FEBRUARY 2013 |www.opp-connect.com WORDS | John Howell


FEATURE


ISLAMIC LAW | 11


or most commentators, the problem starts with Article 2 of the constitution. It says “Islam is the religion of the state, Arabic is the offi cial language and the principles of Islamic Sharia (law) are the main source of legislation.”


Islamic law in Egypt F


On the face of it, little has changed. Both the old (1971) and the new constitutions designate Islam as Egypt’s offi cial religion and Islamic law, or Sharia, as the main source of legislation. They also both oblige the state to “preserve traditional family values based on Islam”. However, arguably, the new constitution goes further than the old. It gives unprecedented powers to Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s most respected religious school, by saying that its scholars must be consulted on all matters relating to Sharia. Yet, at the same time, the new


constitution appears to offer some protection to non-Muslims and other minorities. For example, the preamble says: “Egypt adheres to the principle of equality for all citizens, men and women, without discrimination or nepotism or preferential treatment, in both rights and duties.”


Article 3 grants Christian and Jewish communities in Egypt the right to resort to their own laws and principles in their personal lives, religious matters and in choosing their spiritual leaders. Article 43 of the constitution states: “Freedom of belief is safeguarded. The state guarantees the freedom to practice religious rites and the establishment of houses of worship for monotheistic religions, in accordance with the law.” Article 45 states: “Freedom of thought and opinion is guaranteed. Every human being has the right to express their opinion orally or in


writing, photography or other means of publication and expression.”


So why are people so worried? When OPP phoned our industry contacts for comment we received a torrent of negativity. Most people did not want to be named. “Islamic law means oppression and intolerance.” “What will develop in Egypt will be totally incompatible with the attitudes and lifestyles of western buyers.” “This (at best) preservation of the status quo is a betrayal of the Arab Spring and those who gave their lives for it.” “This is just a fi rst step to a fundamentalist state where anyone or anything that


“Arguably, the new constitution goes further to the old, giving new powers to religious schools”


is not Muslim will not be tolerated.” “Islamic law is cruel and primitive; totally unsuited to a modern world.” “It’s not what the constitution says, it is what the clerics will actually do that is worrying. There is a general atmosphere of intolerance and it is getting worse. The clerics are fl exing their muscles.” Barry Clark or Orbit Alliance, who sell property in Egypt (www. orbitalliance.com) was an exception. He was also more positive. “The danger is that buyers will react to the headlines. This has not made our job any easier but, if we educate our buyers, they will realise that there is nothing to worry about. There is little difference between the political structure in Egypt and that in Turkey. A few years ago people were worried about buying in turkey. Now they realise there is no danger.”


The Grand Ayatollah | Ali al-Sistani wrote one compilation of the law


But what is Islamic law? Have any of us read it? What does it say? Do we understand it? Should it concern – or even frighten – the non-Muslim? Islamic law is different from western legal systems for two main reasons. First, it is a complete code of conduct, covering all aspects of your personal and religious life as well as the things that we would traditionally think of as ‘laws’. Second, it is (for a believer) the


In December, the Egyptian people voted to approve a new constitution. On the face of it, and despite the violent clashes between opponents and supporters, that sounds like a good thing. Yet the world’s press was deeply worried; in some cases, apoplectic. Were they right to be, or are they scaredy cats... or causing trouble?


direct word of God (Allah) as revealed to the Prophet Mohammed or, at least, the word of God as later interpreted by senior religious scholars and jurists. It is not something invented by man as a convenient (and, therefore, changeable) set of rules to govern our lives. Total and unqualifi ed submission to the will of God is the fundamental tenet of Islam.


The law (or Sharia – literally, “the path leading to the watering place”) comes from a combination of sources including the Qur’an, the Sunna (the sayings of the Prophet) and the later rulings of Islamic scholars and jurists. It comprises a series of detailed rules about how to conduct your life. Of course, those rules were revealed to the Prophet Mohammed 1,400 years ago and systematised as a code of law 1,200 years ago so they could not, directly, take into account many of the features of modern life. They are also expressed in the context of the lives of a desert people. On both counts, they need interpreting to make sense in other situations.


That interpretation, by senior religious scholars and jurists, seeks to draw out the principles behind the original words of the Prophet and apply them to new situations.


The body of law is surprisingly


small. There are several compilations of the law. Two are by the great Shia scholars Ayatullah Sayyid Abulqasim al-Khoei (1899-1992) and his successor Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani (born 1930). They are very similar.


In addition to these compilations of the law, senior religious scholars are authorised, in effect, to make new law by applying the basic principles of Sharia to new circumstances. These decisions (fatawa) are then binding upon Muslims. Amongst the fatawa of Ayatullah Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani there are hundreds of decisions, some mundane and others much more signifi cant. For example: Q4: An electrically-operated washing machine can dry clothes, after the water supply is cut off from it, due to the power of spinning rather than squeezing. Is that enough for their ritual purifi cation (tathir)? A: Yes, that is enough for their ritual purifi cation. (FM, p. 398)


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