Saudi Hypocrisy & Sharia Law
Hilmy Ahamed
A 45-year-old Sri Lankan mother of 4 children, still legally married to her Sri Lankan husband, has been charged for adultery and is to be stoned to death if the Saudi Supreme Court confirms her sentence. Her identity has been withheld honouring her plea to protect her family. Her alleged male lover, another Sri Lankan, will receive 100 lashes only, because he is not a married man. Adultery if proven beyond any reasonable doubt or by admission of guilt by the accused has no clemency in Sharia law and even the king of Saudi Arabia cannot pardon her.
Zina or adultery in Islam is classed as a Hudud crime (class of Islamic punishment that is fixed for certain crimes that are considered to be “claims of God”). To prove an act of Adultery (Zina), a Qadi (religious judge) in a Sharia court relies on an unmarried woman’s pregnancy, the confession in the name of Allah, or four witnesses to the actual act of penetration. In the case of punishment due to a confession, it can only be enforced if the person accused of Zina makes a confession and does not retract his/her confession. Once the person retracts his/her confession, they are not punishable because there is no proof of the act. As such, implementing this law is almost impossible under normal circumstances in Islamic Jurisprudence.
Islamic Sharia law, which conforms to any common law, is being bashed for this sentence. Different countries have their own laws, and anyone living in these countries need to abide by its laws. Singapore, who we try to emulate, has the death sentence for drug trafficking that is executed regularly. They also cane in public those found guilty of a number of other crimes. USA sends hundreds to the electric chair every year. No one calls Singapore or USA barbaric nations.
I do not intend to trespass on a legal system of a country or religion, whether it is considered primitive or otherwise. Sharia laws that I am aware of are suitable for all situations and nations, as it is a very fair and appropriate legal system, which should be implemented without prejudice whether the accused is a king or slave. The contradiction is that Saudi Arabia and many other Muslim leaders in the Arab world implement Sharia law selectively. Islam should not be bashed because of these miscreants.
There is no ambiguity, Islam has commanded the death sentence for adultery on the married, but a careful examination of this order will no doubt reveal that it is intended as a deterrent than a law to be implemented. Mufthi Menk, one of the most respected Muslim preachers and an eminent scholar on Islam, gives a very clear explanation on the implementation of this aspect of Sharia law.
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