Phase 3: Issues of Muslim Life (According to Al-Quran)

DEMOCRACY 

Does Islam teach the "Separation of Church and State?"



• Islam teaches that the Quran is the Constitution, God is the author of law, and the State is the agent to implement the law.
  
  "And fight them on, until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in Allah (and the religion is Allah's)." Surah 2:193
  
  "We have sent down to thee the Book (the Quran) in truth, that thou mightest judge between men, as guided by Allah: so be not as an advocate by those who betray their trust." Surah 4:105
  
  "So judge between them by what Allah hath revealed and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the truth that has come to thee. To each among you have we prescribed a law and open way." Surah 5:48
  
  "The command (the rule) is for none but Allah; He hath commanded that ye worship none but Him: That is the right religion, but most men understand not."  Surah 12:40
  
  
How Does the Quran consider those who do not abide by its laws?

• The Quran considers them wrong-doers, rebels, and unbelievers.
  
  "And if any fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are wrong-doers." Surah 5:45
  
  "If any do fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are those who rebel." Surah 5:47
  
  "If any do fail to judge by what Allah has revealed,they are unbelievers." Surah 5:44
  
  
What are some of Islamic rules and punishments that must be implemented in an Islamic
State?

• Islam imposes a harsh code of punishment on those who violate its laws. Here are some examples:
  
  
  
  
  • Resisting Islam: punished by death, crucifixion or the cutting off of the hands and feet.
    
    "The punishment of those who wage war against Allah and His Apostle, and strive with might and main for mischief through the land is: execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of the hands and feet from opposite sides or exile from the land..." Surah 5:33
     
  • Adultery and Fornication: punished by public flogging for the unmarried person. For the married, the punishment is stoning.
    
    "The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, flog each of them with a hundred stripes; let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day; and let a party of the believers witness their punishment." Surah 24:2
     
  • Stealing: punished by amputation of the hands.
    
    "As to the thief, male or female, cut off his or her hands: A punishment, by way of example, from Allah for their crime: and Allah is exalted in power." Surah 5:38
     
  • Drinking: punished by 40 to 80 lashes according to the Hadith (Mohammed's sayings). - See Sahih al-Bukhari vol. 8:770
     
• Islam forbids wine.
  
  "O ye who believe! Intoxicants and gambling, stones and arrows, are an abomination, of Satan's handiwork: Eschew such that you may prosper." Surah 5:90
  
  
• Ironically, the faithful are promised "rivers of wine" in Paradise.
  
  "The garden which the righteous are promised...in it are rivers of wine, a joy to those who drink..." Surah 47:15
  
  "...truly the righteous will be in bliss,,, their thirst will be slaked with pure wine sealed."  Surah 83:22, 25
  
  
Would these laws be imposed on non-Muslim minorities in an Islamic State?

• Non-Muslims must follow the same rules, and are subject to the same punishment.
  
  "If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him; and in
  the hereafter he will be in the ranks of those who have lost. "  Surah 3:85
  
  
Would an opposition party be allowed in an Islamic State?


• No, because the ruler rules by a mandate from God, and God must not be opposed.
  
  "Whatever it be wherein ye differ, the decision (the rule) thereof is with Allah: such is
  Allah my Lord: In Him I trust, and to Him I turn." Surah 42:10
  
  "O ye who believe obey Allah  and the Apostle and those charged with authority among you. If you differ in anything among yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Apostle. "
  Surah 4:59
  
Has the experiment of an Islamic State been applied in modern history? If so, how successful has it been?

• There are many countries today that rule, to different degrees, by Islamic laws. Some of the countries that rigidly apply Islam are: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The condition of these countries speaks for itself; human rights violations, violence and terrorism, oppression and persecution. Most Islamic countries are economically bankrupt.

[source: www.islamreview.com ~ Abdullah Al-Araby (In this article we will examine only a few of these Islamic regulations, based on the most reliable source of all Islamic teachings, the Quran. The reader must determine whether it is acceptable to live under such teachings)]