dezhen
Well, I didn't want to get in to the Fiqh and Sharia distinctions. I was trying to speak in generalities. Otherwise, it gets quite messy.
But Fiqh undeniably has its roots in Sharia. That's where you go to get it, using individual reason to extrapolate from Islamic principles.
However, the western system is not built on those principles, hence the resistance. When I speak of humanist law, I am talking about law that does not derive from religion.
I can get to democracy, for instance, without Christianity or any other religion. Pushing such a system on the Islamic world, which makes no categorical distinction between "humanist law" and "God's law" is a rough road. Democracy must be justified within the Islamic context.
So I'm not disagreeing that there is a set of law (Fiqh) that is undeniably derived, using human reason. But I think you'll have to agree that Fiqh and jurisprudence that comes out of the individual reasoning process is Islamic in the sense that it is undeniably derived from Islamic principles.
Fiqh must be justified within the context of Islam. Western law has the concept of secular humanistic law, which does not need such justification.
And no, I'm not an expert either, but mildly versed, as you. If I've got that wrong, let me know.
Last edited by Merryprankster; 03-05-2005 at 09:49 AM.
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