STRANGE BED-FELLOWS: Religion and the law

“RELIGION IS WOVEN INTO THE LEGAL FABRIC OF MANY POST-COLONIAL NATIONS, WITH VARYING CONSEQUENCES FOR DEMOCRACY AND STABILITY.”

In Sudan, the first sub-Saharan African country to gain independence from the British, in 1956, leading judges, politicians and intellectuals actually pushed for Sudan to become a democratic Islamic state.

They envisioned a?progressive legal system consistent with Islamic faith?principles, one where all citizens – irrespective of religion, race or ethnicity – could practice their religious beliefs freely and openly.

“The People are equal like the teeth of a comb,” wrote Sudan’s soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice Hassan Muddathir in 1956, quoting the Prophet Muhammad, in an official memorandum I found archived in Khartoum’s Sudan Library. “An Arab is no better than a Persian, and the White is no better than the Black.”

?Leaders of places like?Saudi Arabia?and?Brunei?have chosen to restrict?women’s freedom?and minority rights. But many scholars of Islam and grassroots organizations interpret Sharia as a?flexible,?rights-oriented?and?equality-minded?ethical order.

Political debates – which cite?terrorism?and?political violence in the Middle East?to argue that Islam is incompatible with modern society – reinforce stereotypes that the Muslim world is uncivilized.

They also reflect ignorance of?Sharia, which is not a strict legal code. Sharia means “path” or “way”: It is a broad set of values and ethical principles drawn from the Quran – Islam’s holy book – and the life of the Prophet Muhammad. As such, different people and governments may interpret Sharia differently.

After its 1948 founding,?Israel?debated the role of Jewish law in Israeli society. Ultimately, Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and his allies opted for a mixed legal system that combined Jewish law with English common law.

In?Latin America, the Catholicism imposed by Spanish conquistadors underpins laws restricting?abortion,?divorce?and?gay rights.

And throughout the 19th century, judges in the U.S. regularly invoked the?legal maxim?that “Christianity is part of the common law.” Legislators still?routinely invoke?their Christian faith when supporting or opposing a given law.

Political extremism and human rights abuses that occur in those places are rarely understood as inherent flaws of these religions.

When it comes to Muslim-majority countries, however, Sharia takes the blame for regressive laws – not the people who pass those policies in the name of religion.

Fundamentalism and violence, in other words, are a post-colonial problem – not a religious inevitability.

“Modern politics and the forms of power it deploys have become a condition for the practice of many personal activities. As for religion, to the extent that the institutions enabling the cultivation of religious virtue become subsumed within (and transformed by) legal and administrative structures linked to the state, the (traditional) project of preserving those virtues will necessarily be “political” if it is to succeed.”

?https://www.yahoo.com/news/dont-blame-sharia-islamic-extremism-212108996.html

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS AND SPAIN USED VIOLENCE AND RELIGION TO CONQUER AND RULE IN THE AMERICAS.

EXCERPTS FROM ‘IRONY’:

“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message that is love, compassion and forgiveness. The important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.”? Dalai Lama

It should be noted here however, that bible teaching is not only about our creator, but also about the laws we follow; they’re both intertwined

Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” Matthew 5:17. Here we can clearly see that the law was also an important part of his teachings. ‘IRONY’ https://www.amazon.com/IRONY-Theophilus-Nicholson/dp/1520964846

“Heated debates began over ownership of these new lands. Pope Alexander VI stepped in to resolve the dilemma by issuing Papal Bulls that granted Spain and Portugal all of the lands in the Americas not under Christian rule. The European assumption was that the native people were not Christians so they did not own the lands”

Word about Columbus’ discovery reached the Royal Courts of Spain and Portugal on his returned to Europe. Heated debates began over ownership of these new lands. Pope Alexander VI stepped in to resolve the dilemma by issuing Papal Bulls that granted Spain and Portugal all of the lands in the Americas not under Christian rule. The European assumption was that the native people were not Christians so they did not own the lands. Alexander decreed that “barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself”

Muslims Conquered Spain 711 A D.?

Islamic Law Not Imposed on Christians, Jews or other Religious Groups.

The Moors (Muslims) ruled Spain for almost 800 years (711-1492), which is not a blip in the history of the world.?Consider the historic life of America (1776-2016) next to Rome 27 BC – 395 AD, (undivided) approximately.

In Dr. Ivan Van Sertima’s book, The Golden Age of the Moors, he wrote about the debt Europe owes to the Moors and the significant contributions of the African Muslim on the Iberian Peninsula and to the Renaissance in European society.?This is well researched and can be found in libraries, book stores and on the internet.

?When the Moors entered Spain in 711, they did not arrive as destroyers but instead came as consensus builders.?The Jews and the Moors worked together and in some instances the Jews were viewed as collaborators with the Muslims.?In Moorish Spain “thousands of Jews and Christians lived in peace.” The Moors may have carried into Spain, some of the lessons learned from Rome’s occupation in North Africa (Timgad) 100 AD.

When you think of European culture, one of the first things that may come to your mind is the Renaissance. Many of the roots of European culture can be traced back to that glorious time of art, science, commerce and architecture. But did you know that long before the Renaissance there was a place of humanistic beauty in Muslim Spain? Not only was it artistic, scientific and commercial, but it also exhibited incredible tolerance, imagination and poetry. Moors, as the Spaniards call the Muslims, populated Spain for nearly 800 years. ?As you will see, it was their civilization that enlightened Europe and brought it out of the dark ages to usher in the renaissance. Many of their cultural and intellectual influences still live with us today.

?https://www.amazon.com/IRONY-Theophilus-Nicholson/dp/1520964846

"The claim that contemporary Muslim activities are putting Islam to use for political purposes seems, at least in some instances, to be warranted. Political parties such as Hizb al-‘Amal in Egypt or the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in Algeria that base their appeal on their Islamic credentials appear to exemplify this instrumental relation to religion. Yet a problem remains, even in such seemingly obvious examples: In what way does the distinction between the political and nonpolitical domains of social life hold today? Many scholars have argued that “political Islam” involves an illegitimate extension of the Islamic tradition outside of the properly religious domain it has historically occupied. Few, however, have explored this trend in relation to the contemporaneous expansion of state power and concern into vast domains of social life previously outside its purview — including that of religion."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/dont-blame-sharia-islamic-extremism-212108996.html

?EXCERPTS FROM ‘IRONY’:

Chapter 2: The Beginnings of the Christian Movement

“All major religious traditions carry basically the same message that is love, compassion and forgiveness. The important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.” ?

?Dalai Lama

?Many of us in the western world are followers of the Christian Religion, which came to us by way of England. Many read the bible, follow and believe the stories and attempt to embrace canon laws. It should be noted here however, that bible teaching is not only about our creator, but also about the laws we follow; they’re both intertwined. ?Though Jesus Christ is believed to be the son of God whose presence here was to teach about his father’s kingdom, he also said: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” Matthew 5:17. Here we can clearly see that the law was also an important part of his teachings.

?It should be noted here however, that bible teaching is not only about our creator, but also about the laws we follow; they’re both intertwined

Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” Matthew 5:17. Here we can clearly see that the law was also an important part of his teachings. https://www.amazon.com/IRONY-Theophilus-Nicholson/dp/1520964846