Why sharia law must be opposed

On the specific question of adultery, Islam, like some other religions, takes a strong position, since it seeks to promote the sanctity and stability of the family. Those found guilty of adultery are supposed to be punished by lashing based on the Quran or stoning based on hadith. But there is a high bar of evidence that must be met before this punishment can be meted out: Four witnesses must observe the actual act of penetration.

Even in this age of voyeurism, it would be next to impossible to meet this criterion. The prescribed punishment for adultery was therefore hardly ever carried out in the premodern world. This situation is in contrast to the brutal stonings that have been carried out in the modern, post-colonial period in a handful of Muslim majority countries, like Nigeria and Pakistan.

From my perspective, the above-mentioned rules of evidence were not given due regard. There are other jurists who have criticized these sensationalist examples of stoning as being in violation of fundamental moral and legal principles within Islam.

Most definitely not. Sharia provides women with certain rights that were practically unheard of in the premodern world. There are five different schools of Islamic law. The five schools differ in how literally they interpret the texts from which Sharia law is derived.

Interpretation of Islamic law is also nuanced according to local culture and customs, which means Sharia may look quite different in different places. Islamic scholars says Sharia is mainly a code of ethical conduct and about worship and charity but a part of it deals with crime.

Sharia law divides offences into two general categories: "hadd" offences, which are serious crimes with set penalties, and "tazir" crimes, where the punishment is left to the discretion of the judge. Hadd offences include theft, which under the strictest interpretations of Sharia, can be punishable by amputating the offender's hand.

There are many safeguards and a high burden of proof in the application of hadd penalties. But experts say that often doesn't happen in practice. Some countries where Islamic law is applied adopt or enforce such punishments for hadd offences, and surveys have suggested attitudes of Muslims to harsh penalties for such offences vary widely.

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