Blog #10- Islam in the United Kingdom

By Rachel Brunts

Describe the historic foundation of the current fundamentalist “jihadi” movement.

1. Traditionalist “jihadi” movements began in the last 20th century. In 1979 the Islamic Revolution in Iran saw that the Soviet Empire was brought to its knees. This fall of the Soviets brought the emergence of militant jihadis who sought out to create an ideal Islamic State. The Taliban in Afghanistan was an attempt to implement such a vision. These fundamentalist see “the West” and modern elements of Muslim societies as enemies alike. 

What is sharia law? What are the main concerns of puritan fundamentalists when it comes to Islamic law?

1. Sharia Law is Islamic Law. It is believed by fundamentalist that it is Islamic Law that makes In Islamic State, Islamic. Within sharia law are the hudud laws which are the maximum punishments that can be given for a certain crime, such as cutting off a burglars hands. This is where puritans have their concerns (and rightfully so in my opinion). It is also noted that even the Prophet Mohammed himself discourages the usage of the hudud laws.

Do you think Islamic law has always been consumed with “punishment?” What changed?

1. No, personally I would not say that the Islamic law is consumed with punishment. Although from my point of view I would say that the fundamentalist who are seeking the ideal Islamic State are consumed with punishment in order to practice the purest form if Islam, but since I am not Islamic it is hard to know if they feel as those they are punished. Other than that I feel like Islamic law is meant more to establish rules that Muslims should follow than to simply reprimand or punish people. I also found it interesting that according to Sardar and Davies, “the sharia owes very little to the Qur’an” (p. 117).

What is the musawah organization about? What does musawah mean? What are some of their key messages? What is your assessment of this association?

1. Musawah is a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim community. In Arabic it means equality. Their key principals are equality, non-discrimination of any religion, race, or gender, full and equal citizenship, and to respect others rights and ideals. I think this is a great association, and extremely important for the entire world, Muslim or not, to be aware of and respect. I really think they need to do a better job of spreading awareness about their organization. As a perfect example, if it was not for this class I would not have known about it. Even though I am thankful to have learned about Musawah now, I think all other non-Muslims need to be educated regarding this serious matter. If that can be achieved I think the Muslim community and this organization would greatly benefit.