How do you feel about Islamic State?

[alaungphaya]

please refrain from talking about sharia if you don't know what it is.

As for my opinion on Isis, they are my enemy and I pray they are destroyed with minimal damage to innocents and civillians.

99% of democratic values are compatible with Islam, i see no reason to choose one over another when we can have both.

Tell me about sharia then and what parts of it are incompatible with democratic values.

 

[alaungphaya]

I want your opinion on ISIS @iajdani Tell me what you think. Come and denounce it here.

 

[burmi]

I think a caliphate will solve the problems of all if they will rule in right way, Al Qaeda and ISIS are not a right path.

 

[kobiraaz]

Can you explain what a democratic islamist and pacifist islamist is?

Do you want Example? Turkish Ruling AKP party and Its leader Erdogan is an example of democratic islamist. He has been in power since 2002 and very popular in Turkey.

i said tablighis are pacifists because they ignore politics and emphasize on individual prayer to God. Most of Bangladeshi Mosques are dominated by them. If you want see their face Google - tongi tabligh ijtema.

 

[Pakistani E]

Tell me about sharia then and what parts of it are incompatible with democratic values.

I think what you are trying to ask is how an Islamic state would treat its citizens, especially non muslims. If not, please expand a little more on your question as it is a huge topic, and if you have read any law books, you would know the content is huge and it will be impossible to type it all up here.

So to be brief:
These were some of the rights granted to all the citizens of Medina by the Prophet Muhammad (saw) in the Charter of Medina:

• The security of God is equal for all groups,

• Non-Muslim members have equal political and cultural rights as Muslims. They will have autonomy and freedom of religion.

• Non-Muslims will take up arms against the enemy of the Ummah (Please note, Ummah here referred to the collective citizens of the state and included both Christians and Jews) and share the cost of war. There is to be no treachery between the two.

• Non-Muslims will not be obliged to take part in religious wars of the Muslims.

As for Shariah:
In Islam, shariah can be divided into five main branches: ibadah (ritual worship), mu’amalat (transactions and contracts), adab (behavior), (morals and manners), i’tiqadat (beliefs), and ‘uqubat (punishments).

The only thing that may or may not contradict with "democratic" values is the regulations regarding punishment. Even then, the Qur'an only mention punishments for four crimes, that is, adultery, slandering, murder and theft. And since I am not qualified to speak on these topics, I will pull a leaf from Zarvan's book and copy and paste something that explains this far better then I can:

"The Holy Quran provides specific punishments for only four offences, that is, adultery, slandering, murder and theft.
These offences appear to have been selected to indicate that life, family institution, property, honour and social order have to be protected.
Hadrat Abu Hurrairah (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, three things of a Muslim are unlawful for another Muslim- his blood, his honour and his wealth.
The Muslim legislators and jurists have defined crime as going against or beyond the commands and prohibitions laid down in the Holy Quran. In other words, crossing the ‘hadd’ which is Arabic for the limits or the bounds fixed by God. All such crimes, since they are violations of the rules made by God Almighty, are considered crimes against religion.
A cursory glance is enough to realise the horrific, extensive and extremely profound impact these crimes have upon society and as a result of not taking appropriate measures to check and prevent them, society is ruined and destroyed.
In fact, these are the four crimes which have dominated society and are responsible for most of the suffering and misery that is witnessed in the world today.
In Islamic law, offences are divided into two major groups: Firstly, crimes for which ‘Hadd’ punishments ordained by God are given. Secondly, other crimes such as homicide, assault and damage to property etcetera, punishments for which include retaliation, expiation and disciplinary action.
However, Islam also provides guidelines on how to determine criminal liability. For example, all acts are judged by their motives and intentions. (Bukhari).

The Holy Quran uses the word ‘kasab’ for commission of crime, which implies a deliberate effort. If there is no intention to violate or exceed the limits then there is no criminal liability and the act is pardonable. Any act carried out in ignorance and without adequate knowledge deserves pardon.

God Almighty says in The Holy Quran:
“Verily, Allah accepts the repentance of only those who do evil in ignorance and then repent soon after. These are they to whom Allah turns with mercy; and Allah is All- Knowing, Wise.” (4 :18)
Hadrat Ayesha (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: Try as far as possible to save a Muslim from punishment. If there can be a way to save him, then think of settling the matter. For the Imam to make a mistake in forgiving and acquitting is better than making a mistake in giving punishment (Tirmidhi Abwab AlHudood).
God Almighty has also stated that nobody shall be punished for the act of another and punishments laid out in Islam are proportionate to the crime.

In The Holy Quran God says:
“ Whoso does a good deed shall have ten times as much; but he who does an evil deed, shall have only a like reward; and they shall not be wronged.” (6:161)

Hadrat Ibn Abbas (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: stop the enforcement of ‘hudood’ (limits) because of doubts. That is, do not make haste in issuing a ‘hadd’ punishment to anyone. Rather, if there is a possibility of doubt, make it a base for pardon.

That makes it abundantly clear that punishments in Islam are not for revenge, but reformation, and must not exceed the extent of the offence.

To prevent crime, Islam aims at eliminating the conditions that produce it. It seeks to remove the very root-cause of all crime by working a complete moral reformation in man. It blocks all approaches to crime. The phrase used in the Holy Qur’an is, do not go near the evil; do not go near the limits of Allah.
Thus Islam’s highest priority is building and sustaining a virtuous society with excellent morals, and that indeed is the philosophy of punishments in Islam.
Chastity as moral virtue holds a very high place in the code of Islamic laws that govern relations between sexes. Islam views with extreme disapprobation the slightest breach of these laws. It is Islam’s very great sensitiveness about chastity that is reflected in the punishment prescribed for adultery or fornication.

God Almighty says in The Holy Quran:
“And go not nigh unto adultery; surely, it is a manifest indecency and evil way.” (17:33)

The unimaginable suffering and malignancy that arises out of the disorder and tumult from the act of adultery makes a long catalogue. The unrestrained and wrong means of reproduction causes immense trauma and unrest with both social and psychological disarray, which is not generally the case as a result of other crimes. Today, in the world, the ruin of families on a large scale, the weakening of family connections, and the growing lack of loyalty and trust in relationships; the growing pandemic of divorces and the sense of being rejected; moreover the spread of horrific venereal diseases such as AIDS, can be blamed on this one offence of adultery. Islam regards adultery as one of the most heinous of all social crimes and looks upon chastity of a man or a woman as one of his or her most precious possessions. For the establishment of the kingdom of God, Islam strongly condemns this most deadly of all social crimes which if not checked and suppressed, can bring about total disintegration and destruction of society. The Holy Quran seeks to close all those avenues through which this evil can find its way among a people and severely punishes the act of adultery and condemns the guilty parties as social pariahs.

As far as the nature of punishment is concerned the Holy Quran says:
‘The adulteress and the adulterer (or the fornicatoress and the fornicator), flog each one of them with a hundred stripes.’ (24:3)

Flogging and not stoning to death is therefore the punishment prescribed by Islam for adultery or fornication. Nowhere in the Holy Quran has stoning to death been laid down as punishment of adultery and for that matter for any other crime, however serious. The misconception seems to be due to a few cases recorded in the hadith when married persons guilty of adultery were stoned to death by the order of the Holy Prophet. One of these few cases was that of a Jew and a Jewess who were stoned to death in accordance with the Mosaic law. (Bukhari).
It was invariably the Holy Prophet’s (peace be upon him) practice that he abided by the law of the Torah in deciding cases until a new Commandment was revealed to him.
It is mentioned in St. John Chapter 8, V:4-5 of the Bible and I quote:
‘they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned’.
The misconception has persisted among certain schools of Muslim religious thought that flogging is punishment for unmarried persons only and that punishments for married adulterer and adulteress is stoning to death.
In principle and sensibly in accordance with this directive, Jesus (Peace be upon him) must be followed faithfully to this day. It is however, another matter that it is not adhered to. In the light of this explanation, we witness an interesting scenario in this age, where the Jewish and Christian States, against their religious teachings, do not stone the adulterers to death, but some Muslim States in contrast to the teaching of the Holy Quran, impose the punishment of stoning to death for adultery.
There is another outstanding difference between the punishments imposed by Islam and by other religions. It is that the harsher the punishment imposed by Islam, in the same tone, it imposes vigorous preventive measures to be taken to save people from committing that offence and at the same time very strict rules for the conviction of an offender so that no innocent is convicted. In the case of adultery, the strict condition of four witnesses who actually watched the act is to ensure that there is absolutely not an iota of doubt in the allegation.
Moreover, the integrity and the credibility of the witnesses is of utmost importance, not only that the witnesses have a track record of being truthful but they should have a reputation of being civilized and respectable. All these measures are to guarantee that no one innocent of crime is victimized. Not only that, the Islamic laws pertaining to witnesses are so tough that there is no example of it in any other witness rules and regulations in the world.
Hadrat Ayesha (ra) narrates that the Holy Prophet (Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: the witness of a man or a woman who is guilty of breach of trust is invalid and also that of the man and the woman who have received ‘hadd’ punishment and also the one who is malicious and who has been a false witness on record and the one who is dependent upon those for whom he is standing as a witness and a person who could be alleged to be a relative or an heir of the one he is giving witness for. (Tirmidhi Kital Ashahadat).
What a wonderful teaching for safeguarding the honour of the innocent and protecting the integrity and purity of the society in stark contradiction to the so-called Islamic States where witnesses and justice are a commercial commodity.
The other social evil, second to adultery in heinousness, which eats into the vitals of human society, is the slandering of innocent people. Islam also views with extreme disfavour this social evil which has become so common in the so-called civilized modern
society, and severely punishes the accusers.
God Almighty says:
‘And those who calumniate chaste women but bring not four witnesses - flog them with eighty stripes and never admit their evidence thereafter, and it is they that are transgressors.’ (24:5)
Here, the Holy Quran mentions three forms of punishment in an ascending order which are to be meted out to a slanderer.
Firstly, the physical punishment of scourging. Then, disgrace of being branded as a perjurer and a liar which invalidates his or her evidence, and the spiritual stigma of being adjudged as a transgressor.
In case the accuser cannot produce the necessary evidence in support of his charge, the charge would be considered as false and the accuser would render himself liable to the prescribed punishment. Whatever the facts of the case, the woman with whom adultery is alleged to have been committed will be held innocent as long as the required evidence is not produced. The law, in fact, is intended to suppress with a strong hand the offence of slandering and scandal-mongering. The commandment contained in the Holy Quran covers both men and women without any distinction.
The third offence set out in the Holy Quran is murder. Allah says;
‘O ye who believe, equittable retaliation in the matter of the slain is prescribed for you. The free man for the free man, and the slave for the slave and the female for the female. But if one is granted any remission by one’s brother, then pursuing the matter for the realisation of the blood money shall be done with fairness and the murderer shall pay him the blood money in a handsome manner. This is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy and whoso transgresses thereafter, for him there shall be a grievous punishment.’

The verse makes no distinction between different classes of persons in connection with the law of retaliation. The punishment applies to all offenders who might be guilty of murder, no matter of what rank or station in life or of what religion. Any person, irrespective of his cast or creed and irrespective of his station, must be put to death for the murder of any other person unless pardoned by the relatives of the victim and unless the pardon has the sanction of the authorities.
This verse comprises a very important principle of civil law, that is, equality of man and necessity of awarding proportionate punishment to all offenders without distinction. Unless an offender is forgiven by the relatives of his victim under circumstances that are expected to lead to improvement and betterment of conditions, punishment for the slain as prescribed is obligatory.

The authorities responsible for law and order are bound to punish the offender according to the requirements of law, having no right to pardon him of their own accord. On the other hand, the heirs of the murdered person are not entitled to take the law into their own hands and inflict the punishment on the guilty person themselves.
So Islam simultaneously retains the punishment of death for murder but in some cases without depriving anyone of their right an exceptional form of punishment has also been created. This exceptional form is also based on profound wisdom; It is possible that the heirs of the murdered victim may be entirely dependant upon the person murdered for their subsistence. In such a situation capital punishment cannot fulfil a practical basic need of the family’s welfare. Thus, for making provision of claiming ransom in lieu of capital punishment, Islam offers a practical choice to the grieved family.
Basically, Islam structures a society which is founded on the spirit of true fraternity where the blood of a Muslim is unlawful upon another Muslim.

What a beautiful teaching imbued with the love of Allah and humanity condoning purity
of heart and mind and emphasising the fact that in Islam punishment is a forceful positive power of rectification and reformation for the sustenance of a pure God loving society.

The fourth offence that is mentioned is stealing.
The punishment prescribed for theft may again to some appear to be too severe. However, as I just mentioned, punishment if it is to be deterrent and effect change, has to be exemplary. God Almighty says in the Holy Quran:
“And as for the man who steals and the woman who steals, cut off their hands in retribution of their offence as an exemplary punishment from Allah. And Allah is Mighty, Wise.” (5 :39)
It is better to be severe to one and save a thousand than to be indulgent to all and ruin many. He certainly is a good surgeon who does not hesitate to amputate a rotten limb to save the whole body.
However, to understand the philosophy of this punishment, it would be helpful to comprehend the background of the society which Islam envisages to establish. A knowledge of the financial guarantee which an Islamic economic system provides to every citizen of the country is also necessary.

As far as the structure of society is concerned, Islam builds it on simple living, truth, righteousness and abstinence from absurdities of life and senseless customs. Islam establishes a society which is pure of such frolics and has the least causes which could be held responsible to tempt someone to steal. These are the aspects of the society which irrespective of religion or belief are to be observed by every subject of an Islamic State. As far as Muslims are concerned, there is emphasis on worship and purity of heart and sight, and the moral teaching provides details regarding obligations to humans.
In the light of all that, if the residents of a country are truly Muslims, the thought of
stealing should be unimaginable. However, it is sad that in the real situation, such a scenario is difficult to present.

The Muslim States have sadly become the hubs and breeding grounds of evil crime, fraud and falsehood, leave alone theft and robbery.
In these circumstances, there can be no better punishment than the one imposed by Islam, that is, the punishment of cutting the hands. Such a punishment becomes a warning indicator and a deterrent for others.
Moreover, this punishment has a very powerful effective force for the prevention of stealing.

For the punishment of cutting the hands of a thief, Islam has also laid down limits on conditions such as that the stolen goods should not be edible on which the sustenance of life depends or pilfering or lifting. For such offences some other form of befitting punishment is meted out.
The philosophy of punishments in Islam indicates that Islam provides punishment only as a last resort and the purpose behind is reform brought about through a blending of human values and justice tempered with mercy. Encouraging forgiveness where it is likely to reform and improve things, providing severe punishment where there is clear disregard and exceeding the limit of law."(2:179).