sharia law

advancing towards global compatibility little time left courtesy: http://www.arabnews.com: by Samar Fatany, Arab News Jeddah,Wednesday,January 30,2008:(condensed) The (sharia)judicial system has been criticized for its failure to administer justice properly. Many have pointed out that the current system is defective both qualitative and quantitatively. Courts are overburdened, courts take years to rule on simple cases of family disputes.Bureaucracy cause further delays. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has announced a major project to reform the (sharia) judicial system, alloting SR7 billion to upgrade courts and to train judges to reform the (sharia) judiciary. It includes establishing criminal courts and family courts with courts for issues related to traffic, the economy, business and sports. However, Muslim scholars believe that more drastic measures need to be taken to achieve successful reforms in the (sharia) system. “Wwe need to reform the Shariah colleges first and upgrade the level of these institutions,” said Dr. Tarek Al-Suwaidan, a prominent Muslim scholar. “There should be a more advanced curriculum, and the teaching standards should be enhanced.” The reason behind the poor quality of education the poor academic standard of their students. The students are school with poor or average grades; their studies are confined to Islamic jurisprudence. Al-Suwaidan urged the creation of well-rounded judges familiar with international law and educated on aspects of modern-day needs.Students in Shariah colleges should have a bachelor’s degree in business, law or other specialized fields to make them guarantee a higher standard of qualification. Shariah law graduates should be well-versed in current commercial laws and be familiar with cyberspace crime, copyright or labor issues. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) spoke more than 1,400 years ago, he tailored his words to the people of that time and addressed the issues of those days. In a world of great cities and global commerce, it is important upon the keepers of Shariah law to ensure the relevance of its interpretation in the daily lives of the millions of today´s muslims. For judges to ignore such advancements is to make sharia law irrelevant to modern world attracting derision of the world.When a young rape victim, already sentenced to prison and corporal punishment, gets the sentence doubled because she spoke to a newspaper is an instance. What message is sent out when a gang of rapists gets sentences of a few years because of “mitigating” circumstances? The Qatif rape case was condemned internationally. There was strong public pressure demanding her acquittal. Tthe Saudi (sharia) judiciary refused to amend until the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah finally intervened on personal authority. What do we tell our own people or the world, about how we value the rights of women when her brothers can order her divorce because they don’t approve of the husband their late father chose? The brothers’ contention was that she had shamed her tribe, but we as a people should be ashamed of a legal system when such a cases could be initiated to break a family forcing a mother and her children to live in a shelter. We should support our leaders in their efforts to reform such a(sharia) system. How can we take pride in a system that denies a mother’s custody of a child from her abusive husband after he beats his child to death? The National Society for Human Rights published a report criticizing the judicial system failing to serve justice. The report outlined violations, discrimination against women, sanctioning domestic violence, awful conditions in Saudi prisons, and the maltreatment of non-Saudis in the Kingdom. The report railed against the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice in its dealings with law-abiding citizens. “We need to establish civic courts administered by judges who have graduated from law colleges with degrees obtained from abroad,” (meaning of world standard) said Kamel Ahmad Al-Shamsi, a Saudi legal expert. “We need to use the expertise of other,advanced Arab countries in civic law and sign contracts with cadres who can serve as consultants and judges.” These views are not shared by many Saudi judges who insist that students should learn through apprenticeships and with scholars with Islamic roots — not from qualified law professors. This is the reason behind the lack of a globally accepted qualification of a Shariah scholar and the absence of globally accepted standards for Shariah rules. Shariah rules continue to be subject to different interpretations Muslim scholars who are reluctant to codify Shariah laws.There is a lack of consensus on many issues that are of major concern to Muslims today. Some Shariah experts say it may take more than a decade to train more scholars, the optimistic ones do not expect a new generation of qualified scholars for at least five years. Muslim scholars cannot afford to lag behind and miss the global opportunities for progress and development.The rest of the world will not stop and give us a decade to figure it out. Sheikh Nizam Yaquby, one of the most respected Shariah scholars, recently told reporters that it is essential to train more scholars for Islamic bank supervision to keep up with the global demand. He said: “There are roughly 50 to 60 scholars in the world qualified to advise banks on Islamic law, and ten times more are required to serve in the Middle East alone.” The London-based Chartered Institute of Management Accountants said: “The rapid growth of Islamic banking had fueled a need for Muslim financial experts. However, scholars must be experts in Islamic law and Islamic banking with a thorough knowledge of conventional laws and banking systems, which requires a high standard of English.” Reforming the system will not be easy; it should be a government priority. It is essential for our scholars to be globally connected with the needs and concerns of the international Muslim community.The codification of the Shariah law is, therefore,aim at global compatibility. It is essential not only to outline the rights and duties of citizens and expatriates alike but also to define the responsibilities and limits of all religious officials. No one should be above the law — not judges, not members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, not the wealthy, not religious scholars. Our country will prosper only when citizens and guest workers are guaranteed the protection of the law. (end) — Samar Fatany is a Saudi radio journalist. She can be reached at samarfatany@hotmail.com.