Islamic law versus common law

malaysiatoday | ...The same applies in other cases where Islam regards such conduct as a crime. In an allegation of adultery, Islam is very specific as to how one must face the music. The accuser must produce four witnesses. If the accuser fails to do so then he or she must be punished. But if the accuser swears an oath five times, then he or she will escape punishment and will have to face God later to be punished if he or she is lying.

The accused, in turn, will also have to produce four witnesses to support his or her denial or else he or she will have to face the music. And if the accused also swears an oath five times, then he or she will escape punishment but will have to face God later to be punished if he or she is lying.

Okay, you might argue that since sodomy is a crime under Malaysia’s common law then common law and not Islamic law must apply. Is that so? In that case I can’t be punished for not praying five times a day or for not going to the mosque on Friday since these are not crimes under common law. I can also drink beer in public and eat and drink in the daylight hours during the month of Ramadhan since these are also not crimes under common law. I can also have sex with a woman who is not my wife since this too is not a crime under common law -- as long as she is not 15 years old.

How can I be punished for all these ‘crimes’ when common law does not make them crimes? So you see, common law cannot override the Quran whenever the Quran specifies the conduct of Muslims as well as the punishment for breaching this code of conduct. If you are a Muslim, then the Quran applies, not common law. Common law only applies whenever the Quran is silent on any issue.

In fact, oral sex is a crime under common law and you can be jailed up to a maximum of seven years if you commit this ‘crime’. But Islam does not declare oral sex a crime so Muslims are permitted to enjoy oral sex although under common law they can be sent to jail for a long time. The religious scholars are divided on the matter of anal sex and some scholars say it is permitted while others say it is not. But under common law you can be sent to jail just like in the case of oral sex. Muslims, however, are allowed to follow their scholars’ advice in either doing it or not doing it, as the case may be, and they do not care what common law has to say about it.

Yes, where the Quran is specific about something then Islamic laws will apply. Only when the Quran is silent about the subject matter will common law apply (like parking your car in a ‘no parking’ zone). There is also no sedition in Islam. In fact, the Sedition Act is un-Islamic. Islam makes it mandatory to speak out against the government and rulers and it would be a sin to keep quiet. So do not fear going to jail for a ‘crime’ of sedition because God will punish you more severely later if you keep silent for fear of going to jail when it is mandatory to speak out against transgressions and to oppose oppression. Two years jail is nothing compared to what God will do to you later.... selanjutnya.