“Islamists see revival of the Sharia as a political solution to the problems plaguing Muslim-majority societies, including corruption and inequality,” writes Marglin. Jessica Marglin, Ruth Ziegler Early Career Chair in Jewish Studies and associate professor of religion, law and history at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, connects this harsh interpretation to “ Islamism,” which arose in the 20th century. International pressure later forced the country to back down. In 2019, Brunei introduced death by stoning for homosexuals under its Islamic law. Some countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Brunei, however, have interpreted Sharia harshly. It allowed a Muslim woman to inherit property at a time when European Christian women did not have such rights. It also allows a woman to initiate divorce under certain conditions. Scholar Afsaruddin writes that Sharia requires a woman’s consent before marriage. However, Mark Fathi Massoud of the University of California, Santa Cruz points out that Sharia provided women with rights that were unheard of in the premodern world. For example, Sharia has been used to restrict women’s freedom in countries such as Brunei and Saudi Arabia. The way Sharia is interpreted depends on who is using it and why. by the a conservative group ACT for America to stop Sharia from making “inroads” into society. In 2017, “anti-Sharia” marches were organized across the U.S. states introduced bills with the aim to check any use of Islamic law in American courts. The media often plays up stories of primitive punishments under Sharia, such as caning or stoning to death for adultery.īetween 20, 43 U.S. Many Americans associate Sharia with intolerance.
It is a way for many Muslims to get moral direction on their conduct, including how to pray and how to treat a family member. In Arabic, Sharia means “the way,” as Asma Afsaruddin of Indiana University explains. Sharia constitutes a broad set of rules that guide Muslims on how to lead an ethical life. This article will explain Islamic law, or Sharia, a core part of the faith, drawn from the Quran and the Hadith, a collection of the sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions. In the previous installment of this series, you learned about feminist movements within Islam.
These articles draw from that archive and have been checked for accuracy by religion scholars. Over the past few years she has commissioned dozens of articles on Islam written by academics. For people who would like to learn more about Islam, The Conversation is publishing a series of articles, available on our website or as six emails delivered every other day, written by Senior Religion and Ethics Editor Kalpana Jain.