WHAT IS SHARIAH?
Shariah literally means ‘a watering hole’. Just as animals go to drink water, which is the source of life, so the Shariah is a way of life for Muslims. This is very similar to the Jewish concept of ‘halakhah’.
WHAT DOES SHARIAH MEAN FOR MUSLIMS LIVING IN BRITAIN TODAY?
Shariah includes personal family law and worship rituals. This includes praying five times a day, fasting in the month of Ramadan, going for pilgrimage to the Holy Land, eating halal meat, not eating pork, not drinking alcohol, not taking or selling drugs, giving generously to charity, following certain religious rituals at marriage and divorce, writing a will and following certain procedures when someone dies.
WHAT ABOUT CUTTING HANDS OF THIEVES?
Shariah also includes criminal law and laws of governance. However, these can only be implemented by a Muslim government in a Muslim-majority country. Therefore, they do not apply to Muslims living in Britain. Islamic criminal law permits capital punishment, but also includes prison sentence, reparation to the victims by the criminal, community service and so forth. Capital punishment is the last resort available to the judge. The criminal laws are quite similar to the ones in the Bible.
“He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be surely put to death.” Exodus 21:12
“And the man that committeth adultery with another man’s wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.” Leviticus 20:10
The reason we have quoted the Bible is because Muslims believe that both the Old Testament and the New Testament were revealed by God. He has given similar commandments to all three Abrahamic faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.