White House Shari'ah Rally: What Do They Want?

I learned from a Daily Mail article that three infamous British Muslims have been asked to address a pro Shari'ah rally at the White House March 3, 2011. The event is sponsored by the International Institute of Islamic Thought.   If we had rational and patriotic leaders in power, Anjem Choudary, Abu Izzadeen and Sayful Islam would be denied visas.

    The theme of the rally is supposed to be exhortation to rise up and impose Shari'ah on America. Literally the "path to life giving waters", Shari'ah is a codification of the laws laid down in the Qur'an & hadith. 

    The Sunnis comprise the majority of Muslims and the Shafi'ite school of jurisprudence is the most widely accepted of the Sunni schools. Its handbook of fiqh is Reliance of the Traveller and Guide to the Faithful.

    I have included images from a pdf file scanned from Reliance of the Traveller. Click them to view full sized images. Lest you doubt the authenticity of the text, I included two certifications of authenticity, from al-Azhar & IIIT. 

    Reliance is divided into topical books. Book o treats of "Justice"; chapter 9 treats the law of jihad, beginning with a definition:

09.0 JIHAD
(0: Jihad means to war against non-Muslims,
and is etymologically derived from the word
mujahada, signifying warfare to establish the
religion.[...]

The text cites several verses of the Qur'an and hadith to back that up.  o9.1 discusses the communal obligation of waging war against infidels, which is "meaning upon the Muslims each year"  Islamic law requires a minimum of one military expedition against infidels in every year. 

    O9.8 reveals the practical application of that communal obligation.

o9.8 Thc caliph (025) makes war upon Jews,
Christians, and Zoroastrians (N: provided he has
first invited them to enter Islam in faith and practice,
and if they will not, then invited them to
enter the social order of Islam by paying the nonMuslim
poll tax (jizya, def: 01 L4)-which is the
significance of their paying it, not the money
itself-while remaining in their ancestral religions)
(0: and the war continues) until they
become Muslim or else pay the non-Muslim poll
tax (0: in accordance with the word of Allah Most
High,...

The text continues with the scriptural basis of the ruling, which is 9:29.  Note the similarity of expression used by J.M. Rodwell.

Make war upon such of those to whom the Scriptures have been given as believe not in God, or in the last day, and who forbid not that which God and His Apostle have forbidden, and who profess not the profession of the truth, until they pay tribute out of hand, and they be humbled.

    O9.9 follows up with warfare against pagans.

09.9 The caliph fights all other peoples until
they become Muslim (0: because they are not a
people with a Book, nor honored as such, and are
not permited to settle with paying the poll tax...

Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf and other advocates of Shari'ah won't tell you about those provisions, why not? 

    There are important considerations other than violence. The concept of equality is one of them.  Consider what chapter 24 says about testimony.

024.2 Legal testimony is only acceptable from a
witness who:
(a) is free;
(b) is fully legally responsible (mukallaf, def:
c8.1) (0: as testimony is not accepted from a child
or insane person, even when the child's testimony
regards injuries among ehildren that oeeurred at
play);
(e) is able to speak;
(d) is mentally awake;
(e) is religious (0: meaning upright (024.4)
(A: and Muslim), for Allah Most High says,
"Let those of rectitude among you testify"
(Koran 65:2),
and unbelief is the vilest form of corruption, as
goes without saying);

If you ain't Muslim, you can't be a witness!  Let that sink in for a moment. Read it again.  What do you think about Shari'ah now?  The testimony of a man is worth that of two women.

024.7 The testimony of the following is legally
acceptable when it concerns cases involving property,
or transactions dealing with property, such
as sales:
(1) two men;
(2) two women and a man;
(3) or a male witness together with the oath
of the plaintiff.

Why is the feminist movement silent about this?

    In England and some American states, there is pressure for application of Shari'ah to domestic matters; family disputes.  The laws concerning marriage are laid out in book m.  I will raise one quote from that book, containing a concept which will cause any rational and compassionate person to reject Shari'ah.

GUARDIANS WHO MAY MARRY A VIRGIN
TO A MAN WITHOUT HER CONSENT
m3.13 Guardians are of two types, those who
may compel their female charges to marry someone,
and those who may not.
(1) The only guardians who may compel
their charge to marry are a virgin bride's father or
father's father, compel meaning to marry her to a
suitable match (def: m4) without her consent.
(2) Those who may not compel her are not
entitled to marry her to someone unless she
accepts and gives her permission.
Whenever the bride is a virgin, the father or
father's father may marry her to someone without
her permission, though it is recommended to ask
her permission if she has reached puberty. A virgin's
silence is considered as permission.
As for the nonvirgin of sound mind, no one
may marry her to another after she has reached
puberty without her express permission, no matter
whether the guardian is the father, father's
father, or someone else.

Let that sink in for a moment.  Read it again. Do you want Shari'ah to be applied here?  Why/why not??

    Divorce is one of the more important family law matters. Under Shari'ah, a husband need only declare divorce three times to give it legal effect.

n1.3 The person conducting the divorce may
effect it himself or commission another (def:
k17.5-6) to do so, even if the person commissioned
is a woman.
The person commissioned may effect the
divorce at any time (0: provided the one who
commissions him does not cancel the commission
before the divorce takes place (dis: k17.16»,
though when a husband tells his wife. "Divorce
yourself," then if she immediately says, "I divorce
myself," she is divorced, but if she delays, she is
not divorced unless the husband has said, "Divorce
yourself whenever you wish."

n2.1 A free man has three pronouncements of
divorce (0: because of the word of Allah Most
High,
"Divorce is two times, then retain with kindness
or graciously release" (Koran 2:229),
and when the Prophet (Allah bless him and give
him peace) was asked about the third time, he
said,
"It is Allah's having said, 'or graciously
release' ").

    I have furnished links to the pdf file containing Reliance. The images below are screen shots taken from that file. Click them to view full sized images. You don't need to take my word for the facts, I make it easy for you to verify what I write. 

Certificate of authenticity from IIIT	Certificate of authenticity from al-Azhar University
o9.0 Defines jihad.	o9.1 Describes the obligation of annual attacks on disbelievers.
o9.8 "The caliph makes war on Jews, Christians...	o9.9 ...fights all other peoples...
Christians can't testify in court.	Woman's witness: half weight.
Further details on testimony.	A father may force his pre-pubescent daughter to wed.
Book N: Divorce: contents	Book N: Divorce: contents
N2.2 Divorce

    Reliance is not the only handbook of Islamic law, though it is the most popular. Others are generally less detailed in some matters. Al-Hedaya is not as easy to read but it explains the differences between Shafi'ite and Hanifi fiqh. 

    For the Maliki fiqh on jihad, turn to chapter 30 of Risala, which offers less detail than Reliance.  The Hanifi fiqh of jihad is in  al-Hedaya, Vol. II, Book IX, Chapter 1.

    The fiqh of wudu & prayer tends to be arcane, nonsensical and harmless to us. But the Islamic law regarding war is totally unacceptable, as is the inequality of women and religious minorities.  The concepts of arbitrary divorce & forced marriage are so repugnant as to compel vigorous objection to imposition of Shari'ah. 

    Let us therefore rise up as one with a loud voice shouting HELL NO!!! to those who demand imposition of Islamic law.  Let us support the state legislation designed to ban it and make demands for national legislation to prevent the imposition of Shari'ah in the federal courts.