A Guide to Shariah Law and Islamist Ideology in Western Europe, 2007
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ShariahFC.pdfCCIPShariahRevised.pdfCIPShariah.pdfIPShariahRSepv i ts .16/5/09 pe18/9/09d.fp d1f8 / 33/9/099 08:53:48 /10:16:1390/90 9 0 9 119:31:46:3 2 7:- 0- :1 313 :- 2- 1 - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK) (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)1 - -1 - ( CMYB ((Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)elyaCMYBlaclgelyonaKelawcl)g)onKe)w)t)na)t)a) CIP 2009 Centre for Islamic Pluralism AGUIDETOSHARIAH LAW AND ISLAMIST IDEOLOGY IN WESTERN EUROPE 2007-2009 BY THE CENTRE FOR ISLAMIC PLURALISM 2009 www.islamicpluralism.eu CCIPShariahRevised.pdfCIPShariah.pdfIPShariahRSepvit s . pe18/9/09d.fp d1f8 / 33/9/09 9 /10:16:1590/90 9 0 9 119:31:48:32 7 : 0-:1 324: 2- 2 - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)2 - -2 - ( CMYB ((Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)elyaCMYBlaclgelyonaKelawcl)g)onKe)w)t)na)t)a) CCIPShariah.pdfIPShariahSept . p18/9/09df 18/ 9 /10:16:1609 09:3 7 -:1 35 - - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)3 - (CMYBelyalaclgonKew))n)ta) A GUIDE TO SHARIAH LAW and ISLAMIST IDEOLOGY in WESTERN EUROPE 2007-2009 Dr Irfan Al-Alawi * Stephen Suleyman Schwartz Kamal Hasani * Veli Sirin * Daut Dauti * Qanta Ahmed, MD Centre for Islamic Pluralism Washington * London * Köln * Sarajevo www.islamicpluralism.org www.islamicpluralism.eu www.islamicpluralism.de BM 2394, London, WC1N 3XX, UK 1718 M Street NW #260 Washington, DC 20036 USA CCIPShariah.pdfIPShariahSept . p18/9/09df 18/ 9 /10:16:1609 09:3 7 -:1 45 - - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)4 - (CMYBelyalaclgonKew))n)ta) A Guide to Shariah Law and Islamist Ideology in Western Europe 2007- 2009 Published in the United Kingdom in 2009 by the Centre for Islamic Pluralism BM 2394, London WC1N 3XX, UK 1718 M Street NW #260 Washington, DC 20036 USA www.islamicpluralism.org www.islamicpluralism.eu www.islamicpluralism.de First edition: May 2009 Design: Asim Mesihi ISBN 978-0-9558779-2-6 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data. A catalogue record for this book is pending with the Library of Congress Copyright © Centre for Islamic Pluralism All rights reserved The authors’ rights have been asserted This document may be reproduced and reposted by any user with acknowledgement of authorship and original publication Urdu, German and Turkish editions are in preparation Cover illustrations: 1 - top l.) Relief on Washington’s Supreme Court Building depicting the Prophet with the Qur’an in one hand and a sword in the other 2 - l/r) Houses of Parliament, London 3) The Grand Mosque of Rome, the most prestigious mosque in Italy 4) The Knights’ Hall [aka Ridderzaal] part of the Binnenhof Parliament buildings, The Hague. 5) Reichstag, Berlin 6) El Palacio del Congreso de los Diputados, las Cortes Generales, Madrid 7) Mosque of Granada 8) Milli Goruş storefront mosque, Marxloh, Duisburg, Germany, 2009 9) French National Assembly, Paris 10) Yeni Cami (New Mosque), Istanbul 11) Birmingham Central Mosque, UK CCIPShariah.pdfIPShariahSept . p18/9/09df 18/ 9 /10:16:1709 09:3 7 -:1 55 - - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)5 - (CMYBelyalaclgonKew))n)ta) CONTENTS Prefatory Note ii Five Principles For Study of Shariah in Western Europe iii Glossary of Main Organisations and Acronyms v 1. CIP and its Role Investigating Shariah in the West 1 2. Methodology 2 3. Shariah Defined 5 4. Case Study: Britain 23 Appendix: Islamist Ideology at the British Bedside 56 5. Case Study: Germany 61 6. Case Study: The Netherlands 82 7. Case Study: France 97 8. Case Study: Spain 114 9. ECFR and Other Transnational Islamic Organisations in Europe [FIOE, EMN, EMU] 126 10. The Question of “Islamic Banking” 132 11. Conclusion and Recommendations 135 12. Bibliography 140 13. Index 151 CCIPShariah.pdfIPShariahSept . p18/9/09df 18/ 9 /10:16:1709 09:3 7 -:1 65 - - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)6 - (CMYBelyalaclgonKew))n)ta) PREFATORY NOTE The introduction of Shariah law in Western legal systems provokes widespread concern. To be sure, some Shariah laws are purely personal to Muslims, and their observance cannot be thought objectionable. Dietary rules and dress codes are shielded by Western constitutional protections of religious and privacy rights. These should properly be a matter of indifference to non-Muslims. Other Shariah laws that promote positive morality – hospitality to strangers, performance of promises – should be welcomed. Westerners are troubled, however, by the idea of a separate legal code that strengthens or weakens the penalties for criminal behaviour imposed on all citizens. Polygamy, so- called “honour” murders, jihadist militancy, female genital mutilation, forced marriages and related practices can have no part in a Western legal system. The value of this compendium, produced by some of the leading Western Muslim experts, is in showing how moderate and liberal Muslims may give a commitment to honour Western legal rules without in any way derogating from the principles of their religion. This understanding of the civic duties of Muslims in non-Muslim countries has, moreover, the backing of the most authoritative Muslim juristic figures. But it is intolerable, according to the authors, that radical Shariah adherents promote their vision of an illiberal legal code that violates the most fundamental liberties of citizens. One of the great values of this handbook is that it offers the best analysis of the goals of radical Islam with respect to the imposition of Shariah in the West, and the penetration of these ideas. The debate described in these pages has been almost entirely veiled from non-Muslim eyes, and will be a revelation to all. F.H. Buckley Associate Dean and Foundation Professor George Mason University School of Law Executive Director George Mason Law and Economics Center Virginia, USA ii CENTRE FOR ISLAMIC PLURALISM (CIP) www.islamicpluralism.eu CCIPShariah.pdfIPShariahSept . p18/9/09df 18/ 9 /10:16:1809 09:3 7 -:1 75 - - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)7 - (CMYBelyalaclgonKew))n)ta) Five Principles For Study of Shariah in Western Europe LEGALITY: “If [a Muslim] has given [a non-Muslim government] a commitment – even if indirectly (as is implied in the immigration documents) – to abide by the laws of that country, it is necessary for him to fulfill his commitment.” – A Code of Practice for Muslims in the West, a standard Shia Shariah manual, based on the writings of the Iraqi Ayatollah Ali Sistani *** CONSENSUS: “The way of Islam states that the believer must submit to the general laws [in a country of residence]… French Muslims must take account of their presence in a non- Muslim context.” – Dr. Dalil Boubakeur, Rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, cited in Case Study: France *** CIVILITY: “In a democratic society, citizens retain the freedom – albeit within certain limits – to pursue their own lifestyle and to decide for themselves how they conduct their relationships with each other and with the government. But if their withdrawal from society starts to endanger basic rights and freedoms of others, then they have overstepped the mark and are damaging the democratic legal order. “In this light, certain forms of intolerant isolationism do represent a particular threat: exclusivism in respect of one’s own group and parallelism. Exclusivism is expressed through discrimination, incitement and sowing hatred. Parallelism does not recognise the authority of government, seeks to impose religious laws before secular ones and tries to create enclaves in which that system rather than government authority prevails.” – The Dutch Intelligence Service AIVD, as cited in Case Study: The Netherlands *** EDUCATION: “The Muslims of France, in their quasi-totality, have a limited comprehension of their religion, because of a lack of access to religious education… only an archaic version of Islamic law has become accessible to all… today human rights, religious freedom, and laïcité are the most consensual principles, and alone in being capable of managing the whole of human society, as pluralistic as it is.” – Soheib Bencheikh, Mufti of Marseilles, cited in Case Study: France *** PLURALISM: “To force the artificial creation of a religious actor that unifies Islam seems apriorieasier for the State, even more if the object is to recentralise the management of religious policy. But to reproduce the bilateral scheme that serves the Catholic Church does not take into account the plural and heterogeneous reality of Islam.” – Àlex Seglers Gómez-Quintero, cited in Case Study: Spain CENTRE FOR ISLAMIC PLURALISM (CIP) www.islamicpluralism.eu iii CCIPShariah.pdfIPShariahSept . p18/9/09df 18/ 9 /10:16:1809 09:3 7 -:1 86 - - (Cyan)(Magenta)(Yellow)(BlacK)8 - (CMYBelyalaclgonKew))n)ta) Glossary of Main Organisations, Trends and Acronyms ACVZ – Adviescommissie voor Vreemdelingenzaken CMO – Contactorgaan Moslims en Overheid (Contact Body (Advisory Commission on Aliens Affairs); Dutch for Muslims and Government); pro-Shariah Dutch Muslim government body organisation Ahmadiyyat or Ahmadis – Community of dissident CPS – Crown Prosecution Service; UK legal institution Muslims; one faction, known as Qadianis, believe in the appearance of the Muslim messiah or mahdi in 19th century Deobandism – Sunni-aligned movement founded in 19th India, as Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (1835-1908), while a second century British India. Originally peaceful and spiritual, faction, known as Lahoris, believes the founder was a although fundamentalist; its Pakistani branch became reformer, but not a mahdi jihadist and takfiri, produced Tabligh-i-Jamaat (TJ), q.v., as well as the Afghan Taliban AIVD –