What normal Sunni Muslims think—killing the myth of radical Islam. A congress of Muslims in Norway is interrupted to show commonality and unity in beliefs concerning Sharia and Sharia Punishments.
The West has been shocked by seeming barbarity of ISIS and the daily Sharia punishments it metres out on residents. Yet 2016 began with Saudi Arabia beheading 47 people. The same punishment system used by ISIS not only parallels SAUDI ARABIA’s Sharia Compliant system, but also the legal system used by SUDAN, SOMALIA, MAURITANIA, GHANA, AFGHANISTAN: BAHRAIN, BRUNEI, IRAN, IRAQ, MALAYSIA, MALDIVES, OMAN, PAKISTAN, QATAR, and UAE.
ISIS however, unlike its peers, insists on using social media to broadcast their internal Sharia Court’s decisions, much to the horror of the West. But these are the accepted punishments of Islam and of Muslims the world over.
Here is the list of the other lashing, amputating, execution and stoning “Sharia Compliant” countries and the list is growing. You will find places like Brunei, Malaysia and Pakistan are now bringing on board the full Sharia legal system. Other Islamic countries currently follow Sharia mainly in Family matters—inequality of women, hereditary laws, two female witness equal one male etc. This too could change as Islam’s influence grows. However for the time being they have been omitted from this list.
SAUDI ARABIA:Saudi criminal law is based totally on sharia. No codified personal status law exists, which means that judges in courts rule based on their own interpretations of sharia.
SUDAN: Sharia has been declared the chief source of all legislation in Sudan’s 1968, 1973 and 1998 Constitutions. The Criminal Act of 1991 prescribes punishments which include forty lashes for drinking alcohol, amputation of the right hand for theft of a certain value and stoning for adultery.
SOMALIA: Sharia was adopted in 2009. Article 2 of Somali 2012 Constitution states no law can be enacted that is not compliant with the general principles and objectives of Sharia. Sharia currently influences all aspects of Xeer as well as Somalia’s formal legal system.
MAURITANIA: The Penal Code contains Sharia crimes such as heresy, apostasy, atheism, refusal to pray, adultery and alcohol consumption. Punishments include lapidation, amputation and flagellation.
GHANA: Islamic law is applied by customary or traditional courts as part of customary law.
AFGHANISTAN: Criminal law in Afghanistan continues to be governed in large part by Islamic law. The Criminal Law of September 1976 codifies sharia, and retains punishments such as the stoning to death of adulterers. However virtually all courts, including the Supreme Court of Afghanistan, rely on Islamic law directly.
BAHRAIN: Article 2 of Bahrain’s 2002 Constitution as originally adopted, as well as after February 2012 amendment, declares Islamic Sharia is a chief source of legislation. Four tiers of ordinary courts have jurisdiction over cases related to civil, administrative and criminal matters, with Court of Cassation the highest civil court in Bahrain; in all matters, the judges are required to resort to Sharia in case legislation is silent or unclear.[68]
BRUNEI: Sharia courts decide personal status cases or cases relating to religious offences. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah declared in 2011 his wish to establish Islamic criminal law as soon as possible. A new penal code enacted in May 2014 will eventually prescribe sharia punishments, including the severing of limbs for property crimes and death by stoning for adultery and homosexuality.
IRAN: Article 167 of the constitution states that all judicial rulings must be based upon “authoritative Islamic sources and authentic fatwa”. Book 2 of the Islamic Penal Code of Iran is entirely devoted to hudud punishments, including flogging and stoning for adultery, and execution for men who have sex with men.
IRAQ: Article 1 of Civil Code identifies Islamic law as a main source of legislation. The 1958 Code, made polygamy extremely difficult, granted child custody to the mother in case of divorce, prohibited repudiation and marriage under the age of 16. In 1995, Iraq introduced Sharia punishment for certain types of criminal offenses. Iraq’s legal system is based on French civil law as well as Sunni and Jafari (Shi’ite) interpretations of Sharia.[86] Article 41 of the constitution allows for personal status matters (such as marriage, divorce and inheritance) to be governed by the rules of each religious group. The article has not yet been put into effect, and a unified personal status law remains in place that builds on the 1959 personal status code.
MALAYSIA: Schedule 9 of Malaysian constitution recognizes Islamic law as a state subject; in other words, the states of Malaysia have the power to enact and enforce sharia. Islamic criminal law statutes have been passed at the state level in Terengganu, Kelantan] and Perlis, but as of 2014 none of these laws have been implemented, as they contravene the Federal Constitution. In 2007, Malaysia’s Federal court ruled that apostasy matter lay “within the exclusive jurisdiction of Sharia Courts”. Malaysian Muslims can be sentenced to caning for such offences as drinking beer, and adultery. Several sharia crimes, such as khalwat (close proximity of unmarried man and woman) are punishable only in Sharia courts of Malaysia. Publishing an Islamic book that is different from official Malaysian version, without permission, is a crime in some states. Other sharia-based criminal laws were enacted with “Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territory) Act of 1997”. Muslims are bound by Sharia on personal matters, while members of other faiths follow civil law. Muslims are required to follow Islamic law in family, property and religious matters. In 1988 the constitution was amended to state that civil courts cannot hear matters that fall within the jurisdiction of Sharia courts.
MALDIVES: Article 15 of the Act Number 1/81 (Penal Code) allows for hudud punishments. Article 156 of the constitution states that law includes the norms and provisions of sharia.
OMAN: Islamic Sharia is the basis for legislation in Oman per Article 2 of its Constitution, and promulgated as Sultani Decree 101/1996. The Personal Statute (Family) Law issued by Royal Decree 97/32 codified provisions of Sharia. Sharia Court Departments within the civil court system are responsible for personal status matters. A 2008 law stipulates that the testimonies of men and women before a court are equal. Oman’s criminal law is based on a combination of Sharia and English common law. Omani commercial law is largely based on Sharia; Article 5 of its Law of Commerce defaults to primacy of Sharia in cases of confusion, silence or conflict.
PAKISTAN: Until 1978 Islamic law was largely restricted to personal status issues. Zia ul Haq introduced Sharia courts and made far reaching changes in the criminal justice system. Articles 203a to 203j of the constitution establish a sharia court with the power to judge any law or government actions to be against Islam, and to review court cases for adherence to Islamic law. The penal code includes elements of sharia. Under article 5, section 2 of the Ordinance No. VII of 1979, whoever is guilty of zina, “if he or she is a muhsan, be stoned to death at a public place; or if he or she is not a mushan, be punished, at a public place, with whipping numbering one hundred stripes”. Under a 2006 law, rape cases can be heard under civil as well as Islamic law.
QATAR: Sharia law is the main source of Qatari legislation according to Qatar’s Constitution. Sharia law is applied to laws pertaining to family law, inheritance, and several criminal acts (including adultery, robbery and murder). In some cases in Sharia-based family courts, a female’s testimony is worth half a man’s and in some cases a female witness is not accepted at all. Flogging is used in Qatar as a punishment for alcohol consumption or illicit sexual relations. Article 88 of Qatar’s criminal code declares the punishment for adultery is 100 lashes. Adultery is punishable by death when a Muslim woman and a non-Muslim man are involved. In 2006, a Filipino woman was sentenced to 100 lashes for adultery. In 2012, six expatriates were sentenced to floggings of either 40 or 100 lashes. More recently in April 2013, a Muslim expatriate was sentenced to 40 lashes for alcohol consumption. In June 2014, a Muslim expatriate was sentenced to 40 lashes for consuming alcohol and driving under the influence. Judicial corporal punishment is common in Qatar due to the Hanbali interpretation of Sharia Law. Article 1 of the Law No. 11 Of 2004 (Penal Code) allows for the application of “Sharia provisions” for the crimes of theft, adultery, defamation, drinking alcohol and apostasy if either the suspect or the victim is a Muslim.
UAE: Criminal law in UAE is governed by Islamic Courts alongside Secular courts. Also, Personal Status Law, and Family Law, are Sharia.
YEMEN:Law 20/1992 regulates personal status. The constitution mentions sharia. Penal law provides for application of hadd penalties for certain crimes, although the extent of implementation is unclear. Article 263 of the 1994 penal code states that “the adulterer and adulteress without suspicion or coercion are punished with whipping by one hundred strokes as a penalty if not married. […] If the adulterer or the adulteress are married, they are punished by stoning them to death.”
(other Islamic countries have a mix of Sharia and civil.)
