis state that belief (iman) does not increase nor decrease but remains static; it is piety (taqwa) which increases and decreases. The Ash’aris say that belief does in fact increase and decrease. The Maturidis say that the unaided human mind is able to find out that some of the more major sins such as alcohol or murder are evil without the help of revelation. The Ash’aris say that the unaided human mind is unable to know if something is good or evil, lawful or unlawful, without divine revelation.

• Traditionalist theology (Hadith)

Traditionalist theology, sometimes referred to as the Athari school, derives its name from the word “tradition” as a translation of the Arabic word hadith or from the Arabic word athar, meaning “narrations”. The traditionalist creed is to avoid delving into extensive theological speculation. They rely on the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and sayings of the Sahaba, seeing this as the middle path where the attributes of Allah are accepted without questioning their nature (bi la kayf). Ahmad bin Hanbal is regarded as the leader of the traditionalist school of creed. The term athari has been historically synonymous with Salafi. The central aspect of traditionalist theology is its definition of Tawhid, meaning literally unification or asserting the oneness of Allah.

• Murji’ah

Murji’ah was a name for an early politico-religious movement which came to refer to all those who identified faith (iman) with belief to the exclusion of acts.

• Qadiriyyah

Qadariyyah is an originally derogatory term designating early Islamic theologians who asserted that humans possess free will, whose exercise makes them responsible for their actions, justifying divine punishment and absolving God of responsibility for evil in the world. Some of their doctrines were later adopted by the Mu’tazilis and rejected by the Ash’aris.

• Mu’tazili

Mu’tazili theology originated in the 8th century in al-Basrah when Wasil ibn Ata left the teaching lessons of Hasan al-Basri after a theological dispute. He and his followers expanded on the logic and rationalism of Greek philosophy, seeking to combine them with Islamic doctrines and show that the two were inherently compatible. The Mu’tazili debated philosophical questions such as whether the Qur’an was created or eternal, whether evil was created by God, the issue of predestination versus free will, whether God’s attributes in the Qur’an were to be interpreted allegorically or literally, and whether sinning believers would have eternal punishment in hell.

• Jahmiyyah

Jahmis were the alleged followers of the early Islamic theologian Jahm bin Safwan who associate himself with Al-Harith ibn Surayj. He was an exponent of extreme determinism according to which a man acts only metaphorically in the same way in which the sun acts or does something when it sets.

• Bateniyyah

The Batiniyyah is a name given to an allegoristic type of scriptural interpretation developed among some Shia groups, stressing the bāṭin (inward, esoteric) meaning of texts. It has been retained by all branches of Isma’ilism and its Druze offshoot. The Alawites practice a similar system of interpretation.

3.2.  Later Branches

• African-American movements

Many slaves brought from Africa to the Western hemisphere were Muslim. Although it is thought that the Islam of slaves did not survive past the 1920, the early twentieth century saw the rise of distinct Islamic movements within the African-American community, such as the Moorish Science Temple of America and the Nation of Islam. They sought to ascribe Islamic heritage to African-Americans, thereby giving much emphasis on racial aspects. These Black Muslim movements often differed greatly in doctrine from mainstream. They included:

• Moorish Science Temple of America, founded in 1913 by Noble Drew Ali (born Timothy Drew). He claimed it was a sect of Islam but he also drew inspiration from Buddhism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Taoism. Its significant divergences from mainstream Islam and strong African-American ethnic character make its classification as an Islamic denomination a matter of debate among Muslims and scholars of religion.
• Nation of Islam, founded by Wallace Fard Muhammad in Detroit in 1930, with a declared aim of “resurrecting” the spiritual, mental, social and economic condition of the black man and woman of America and the world. The group believes Fard Muhammad was God on earth, a belief viewed as shirk by mainstream Muslims. It does not see Muhammad as the final prophet, but Elijah Muhammad as the “Messenger of Truth” and only allows people of black ethnicity and believes they are the original race on earth.
• American Society of Muslims: in an attempt to bring the teachings of the Nation of Islam more in line with mainstream Sunni Islam, Warith Deen Mohammed established the American Society of Muslims in 1975. This offshoot wanted to bring its teachings more in line with mainstream Sunni Islam, establishing mosques instead of temples and promoting the Five pillars of Islam.
• Five-Percent Nation
• United Nation of Islam
• Ahmadiyya movement

The Ahmadiyya movement was founded in India in 1889 by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, who claimed to be the promised Messiah (“Second Coming of Christ“), the Mahdi awaited by the Muslims and a “subordinate” prophet to Muhammad whose job was to restore the Sharia given to Muhammad by guiding or rallying disenchanted Ummah back to Islam and thwart attacks on Islam by its opponents. The followers are divided into two groups, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the Lahore Ahmadiyya Movement for the Propagation of Islam, the former believing that Ghulam Ahmad was a non-law bearing prophet and the latter believing that he was only a religious reformer though a prophet in an allegorical sense. Ahmadis consider themselves Muslims and claim to practice the pristine form of Islam as re-established with the teachings of Ghulam Ahmad.

In many Islamic countries the Ahmadis have been defined as heretics and non-Muslim and subjected to persecution and often systematic oppression.

• Gülen / Hizmet movement

The Gülen movement, usually referred to as the Hizmet movement, established in the 1970s as an offshoot of the Nur Movement and led by the Turkish Islamic scholar and preacher Fethullah Gülen in Turkey, Central Asia, and in other parts of the world, is active in education, with private schools and universities in over 180 countries as well as with many American charter schools operated by followers. It has initiated forums for interfaith dialogue. The Cemaat movement’s structure has been described as a flexible organizational network. Movement schools and businesses organize locally and link themselves into informal networks. Estimates of the number of schools and educational institutions vary widely; it appears there are about 300 Gülen movement schools in Turkey and over 1,000 schools worldwide.

• Islamism

Islamism is a set of political ideologies, derived from various fundamentalist views, which hold that Islam is not only a religion but a political system that should govern the legal, economic and social imperatives of the state. Many Islamists do not refer to themselves as such and it is not a single particular movement. Religious views and ideologies of its adherents vary, and they may be Sunni Islamists or Shia Islamists depending upon their beliefs. Islamist groups include groups such as Al-Qaeda, the organizer of the September 11, 2001 attacks and perhaps the most prominent; and the Muslim Brotherhood, the largest and perhaps the oldest. Although violence is often employed by some organizations, most Islamist movements are nonviolent.

• Muslim Brotherhood

The Al-Ikhwan Al-Muslimun (with Ikhwan الإخوان brethren) or Muslim Brotherhood, is an organisation that was founded by Egyptian scholar Hassan al-Banna, a graduate of Dar al-Ulum. With its various branches, it is the largest Sunni movement in the Arab world, and an affiliate is often the largest opposition party in many Arab nations. The Muslim Brotherhood is not concerned with theological differences, accepting Muslims of any of the four Sunni schools of thought. It is the world’s oldest and largest Islamist group. Its aims are to re-establish the Caliphate and in the mean time push for more Islamisation of society. The Brotherhood’s stated goal is to instill the Qur’an and sunnah as the “sole reference point for… ordering the life of the Muslim family, individual, community… and state”

• Jamaat-e-Islami

The Jamaat-e-Islami (or JI) is an Islamist political party in the Indian subcontinent. It was founded in Lahore, British India, by Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi (with alternative spellings of last name Maudoodi) in 1941 and is the oldest religious party in Pakistan and India. Today, sister organizations with similar objectives and ideological approaches exist in India (Jamaat-e-Islami Hind), Bangladesh (Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh), Kashmir (Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir), and Sri Lanka, and there are “close brotherly relations” with the Islamist movements and missions “working in different continents and countries”, particularly those affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood (Akhwan-al-Muslimeen). The JI envisions an Islamic government in Pakistan and Bangladesh governing by Islamic law. It opposes Westernization—including secularization, capitalism, socialism, or such practices as interest based banking, and favors an Islamic economic order and Caliphate.

• Liberal Muslims

Liberal and progressive movements have in common a religious outlook which depends mainly on Ijtihad or re-interpretations of scriptures. Liberal Muslims at thought have led to the birth of certain small denominations from primarily unaffiliated followers who believe in greater autonomy of the individual in interpretation of scripture, a critical examination of religious texts, gender equality, human rights, LGBT rights and a modern view of culture, tradition, and other ritualistic practices in Islam.

• Mahdavia

Mahdavia or Mahdavism, is a Mahdiist sect founded in late 15th century India by Syed Muhammad Jaunpuri, who declared himself to be the Hidden Twelfth Imam of the Twelver Shia tradition. They follow many aspects of the Sunni doctrine. Zikri Mahdavis, or Zikris, are an offshoot of the Mahdavi movement.

• Non-denominational Islam

Non-denominational Muslims is an umbrella term that has been used for and by Muslims who do not belong to or do not self-identify with a specific Islamic denomination.

• Quranism

Quranism (Arabic: قرآنيون‎, translit. Qur’āniyūn‎) is an Islamic branch that holds the Qur’an to be the only canonical text in Islam, as opposed to hadith and often sunnah collections. This is in contrast to orthodox Muslims, who consider hadiths essential to the Islamic faith. Quranistic movements include Abdullah Chakralawi’s Ahle Qur’an and Rashad Khalifa‘s United Submitters International.

3.3.  Salafism and Wahhabism

• Ahl-i-Hadith

Ahl-i Hadith is a movement which emerged in the Indian subcontinent in the mid-19th century. Followers call themselves Ahl-i Hadith or Salafi, while others consider them to be a branch of the Salafi or Wahhabi movement.

• Salafi movement

The Salafi movement is an ultra-conservative reform movement within Sunni Islam that emerged in the second half of the 19th century and advocated a return to the traditions of the “devout ancestors” (the salaf). The doctrine can be summed up as taking “a fundamentalist approach to Islam, emulating the Prophet Muhammad and his earliest followers—al-salaf al-salih, the ‘pious forefathers’….They reject religious innovation, or bid’ah, and support the implementation of sharia (Islamic law).” The movement is often divided into three categories: the largest group are the purists (or quietists), who avoid politics; the second largest group are the activists, who get involved in politics; the smallest group are the jihadists, who form a small (yet infamous) minority. Most of the violent terrorist groups come from the Salafi movement and their subgroups. In recent years, the Salafi doctrine has often been correlated with the jihad of terrorist organizations such as Al Qaeda and those groups in favor of killing innocent civilians. The Salafi movement is often described as being synonymous with Wahhabism, but Salafists consider the term “Wahhabi” derogatory. From selefi movement came the most radical “taqfiri” ideology implemented by ISIS.

• Islamic Modernism

Islamic Modernism, also sometimes referred to as Modernist Salafism, is a movement that has been described as “the first Muslim ideological response” attempting to reconcile Islamic faith with modern Western values such as nationalism, democracy, civil rights, rationality, equality, and progress.

• Wahhabism

The Wahhabi movement was created by Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab in the Arabian Peninsula, and was instrumental in the rise of the House of Saud to power. The terms Wahhabism and Salafism are often used interchangeably, although the word Wahhabi is specific for followers of Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab. Wahhabism has been accused of being “a source of global terrorism” and causing disunity in Muslim communities, and criticized for destruction of historic sites by its followers.

4.  Revelations in Medina (623-633).

At this time Islam was a state ideology Quran represented the source of laws. The principals of civil and criminal law including marriage, heritage, finance and economics were deeply rooted in the Quranic teachings. Depending on different times and geographical areas Muslims worked out various legislative and judiciary systems what show that Islamic sharia was always adaptable.

Sharia has two big chapters: Services (Ibadat) and Transactions (Muamalat Ammah)

4.1.  The Services are practically the pillars of Islam: profession of faith (shahadah), ritual prayer (salat), alms giving (Zakah), fasting (sawm), and pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj).

4.2.  Transactions (Muamalat Ammah) include Family law (Munakahat), Criminal law (Jinayat), Commercial & Civil law (Muamalat)

4.3.  The Commercial & Civil law contains regulations for politics, social activities and economic activities. This latter lays down the principles of Islamic Banking and Halal-Haram prescriptions which together with social regulations contributes the social and financial welfare for people

4.4.  Schools of jurisprudence, Sharia

Practically 40% of Quran is about the doctrines and 60% is sharia. The two main elements were linked to each other in the Caliphate system which operated during 14 centuries and ended up in 1924. Caliphate was the institute where Islamic doctrines together with jurisdiction could give solution for Islamic life. In the brain of Muslims the terminology religion remained faith & sharia together even after the Caliphate has been collapsed while in the Christianity religion means only faith and doctrines. Therefore there is a basic misunderstanding between Muslims and the rest of the different society what freedom of religion means. Since 1924 and liberation of colonial system the secular states could not supplement the claim for jurisdiction what the institute of Caliphate provided before.

The above schedules show only the main streams of the most important Islamic orientations represented by some emblematic scholars however there are many more which have appeared during the history.

The picture is even more complicated if the different schools of doctrines are combined with different schools of jurisprudence.

In the 50’s and 60’s of the last century millions of migrants entered Europe from the territories of the previous colonies. This generation came for livelihood. The newly formed multinational companies supplied labor opportunities for them and they could transfer money for their families in their homelands. In the 80’s the parliaments of the EEC countries passed the acts of family reunion. As a result the number of settlers multiplied 2-3 fold more. The newcomers however were inactive family members who adhered to their traditions and religious views. These family members took part in bringing up the second and third generation of migrants. Their impact to the thinking of the Muslim youth was and still is very strong. This time the different Islamic organizations and movements sent numerous missions to Europe in order to “fortify the faith” of the Muslims. This is the time when thousands of new mosques have been raised and billions were spent for propagation of faith. However beside Islam in some places even religious intolerance has increased due to sectarian and political manipulations. The withdrawal of multinational companies from Europe to the Far East at the millennium resulted growing unemployment which resulted further tension between those who have lost their job. Majority of them were Muslims.

The wave of migrants which entered since 2015 in large number has imported new complications preventing integration and peaceful co-existence. Due to the confrontation instead of integration the basic principles of the monotheistic religions have changed in the mind of people in general. These changes are resulted by human factors even if the spirit of the classical teachings are contrary.

UNIFICATION UNDER UMBRELLA OF MONOTEISM

2. Surah: Baqara, Cow

132. And this was the legacy that Abraham left to his sons, and so did Jacob; “Oh my sons! Allah hath chosen the Faith for you; then die not except in the Faith of Islam.” see: 2:132

133. Were ye witnesses when death appeared before Jacob? Behold, he said to his sons: “What will ye worship after me?” They said: “We shall worship Thy Allah and the Allah of thy fathers, of Abraham, Isma’il and Isaac,- the one (True) Allah. To Him we bow (in Islam) see: 2:133

3. Surah Al-Imran, The Family of Imran

52. When Jesus found unbelief on their part He said: “Who will be my helpers (to the work of) Allah?” Said the disciples: “We are Allah’s helpers: We believe in Allah and do thou bear witness that we are Muslims.” see: 3:52

64. Say: “O people of the Book! Come to the common terms as between us and you: That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah.”If than they turn back, say ye: “Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah’s will). see: 3:64

SEGREGATION, SECTARIAN SEPARATION,INTOLERANCE, OUTCAST, WRATH

3. Sura: Al Imran, The Family of Imran

19. The Religion before Allah is Islam (submission to His Will): Nor did the People of the Book dissent therefrom except through envy of each other, after knowledge had come to them. But if any deny the Signs of Allah, Allah is swift in calling to account. 3:19

85. If anyone desires a religion other than Islam (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted of him; and in the Hereafter He will be in the ranks of those who have lost (All spiritual good). see: 3:85

Taking into account the various cultural heritages and levels of the huge area where Muslims live and the penetration of political and nationalist movements into the public thinking we find Islam as a chaotic ideology however it is not true. Islam is very clear however since 1924 there is no institution which harmonize Islamic thinking and jurisprudence to our age. I don’t think we can change the brain of the current scholars. Their interest is to preserve those dogmas in the Islamic thinking which they represent. However we can harmonize Sharia to the secular jurisprudence and this would be the essence of changes.

Within Islam, there are four principle sources of sharia, which are accepted by consensus. They are (1) the Qur’an, Islamic sacred scripture, which Muslims believe God revealed to humanity through the Prophet Muhammad, (2) the Sunna (or Prophetic model of behavior recorded in a literature called the Hadith), (3) the consensus of religious scholars, and (4) analogy. Many regional and local customs are also accepted as a source of the sharia when they are consistent with the general good. Thus, the sharia mandates that Muslims follow the good and generally wholesome customs of the lands in which they live. (http://www.tolerance.org/publication/sharia)

In Islamic history adapting sharia to age and site is not a new phenomenon. Ibn Rushd (1126-1198) who is known in Latin culture as Averroes is described as the “founding father of the secular thought in Western Europe”.  The 13th-century philosophical movement in Latin Christian and Jewish tradition based on Ibn Rushd’s work is called Averroism.

The Egyptian Egyptologist and renaissance intellectual Rifa’a al-Tahtawi (1801-1873) was part of the statewide effort to modernize the Egyptian infrastructure and education. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_movements_in_the_Muslim_world)

If there is no sharia there is no law what rules and regulates the everyday life. In Europe there are mosques and there is no sharia on a legal, reconciled way therefore parallel societies have been formed and these societies are administrated wrongly from the mosques, from the places of dogmas and doctrines! The referred study gives excellent outlook about the position of sharia in Europe, Canada and Russia:

  Sharia Courts: Modern Practice and Prospectives in Russia (499.4 KiB, 1,033 hits)

In the current situation world can do two things:

1. Leaders close their eyes and the mosques will be converted into non-controlled, non-reconciled sharia centers. In this case the secular world imports all problems of the Islamic countries.

2. We work on academic level, put our legal experts, jurists together and work out a sharia system which is harmonized with the Secular laws and regulations.

Legislation, Judiciary System and Arbitration:

In a multinational, multi-religious, colorful country nobody can declare one omnipotent solution for co-existence. There are those who believe in fences, national segregation and local solutions however there are those who want to solve problems by using combined efforts in guarding borders, exchanging information, integrating each other’s culture, settling migrants, etc. I am not in a position to discuss the problem on administrative level however I can see that the solution what comes from Islam itself gives also an option. Nobody can discuss with doctrines but as I said 60% of Islam is sharia what is adaptable and can defend our interests as a whole.

42. Surah: Ash-Shura – Council, Consultation, Verse 38:

Those who hearken to their Lord, and establish regular Prayer; who (conduct) their affairs by mutual Consultation; who spend out of what We bestow on them for Sustenance;  see: 42:38

Explanation:

“Consultation.” This is the key-word of the Surah, and suggests the ideal way in which a good man should conduct his affairs, so that, on the one hand, he may not become too egotistical, and, on the other, he may not lightly abandon the responsibilities which devolve on him as a Personality whose development counts in the sight of Allah. This principle was applied to its fullest extent by the holy Prophet in his private and public life, and was fully acted upon by the early rulers of Islam. Modern representative government is an attempt-by no means perfect-to apply this principle in State affairs.

49. Surah: Al-Hujraat- Private Apartments, Verse 13:

O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things). see: 49:13

Explanation:

This is addressed to all mankind and not only to the Muslim brotherhood, though it is understood that in a perfected world the two would be synonymous. As it is, mankind is descended from one pair of parents. Their tribes, races, and nations are convenient labels by which we may know certain differing characteristics. Before Allah they are all one, and he gets most honor who is most righteous.

LEVEL A. LEGISLATION

• To find common understanding for SIN
• Determining the frames of applicability of social, economic and family laws of Islam

Being authorized by the previous verses of our Holy Quran I can say that we can serve our people properly if we come to consensus and evaluate the bad deed and good deed equally. At the moment the evaluation of sin sometime is different. What is condemned on one side as sin the same act is considered heroic on the other. If a terrorist kills an innocent baby in some cases he is celebrated by minority of people. This is terrible and non-acceptable! If a secular court condemns the act some part of the community which the terrorist belongs to protests and refuses the verdict. It is preferable to establish a situation where the community where the terrorists belongs to condemns the sinful act, too. It is suggested to put the same measure for condemning acts and wills. The platforms where our understanding of terminologies and evaluations can approach are the legislative institutions like parliaments. Here every ethnical affiliation, political view and even religious aspect can be manifested according to its weight and rate. The legislative bodies have nothing to do with sharia of course. Their role is law-making and coming to compromise in evaluation and condemnation of acts, procedures and deeds.

The next step is judiciary system what is an executive and not legislative activity. If secular courts judge over Muslims in some cases these verdicts are not respected. E. g. in case of a terrorist attack it was desirable if a sharia court takes decision, too in order to demonstrate unity in evaluating the sin. This can be achieved only after the harmonization of the secular and Islamic sharia judiciary. It would be also important to decide the conditions and circles of those judiciary segments which can be transferred to sharia courts and what are those which should be remained under the unique supervision of the secular jurisdiction.

Arbitration means reconciling disputes, family affaires, marital services, heritage, etc. I think it is better if only sharia courts are involved in arbitration as these issues concern the community and not the entire society. However in any case the sharia verdict is valid only if a secular judiciary body endorses it.

I am convinced that the harmonized system of legislation, judiciary and arbitration can offer an additional way what makes decision taking and integration more effective.

SOURCE OF LAW

Every law relies on a particular source of law. When I translated and commented Holy Quran summoning up the commentaries of other emblematic Islamic scholars my concern was to give to experts a material what can form the Islamic understanding according to the way how we mankind need it in order to our co-existence in the 21th century. I offer my work for executing the above proposed concept in order to integrate each other’s thoughts, concepts and live in a word where we evaluate evil and good equally.

REFERRED AUTHORS

Abddullah Yusuf Ali

Abdullah Yusuf Ali (14 April 1872 – 10 December 1953) was a British-Indian barrister and scholar who wrote a number of books about Islam and whose translation of the Qur’an into English is one of the most widely known and used in the English-speaking world. He died destitute and alone in London in 1953.

Syed Abul A’la Maududi

Syed Abul A’la Maududi (25 September 1903 – 22 September 1979) was an Islamist philosopher, jurist, journalist and imam. His numerous works were written in Urdu, but then translated into English, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Burmese and many other languages. He strove not only to revive Islam as a renewer of the religion, but to propagate “true Islam”, (which he saw as) a remedy for the weakness from which Islam had suffered over the centuries.

Abu Hamid Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Gazali

Abū Ḥāmid Muḥammad ibn Muḥammad al-Ghazālī (1058 – 19 December 1111), shortened as Al-Ghazali was a Persian theologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic. Al-Ghazali has been referred to by some historians as the single most influential Muslim after the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Within Islamic civilization he is considered to be a Mujaddid or renewer of the faith, who, according to tradition, appears once every century to restore the faith of the community.  His works were so highly acclaimed by his contemporaries that al-Ghazali was awarded the honorific title “Proof of Islam” (Hujjat al-Islam)

Ahmed Hoosen Deedat

Ahmed Hoosen Deedat (July 1918 – 8 August 2005) was a South African writer and public speaker of Indian descent. He was best known as a Muslim missionary, who held numerous inter-religious public debates with evangelical Christians, as well as video lectures on Islam, Christianity, and the Bible. Deedat established the IPCI, an international Islamic missionary organisation, and wrote several widely distributed booklets on Islam and Christianity. He was awarded the King Faisal International Prize in 1986 for his fifty years of missionary work. He wrote and lectured in English.

Imran Nazar Hosein

Imran Nazar Hosein (born 1942) is an Islamic scholar, author and philosopher specializing in Islamic eschatology, world politics, economics, and modern socio-economic/political issues. He is the author of Jerusalem in the Qur’an and other books.

Dr. Rashid Ahmad

Ph.D in Islamic Studies
Research Interest: Editor Arabic journal Al idah (Sawt al Markaz) since 1999 to 2005. Rendered to Urdu from Arabic with a group of scholars 8th volume of for Islamic Research Institute Islamabad. Member of the committee for articulation of new course for SZIC. Member Board of study of Islamia collage university Theology Dept.

Dr. Mohammad Shafi (Chair of the Board,Dar al Islam)

Dr. Mohammad Shafi has been involved in building the Muslim American community since he came to the United States in 1958 to pursue his PhD at Georgetown University. Even at that time he was founding organizations (Pakistani Students of Greater Washington) and providing guidance on the Muslim world (such as through speeches at the First Unitarian Church). His work has always been about the Muslim American community and the ways in which it integrates and supports the American community at-large.

Dr. Abdel Rahman Mihalffy

Dr. Abdel Rahman Mihalffy (born 1955) Establisher of Islamic Community in Hungary in 1988. His first Quranic translation to Hungarian language was published in 1992. Since 2014 president of the European Fatwa Council for Halal Transactions, Vienna, Austria. Writer, Islamic thinker.

SOLUTION (PROPOSAL)

Establishing system for hamonizing the different ways of understanding.

Just to repeat the preious figure with updates:

1. In the age of internet there is no need to wait for new printed interpretation of Quran in every century. It is possible to update the Tafsir immediately if new information comes. The Source of Law has to be kept always renewed and firmed by people of sciences. The corresponding parts of other Monotheistic Scriptures has to be applied as well.
2. The Holy Quran and prophet Mohammed (PBUH) considers the previous Apostols since Abraham as Surrendered (Muslim) Messengers of Allah. Living together with other cultures it hepls if the corresponding parts of other Prophet’s arguments are implemented too together with text of Hadith.
3. Concensus of Scholars occures twice.

First, if Council of Scholars take decision in a particulat issie based on the the Source of Law and the Sunnah.

Second, if a Scholar or Faqih (Islamic Jurist) after putting his godwill and struggle (Ijtihad) in the analyses of the applicability of a thesis with using the method of deductive analogy works out new fatwa. His method of deductive analogy and the decree (fatwa) itself has to be approved by the concensus of Sholars. Regarding legal harmonization the word Scholar must have wider meaning. It should mean jurists both from Islam and the Secular field.

4.  Using deductive analogy those regulations which were used 1400 years ago in Medina can be adopted to the 21th century to Israel or to any other part of the world where Muslims live. E. g. wheter in the northern part of Norway where sun doesn’t set for six month how to keep Ramadan? Or how to keep the Qisas (sanctioning act and crime against human life) or Had (sanctioning criminal cases) regulations? In the Sunni Islam deductive analogy has to be followed as method and in the Shiite Islam a Grand Ayatollah or Marja’ (reference of discipline) can issue Fatwa based on human mind and argument (aql).

In order to be more practical the European Fatwa Council for Halal Transactions has opened a website where the above steps of harmonization or decision taking process can be carried out properly. We invite to our Forum those institutes, authorities and thinkers in Israel and out of it who support our harmonization process with their comments, proposals, information.

Finacial fund provided by the state for:

1. Establishing Committee for Legal Harmonization working under the umbrella of the Ministry of Justice

It is the time to establish a legal workshop from Muslim legal experts, advocats, jurists who are able to harmonize those parts of the Sharia regulations to the secular law in each law branch which are essential for the co-existance.

The work of Commette is based on the local law in practice.

2. Establishing Media surface for propagating the actual concept and for ensuring information flow from state towards the Muslim population

No info for Muslims from state owned channels

At the moment there is no information or news in Arabic, Turkish or other languages which are spoken by Muslims in the European Media world. If there is no information flow from the state towards Muslims some determinative info will reach to them from mosues and the role of mosques will grow. This will generate the establishment of paralel societies. At the moment the two main surface of information flow are tv channels or programs and websites of internet.

3. Education

• • Putting Islam as subject in the public education
  • For Muslims teaching Israelian achievments, state and its institutions, human values as they are revealed in different religions and manifested in the secular thoughts.