ISLAMIC LAW

Islamic Law

Islamic Law

Question 1: Sources of Islamic Law

Islamic law is a legal tradition entrenched within a religious context; it is one of the most intriguing and fascinating areas of Islamic Studies. Many practitioners of Islam believe that their lives should be governed by a divinely revealed and sanctioned form of law that affects every aspect of their daily routines. Thus, whether it be a conventional religious act such as prayer, a customary practice such as marriage, or commercial activities such as trade, all these activities are determined by their legal validity within the Islamic law. Islamic law has developed over many centuries of juristic effort into a subtle, complex, and highly developed reality. Thus, Islamic law, like any other, has its 'sources' (al-masadir); it also has its 'guiding principles' (al-usul) that dictate the nature of its 'evidence' (al-adilla); it equally employs the use of 'legal maxims' (al-qawa'id) and utilizes a number of underlying 'objectives' (al-maqasid) to underpin the structure of its legal theory.

The Qur'an is the main source of all Islamic law which is also called the Sharia. It contains the laws and rules that the Muslim world is governed and forms the basis for relations between man and God and between individuals. The Sharia contains the rules by which a Muslim society is organized and governed, and it provides the means to resolve conflicts between individuals and between individuals and the state. He told me that Islam is a religion and a legal system that is to be applied to all situations and to all times. Islam can provide the solution to contemporary social problems.

The biggest challenge he has found in the practice of his religion in his life has been dealing with the bigotry of the people in this country over the Muslim people. He has made it a point to instruct others that all Muslims are not out to destroy this country, and only want peace. (Dagi, 2006)

Question 2: Naqshbandi Order and Nur Movement

The Turkish state's conception of Islam is informed by its understanding of secularism, as the only path to modernity, progress, and a powerful state. This “otherness” of religion, in general, and Islam, in particular- - constitutes the meaning and role of the secular in Turkey. This discourse of secularism, even more than the real acts of Muslims, shapes the policies of the Turkish state and secularist elite. The aggressive policies of the elite are an extension of the orientalist construction of Islam: for instance, the way the actions of the Welfare/Virtue Party are read and interpreted within this orientalized Islamic framework. The Kemalist position on secularism could be summarized in the following way: modernity and democracy requires secularism. Islam is neither secularizable nor privatizable. Thus, in order to bring modernity, Islam either has to be kept under strict state control or confined to personal conscious. In order to understand the cultural struggle in Turkey, one needs to privilege the concept and practice of secularism. This examination is crucial for our understanding of interweaving relations ...