al-firaushah

Does Islam require 4 witnesses for rape victims?

MENJ has a nice, concise refutation of the assertion that Muslim women who were raped require four witnesses. Check it out.

Response to Steve regarding Sania Mirza

This is a response I made to “Steve” regarding my Sania Mirza post on my main blog. I’ve decided to post my response here, in addition to the main blog, as I thought my comments might be helpful for those who are interested in learning about Islam.

Steve wrote: “I think a reasonable person can debate what kind of clothing is acceptable under Islam. I know dozens of Muslims who ruitinely wear shorts and skirts, and at the same time affirm most of the basic principles of Islam.”

Those shorts-and-skirts Muslims must be young. Yeah, I’ve heard of cases up in Malaysia where a young woman might go out in public wearing something skimpy but also wearing a hijab. Go figure. Still, there are clearly defined dress codes for both Muslim men and women. Those women who wear the shorts and skirts are not following the dress code. While they may “affirm most of the basic principles of Islam,” Islam is not a “pick and choose,” cafeteria-style religion. Muslims should (ideally) follow all aspects of Islam as much of the time as possible. As my wife would say, “We strive to be better Muslims.”

“That being said, whats at issue is whether or not the actions of this tennis player is worthy of a ‘fatwa.’”

A fatwa in and of itself is merely an opinion, and does not necessarily have to be obeyed. Most people who ask for a fatwa normally ask for themselves (i.e., they have a particular situation they would like resolved, and they are looking for guidance in the form of a fatwa). That someone asks, “What about the type of clothing a female tennis player wears in public, like Sania Mirza?” seems a little odd, but is still not out of the realm of the ordinary. In that regard, Ms. Sania is worthy of a fatwa, as is any other Muslim in the world.

“I completely agree that an Islamic council should be more worried about things like Wahhabism or the Mujahadeen than tennis attire.”

In all honesty, the vast majority of fatawa that are issued deal with very mundane, daily life issues. There’s nothing wrong with an Islamic council dealing with the bigger issues (many Muslims wish they would), but most of their work deals with very small issues.

“However, it is the position of some Islamic scholars that if the purpose of rules and regulations regarding attire is to not attract attention to ones self, then covering up in conditions such as western society and or tennis courts might actually defeat the intended purpose of such modesty…”

Possibly, but… The purpose of the dress code, of course, is for modesty; it’s not necessarily to not attract attention to one’s self. While a pro female tennis player might attract attention initially by, say, wearing a sweat suit instead of a skirt and blouse, don’t you think the fuss might die down fairly quickly (within a year’s time at the most)? Is women’s beach volleyball popular because we value the women as athletes…or because they wear bikinis? Was Anna Kournikova as popular as she was because of her tennis skills (her having never won a Grand Slam tournament) or because of her looks?

Some more comments regarding apostasy…

This is more of a conversation I have had regarding the topic of apostasy. The Non-Muslim Lost Budgie appears to be the type of Christian who assumes that Muslims would convert in droves to Christianity if only they didn’t fear being executed by other Muslims for apostasy. In fact, I believe Ann’s comments (mentioned and linked at the very end of this post) are quite true.

Lost Budgie wrote: “Unfortunately, many Islamic scholars do not share your interpretation of Islamic scriptures and laws.”

And many do. Read my last post [referring to what I have posted in my last entry on this blog].

“Whether apostates are killed by countries or individuals, the killings perfectly illustrate that this interpretation of Islam is held by many of the faith.”

Many people of all faiths will have different interpretations regarding their religions. Some interpretations are held in ignorance; others are held as a result of correct study. Christians and Jews all supposedly follow the Ten Commandments, but that doesn’t mean that they obey them (particularly the sixth).

“(For a tiny sample of what can be found on the web, click here for the photos and names of ten Iranian women who were all hung together for apostasy in 1983. Many since that time, of course. This was just a busy day.)”

Personally, I don’t agree that these women were apostates; I believe they were murdered for following a different religion (their murders I condemn). If you want to argue that Baha’i’s are Muslims (and thus apostates), then you’re following a Shi’a perspective, which I don’t think many people around the world (including Sunni Muslims) would agree with.

“References? Well, let’s start with Abul Ala Mawdudi and his book “The Punishment of the Apostate according to Islamic Law”. An English translation can be found here.

“Mr. Mawdudi was, of course, a founding father of Pakistan and has been described as ‘the most widely read Muslim author of the 20th Century, contributing immensely to the contemporary resurgence of Islamic ideas, feelings and activity all over the world.’”

This is one person’s view on the topic and, as such, doesn’t carry much weight within the Islamic community. Even if Mawdudi’s work is accepted within one of the madhab, that doesn’t necessarily mean that any of the other madhab would also accept it.

“Mr. Mawdudi also provided the introduction to A. Yusuf Ali’s ‘The Holy Qur’an, Translation and Commentary’.”

Not in any of the three volumes my wife and I have of Yusuf Ali’s translation (including original version and revised). Not that, even if Mawdudi’s introduction appears in some limited edition printings of Yusuf Ali’s translation, would his work make a speck of difference.

“On the web today, you can find many Islamic websites that agree with the position that apostates should be killed. Try here or here to start.”

You do know that you can’t always trust what you read on the Internet, right? Why are you bringing up non-scholarly works?

“So JD…. you disagree with Mr. Mawdudi and others who hold the position that both the Koran and Hadith command (ie: COMMAND, not “recommend”) the execution of Muslim apostates.”

You obviously didn’t read my earlier post or the article I linked to. The Qur’an forbids the execution of apostates. The one hadith that supposedly forms the basis for the execution of apostates is, in fact, ignored for the imposition of a death penalty for apostates. As the article I linked to pointed out, “The Shari’ah has not fixed any punishment for apostasy.” Just because other people may think differently doesn’t mean that they’re correct or that their thoughts supercede the Qur’an.

“Respectfully, I point out that the disagreement on this issue between Muslims of good faith well illustrates the problem confronting modern-moderate Muslims as they try to reconcile the foundations of Islam with contemporary living.”

You crack me up. If you think that Muslims are struggling with some sort of “reconciliation” between Islam and contemporary life, then you obviously don’t know Muslims very well. We live within the contemporary world very well, thank you very much.

In the meantime, this entire conversation about Muslim apostasy is largely moot for the most part. It rarely happens. As another Muslim on another blog recently wrote on this topic: “To be honest, this [contemporary apostasy] is not something that really comes up often. The missionaries would have you believe that this is because converts would be killed, as if masses of Muslims are yearning to be Christian, but they’re afraid. In fact, they have a very hard time converting Muslims, and when they occasionally do, it’s Muslims who are not very knowledgeable about Islam in the first place.” (Source)

Apostasy

Safiyyah’s got another comment from a non-Muslim visitor (the so-called “insta-expert,” who thinks they understand Islam after reading what are undoubtedly anti-Muslim propoganda). Anyhoo… Today’s comment was, “For instance… The Koran says that Muslims who convert to another religion must be killed. A modern-moderate Muslim has difficulty arguing against this, for to deny this is to deny the correctness of the Koran, or to admit that passages have, what, expired?”

The problem with this person’s comment, of course, is that nowhere in the Qur’an is it said that apostates are to be killed. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Allah (swt) tells us that we humans are to leave apostates alone, that not only shall Allah (swt) “punish them with a grievous penalty in this life and in the Hereafter” (9:74), but that Allah (swt) alone will punish them.

“And leave Me (alone to deal with) those in possession of the good things of life, who (yet) deny the Truth; and bear with them for a little while. With Us are Fetters (to bind them), and a Fire (to burn them), And a Food that chokes, and a Penalty Grievous.” (73:11-3)

Muslims have no problem in arguing against the false notion that apostates must be killed. A number of Muslim scholars have argued thus:

“A number of Islamic scholars from past centuries, Ibrahim al-Naka’I, Sufyan al-Thawri, Shams al-Din al-Sarakhsi, Abul Walid al-Baji and Ibn Taymiyyah, have all held that apostasy is a serious sin, but not one that requires the death penalty. In modern times, Mahmud Shaltut, Sheikh of al-Azhar, and Dr Mohammed Sayed Tantawi have concurred.” (Source)

The Five Necessities of Shariah

anonymous wrote: “The 5 necessities that Islamic Shariah (laws) has come to protect are life, intellect, offsprings, wealth (i.e. private, public, and natural wealth/resources), and religion itself…”

This is correct except for the order. Anonymous has listed it in order 2-3-4-5-1. Religion is first.