ENGLISH COMMON LAW....DERIVED FROM SHARIA

                                            

Monday 2 April, 2012

English Common Law, French, US and International Law:

Inspiration from Sharia Law

Hameed Abdul Karim

When you think of the word ‘law’ the images that come to your mind are of a stern looking judge seated on an elevated position in the centre of a court house flanked by a grim looking, if not frightened, members of a jury. Lawyers dressed in their flowing robes quarrelling among each other to impress their respective clients, wicked criminals and many more such images. But think of the word ‘Sharia’ and what are the pictures that pop up in your mind? Chopping of hands and stoning to death for adultery.

Don’t blame yourself. This is the manner in which our minds have been conditioned over a long period of time. ‘Law’ is civilized, ‘Sharia’ is barbaric. This line of misinformation is more accentuated nowadays especially with the advent of the ‘Arab Spring’ with Muslim groups wanting to bring in Sharia in Muslim majority countries. But hang on a minute.

Prophet Muhammad: The Man and His Mission

On the occasion of meelad-un-nabi Thursday 11, April 2006 Features

Prophet Muhammad: The man and his mission by Hameed Abdul Karim

Most people think that the attack on the Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) by secular fundamentalists, especially in the West, is something new. But the fact of the matter is that such attacks on the person of this Blessed Man go back to the earliest days of his Prophet hood. The recent cartoon controversy is only one in a long series of vilification campaigns that have gone on for centuries. No religious leader in history has ever faced such a dreadful campaign of character assassination ever.

SLANDER AGAINST THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD

Sunday, 12 February 2006

Slander against the Prophet Muhammad A Sri Lankan take by Hameed Abdul Karim A Paiestinian man burns a Danish flag as the Nativity church appears in the background in the West Bank city of Bethlaham 06 February 2006, during a demonstration against the publication of cartoons portraying the Prophet Mohammad in a Danish daily and some other countries in Europe. AFP Not only Muslims, but also all decent people all over the world must be upset over the recent caricature of the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing of God Almighty be on him) in a Danish newspaper. As a Muslim I am terribly hurt over this latest slander in a long, unrelenting and merciless campaign against his holy personage. As a Muslim I am required to love this man - this mighty messenger of God Almighty - more than anybody or anything else in the world. One can imagine the pain this Danish newspaper would have caused to Muslims. As a Muslim I must also confess that it is not only the Prophet Muhammad but also the Prophet Jesus Christ (may peace be on them) who has been derided by the Western media. The only Prophet of God who escaped such vilification is the Prophet Moses (peace be on him) - fortunately.

RESPONDING TO 'EFFORTS TO IMPOSE SHARIAH LAW IN BANGLADESH

Monday 20 February 2012

Responding to ‘Efforts to Impose Shariah Law in Bangladesh’

Hameed Abdul Karim

As a Muslim I am required to know aspects of the Sharia so as to live life in accordance with my faith. But the Sharia that Manzoor Ahmed is talking about in ‘Ceylon Today’ (Saturday 18 February 2012) under the title ‘Efforts to Impose Sharia Law in Bangladesh’ is the one that is promulgated by Western interests as a scaremongering tactic to frighten non-Muslims and even ‘moderate’ Muslims away from the teachings of Islam.

From its very inception Islam remedied many of the injustices the world was riddled with as even a non-friendly writer like Karen Armstrong, among many other past and present orientalists have been compelled to admit as a historical fact. Is the world a better place today? One of Islam’s basic tenets is to fight against economic injustice and it is reported in Sahih Bukhari (a collection of the prophetic sayings) that the blessed messenger of God the prophet Muhammed (peace and blessings of God be on him and all the prophets who preceded him) had said that he would love to see the day when a rich man traversed the world to give zakat (charity) to the poor and found no takers. Giving of charity is enshrined in the Sharia. Would anybody like to object to that aspect of the Sharia?

THE RESPONSE DAILY MIRROR DIDN'T PUBLISH

UNPUBLISHED

Dear all,

I responded to an article in the Daily Mirror of the 15th of December, 2011. I felt the article needlessly brought in Islam into the argument of seeking changes into Sri Lanka law which prohibits the sale of liquor to women. The article was titled ‘Welcome to the Islamic Republic of Sri Lanka’ written by a certain Ameena Hussain.

Unfortunately the Daily Mirror has to still carry the response ten days after I sent it by email.

Hameed

Responding to ‘Welcome to the Islamic Republic of Sri Lanka’

Hameed Abdul Karim

So now we know. Women’s equality comes when they are allowed to buy a bottle of liquor at any public store according to Ms. Ameena Hussein (DM 15 Dec. 2011) and if that does not happen, along with other things less important we might ‘degenerate’ into an Islamic state. What inspiring logic!

Actually I am not surprised with what the writer has to say. What surprises me is the fact that the Daily Mirror thought it fit to carry this article with the provocative title ‘Welcome to the Islamic Republic of Sri Lanka’ along with a picture of Muslim women seated on the floor of some community centre somewhere in Sri Lanka probably waiting to be liberated with a shot of scotch on the rocks by already ‘liberated’ women.  

Some of us may not like it. But there is a thing called rules of culture that people abide by in any society. Not selling liquor to women is one such culture rule here in Sri Lanka. In some counties in the state of Austin in the U.S. sale and consumption of liquor are strictly prohibited based on the teachings of the Church. These are jokingly called ‘dry zones’. Nobody calls them ‘Islamic Republics’.

Having a Muslim name does not give one a license to revile Islam or Muslims. Islam has strictly forbidden the consumption of liquor and to Muslims that is final. No apologies there. A Muslim is required by his or her faith to stop or at least speak out against social evils like the consumption of liquor. Obviously Ms. Hussain does not take this aspect of her faith too seriously, that is assuming she is Muslim.

The little Buddhism I know tells me the consumption of liquor is prohibited and if the ‘Mathata Thitha’ programme of the President were to take hold among Buddhists, would Ms. Hussain then classify our country as the ‘Buddhist Republic of Sri Lanka’? Or would she have reservations on that score? I would be the first to welcome any foreigner to the Buddhist Republic of Sri Lanka with open arms if liquor (and gambling) is strictly prohibited in Sri Lanka. It will make Buddhist women happy with the knowledge that the money their husbands save will go to feed and educate their children, resulting in the general well being of society at large. Not to mention the elimination of crimes like child abuse and deaths on the road caused by drunk drivers. Am I being a Muslim fundamentalist? Well, never mind.

The writer must seek the views of the Mahanayaka prelates on this subject of allowing women to by liquor. Let’s see what they have to say, shall we?

Hameed Abdul Karim 

A RESPONSE TO ARCHBISHOP OSWALD GOMIS

Sunday 30 July 2011

A Response to Archbishop Oswald Gomis

Hameed Abdul Karim

It was rather distressing to read Archbishop Emeritus Oswald Gomis’s remarks about ‘militant Islam causing worldwide chaos and at times making slaves of their female followers to their men folk’. (Lakbimanews Sunday July 17, 2011)

The learned Archbishop must ask the question why Islam has become militant before passing judgment on the faith and its followers. For one thing he must realise the cause of militancy in Islam especially in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Kashmir, Xinjiang Province, Chechnya and Mindanao is especially because these places are occupied by foreign forces. I am sure, the good man that he is, he will acknowledge that when Sri Lanka was under colonial occupation, Sri Lankans too were militant as were the Indians like Jawaharlal Nehru and Mohandas Gandhi apart from many others. Gandhi’s militancy was of a different kind though, but it still led to bloodshed. And the British did not fail to call them names like ‘militants’ or ‘terrorists’. The arrogant imperialist and supreme racist, Winston Churchill used to call Gandhi a ‘half naked fakir’. No Hindu or Muslim attributed Churchill’s arrogance and bigotry to his Anglican faith, though he had said many despicable things about Islam.  

OSLO TERROR, MEDIA HYPE AND WESTERN HYPOCRISY

 Saturday 30 July, 2011

Oslo Terror, Media Hype and Western Hypocrisy

Hameed Abdul Karim

Muslims the world over became apprehensive when the bombing in Oslo took to the TV screens in all its horror. And they had every reason to be so because all the international media, including Al-Jazeera, thought it proper to point the finger at what they said could be ‘Muslim extremists groups’ who were responsible for the atrocity with Al-Qaeda being the chief suspect. To add to the variety Russia Today (RT) broke the news that a hitherto unknown ‘Islamic terror group’ calling itself the ‘Al-Ansar Something’ had called in to say they were the ones responsible for the attack. Within a flash all TV networks latched on to the lead with all the familiar sound-bites associated with Islam and Muslims  and in no time a new ‘Islamic terrorist group’ had taken centre stage on the world scene. Muslims squirmed in shame and embarrassment as they reconciled themselves to yet another act of terror the extremists had carried out in their name and the name of their faith.

SCARE SINHALESE - PROVOKE MUSLIMS

Sunday 24 July, 2011

Scare Sinhalese – Provoke Muslims

Hameed Abdul Karim

When a few friends invited me to join them to watch some films produced by some extremists purported to be Sinhala Buddhists. I thought the guys were getting ‘het up’ over nothing. But what I saw shocked and shook me like I never imagined.

In one of the films the narrator, while preaching what he said was the sublime teaching of Gautama Buddha, extolled Sinhala Buddhists not to buy goods from a popular retail chain owned by Muslims and instead buy from a famous outlet owned by a Sinhala Buddhist, which in fact is patronised by Muslims in very large numbers. Going further he urged Sinhala Buddhists not to believe Muslims when they say the human race is one because this line, the producers believe, is somehow intended to dupe the poor little gullible Sinhala Buddhist.

Frankly, all of this was nothing new.

HOLLYWOOD - SOURCE FOR WESTERN IMPERIALISM

 

Friday 25 December 2009

MTV an unwitting tool for Western propaganda?

Hollywood - source for Western imperialism

Hameed Abdul Karim

"Those who tell the stories also rule society"

- Plato in his 'Republic' 

This may surprise many, but Hollywood is the leading propagandistic source for Western imperialism. In other words, Hollywood is the sleek and sophisticated PR Company working hand in glove with the West's ruling elite along with other section of the print and electronic media. 

Jack Shaheen gives evidence of this in his book The Reel Arabs - How Hollywood Vilifies a People when he quotes an incident where then Defense Secretary William Cohen hosted a dinner for Hollywood luminaries at a cost of US $ 295,000 because, according to the US Government, Hollywood helped immensely in creating a favourable atmosphere for recruiting.