The Role of Sharia in the Government of Syria

Table of Contents

Introduction3

Thesis Statement4

Literature Review5

Background7

Analysis9

Conclusion12

References14

The Role of Sharia in the Government of Syria

Introduction

The discussion will attempt to highlight the role that Sharia plays in the government of Syria. The discussion will take into account the fact that there is a stereotype that Islamic Law governs all nations in the Middle East. For this purpose, the discussion will examine the role of Sharia in the context Syria to evaluate this stereotype.

Syria, officially called the Syrian Arab Republic is located in the Middle East, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered on the north by Turkey, east and south-east by Iraq, south and south-west by the Jordan to the south-west by Israel and the west by Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea. Syria lies at the heart of a region troubled by serious political turmoil since the end of World War II. Its strategic position and its imposing military power gives it a decisive political power in the Middle East, which contrasts strikingly with its small area (185,180 km square) and its economic potential. Syria also played a major role in many political conflicts that tore the region (Moaddel, 2002).

The Syrian Arab Republic is located in southwestern Asia (the Middle East) and surrounded by Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel/Palestine, and the Mediterranean Sea. In ancient and medieval times, the name Syria or its equivalents al-Sham or Bilad al-Sham were used to encompass a larger area that included Palestine and some parts of the present neighboring countries. The Syrian region has important historical value for both Christianity and Islam. Saint Paul, according to the Acts of the Apostles, converted to Christianity on the road to Damascus. In spite of Muslim political domination beginning from the mid-seventh century, as early as the time of the Caliph Umar, Christians have constituted a major population in the region. Damascus, which was conquered in 635 CE by Muslims and is reportedly called by Prophet Muhammad al-Sham al-Sharif (“the Sacred Sham”), had been the capital of the Umayyads and the Mamluks. After several Muslim political dynasties, and for a short time the Crusaders, had taken it under control, the Ottoman era began for Syria in 1516 and lasted until the French mandate in 1925. Syria gained its independence in 1944.

Islam is not in the Arab Republic of Syria, the state religion. Nevertheless, the Syrian constitution declares Islamic law as a source of legislation. The head of state must be a Muslim. Constitutionally, other religious groups the freedom is guaranteed to worship and celebrate their religious services.

Syria's population includes about 305,000 internally displaced persons from the Golan Heights, 1.0 to 1.4 million Iraqi refugees, and about 500,000 Palestinian refugees. Syria is a Tier 3 country regarding human trafficking, meaning that the government has not made significant efforts to deal with the problem. Syria is both a destination and transition country for women and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation, and legal foreign workers within Syria have been forced into conditions ...