Experts Advise Pragmatism Over Sharia Law
The popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya against dictatorial and entrenched rulers in 2011 had been surprisingly successful. This has raised the hopes of many among their Muslim-majority populations on making their countries more Islamic, especially on implementing Sharia law to a greater extent. They reason that this will render their societies more religious and just, qualities that were sorely lacking under the deposed corrupt regimes.
However, political leaders, economists and religious experts have cautioned restraint on this front. In their view, the newly elected governments taking shape in these countries need to first fix their economic woes, such as high unemployment rate, shaky state finances, poor infrastructure and bleak economic outlook. They reckon that if these bread-and-butter issues are not properly and promptly addressed, further political upheavals are possible, given that hungry men are angry men. This will in turn inflict further economic pains on their people.
Realty Check On Sharia Law: Plus Or Minus?
A feature of the advocacy of the primacy of Sharia law is that it comes from the conservative segment (some would label it radical), which actually constitutes a minority among Muslims. But because the leaders of these people are vocal, assertive and at times even charismatic, their views and preferences stand a good chance of overriding those of the silent and more liberal majority and, in due course, beat secular law into retreat.
Yet throughout the 1,500-year history of Islamic societies and Islamic nations up until today, Muslims have been ruled by secular law, or at most a mix of Sharia and secular laws with non-clerics seated in the secular courts having the final say. This means that although Sharia law has been touted as ideal for Muslims, it has never been put into practice in any substantive way.
There are aspects of Sharia law which are well intentioned although the punishment for behaviors/acts for which it is against is brutal and inhumane by modern standards, e.g. limb amputation for theft and stoning for adultery (not for the men involved though). However, some argue that Sharia law has traditionally been used to subject women to unfair treatments in life, such as denying them education and preventing them from working outside of home. Generally, Islamic countries (as distinct from countries permitting religious freedom despite their Muslim-majority populations) tend to be less economically and technologically developed. There are myriad factors for such a state of affairs. However, one wonders whether confining one-half of their populations to the kitchen simply because of their ‘wrong’ gender, and thus depriving the countries concerned of half of their brainpower and productive labor resource, is not among the causes.
Think About It
What should the new or future democratically elected governments of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya focus on – preaching the supremacy of Sharia law and making their countries’ law more Islamic, or economic development and management to relieve their countrymen from long-suffering financial hardships? Can both be equally emphasized? Or is one more urgent and/or important than the other, and thus should take precedence?
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