SEMINAR: ISLAM AT GLANCE.POLITICS, LAW, ECONOMY

Prof. G. Anello, March, 10° 2015Department of Economics

University of Parma

Main contents of the seminar

• Islamic Religion as a Source of culture: My aim is to explain how a Revelation can create a wider cultural system in which Law, Politics and Economy are connected with the religious premises and values.

• Enforcement of the sharia in an Islamic country: Influence of the sharia in the Public and Private Law of Modern & Contemporary Egypt

The Origins of Religion: the Geographical Context

The Sahara

Arabia Felix

badawi

The cities

Al-Makkah

The Ka’aba

The Ka’aba

Hajar aswad

Muhammad & the Revelation

Islamic Landscape

Islamic expansion

Shiah ‘ali

Hasan (669-670) & Husayn (680)

Legal distinction• (“‘ibadat”) rules governing the relationship between an individual and God (shahada, salaat, zakaat, sawm, hagg)

• (“mo‘amalat”) rules governing the relationship between individuals and society

Legal Sources• Shary’a

• Qur’an• Sunnah• Igma’

+• Qiyas

The Holy Quran

Surah (chapters) and Ayahs (verses)

• The Quran is composed of 114 chapters of varying length known as “Surah.” It contains 6,236 verses (“Ayahs”).

• “Meccan” Surahs consist the majority of Quran and mostly dealt with beliefs and argumentation with unbelievers. “Madinan” Surats dealt with legal rules regarding family, politics, economics, crimes and punishments, society, etc. Its legal material is contained in about 500 “Ayahs”.

Sunnah an-nabi

Characteristics of the Sunna

• Sunnah was compiled over a period of 300 years by various methodologies.

• Six compiltations of Hadiths: Al-Bukhari, Muslim, Aboū Dāwūd, Al-‘Tirmidhi, Al-Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah.

• Up till now, it still not agreed upon the number of hadiths, but the prevailing opinion stated that there are 4400 strong hadith (“Hadith Sahih”), i.e., 500 legislating hadith including religious and legal hadith.

Igma’ & qiyas

Secondary Sources• Istihsan (“Juristic Preference”)

• Al-Maslahah Al-Mursalah (“Consideration of the Public Interest”)

• Al-Istihab (“Presumption of Continuity”)

• Al-‘Urf (“Custom and Usage”)

Madhaib (Isl. Jurisprudence)

Application of the sharia todayGreen:  Members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation where sharia plays no role in the judicial system. Muslims are a minority in some OIC nations.

 Yellow: Countries where Sharia applies in personal status issues (such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody). Purple: Countries where Sharia applies in full, covering personal status issues as well as criminal proceedings.

Orange: Regional variations in the application of sharia

Egyptian Constitution 2014

• Article (1) • The Arab Republic of Egypt is a sovereign, united, indivisible State, where no part may be given up, having a democratic republican system that is based on citizenship and rule of law.

• The Egyptian people are part of the Arab nation seeking to enhance its integration and unity. Egypt is part of the Islamic world, belongs to the African continent, cherishes its Asian dimension, and contributes to building human civilization.

• Article (2) • Islam is the religion of the State and Arabic is its official language. The principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation.

• Article (3) • The principles of Christian and Jewish Sharia of Egyptian Christians and Jews are the main source of legislations that regulate their respective personal status, religious affairs, and selection of spiritual leaders.

Constitutional comparison

2014 Constitution 2012 Constitution (Islamic Constitution)Article 2 Islam is the religion of the state, Arabic is its official language and the principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation.

Article 2 Islam is the religion of the state and Arabic is its official language. The principles of Islamic Sharia are the main source of legislation.

In the preamble: We are drafting a constitution that affirms that the principles of Islamic Sharia are the principle source of legislation, and that the reference for interpretation thereof is the relevant texts in the collected rulings of the Supreme Constitutional Court

Article 219 The principles of Islamic Sharia include general evidence, foundational rules, rules of jurisprudence, and credible sources accepted in Sunni doctrines and by the larger community.

The principles of the laws of Egyptian Christians and Jews are the main source of laws regulating their personal status, religious affairs, and selection of spiritual leaders.

Article 3The canon principles of Egyptian Christians and Jews are the main source of legislation for their personal status laws, religious affairs and the selection of their spiritual leaders.

Article 7Al-Azhar is an independent scientific Islamic body. It is solely responsible for all its affairs and it is the main reference in theology and Islamic Affairs. It is in charge of preaching, dissemination of religion and the Arabic language in Egypt and the world. The state is committed to providing sufficient funds to ensure it achieves its objectives.  Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh is independent and cannot be dismissed. The law regulates the way he is chosen from among the senior scholars.

Article 4Al-Azhar is an independent Islamic institution, with exclusive autonomy over its own affairs, responsible for preaching Islam, theology and the Arabic language in Egypt and the world. Al-Azhar's senior scholars are to be consulted in matters pertaining to Islamic law.The state shall ensure sufficient funds for Al-Azhar to achieve its objectives.  The post of Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh is independent and he cannot be dismissed. The method of appointing the Grand Sheikh from among members of the senior scholars is to be determined by law. All of the above is subject to legal regulations.

Egyptian Civil Code

Art. 1 of the MISR CODE 1948

• In detail, article 1 of al-qanun al-madany al-misra, n. 131 of 1948 fixes the legal relevance, in the following order, of the state law (nass tashri‘i), the appropriate customs (muqatada‘ al-arf), the principles of religious law (mabadi’ asshari’a al-islamyyah), the natural law (qanun at-tabi‘a) and the rules of equity (qawa‘id al-‘adalah).

The theory of human acts (al-Ahkam al-khamsa)

This is the classification of human deeds in  • (1) What is explicitly commanded (wajib); • (2) What is recommended but not expressly ordered (mandub);

• (3) What is permitted or neutral (mubah); • (4) What is condemned but not explicitly prohibited (makruh);

• (5) What is expressly forbidden (haram).

Consequences in the field of negoziation & interpretation

1. Locate the prohibition, which in split into two activities: a. Individuate the prohibition rule (haram) b. draw the boundaries of the prohibition (that is the most difficult target to center, considering the methods of the Islamic interpretation, notably the importance of qyias, the precaution principle based in avoiding sins) 2. Cross interpretation of the limits of prohibition: a concrete limitation of the prohibition can be realized with the help of the party at the moment of negotiation or pre-negotiation; 3. Make a difference of the practice, using the semiotic profile.

The so called «Islamic Banking»

The Islamic Banking in Italy?