Let’s talk for a moment about a term beloved of right-wing political pundits – and Islamophobes more generally: Sharia. We’ll examine what “Sharia” actually is, what equivalents it has in the other monotheisms and how it may be problematic in each of those when and where they do or potentially intersect with secular culture and law.
“Sharia” (also spelled Shariah) is the fundamental religious law and moral guidance system of Islam, meaning “the way” or “path to water” in Arabic. It serves as a comprehensive code of conduct guiding Muslims in their personal beliefs, daily worship, ethics, and interactions with society.” Britannica
In Judaism the equivalent is “Halakha”. In Xianity, the slightly more loose equivalents are “Cannon Law” or “Gospel Law”.
Does Islamic Sharia exist in the West, particularly the UK? Yes, it absolutely does. Is that cause for concern? Mostly not. Sharia, as applied to Muslims in “western” (yeah I know that term is problematic but I’m going to use it for the sake of simplicity) countries exclusively applies to internal moral/faith issues regarding marriage, divorce, personal morality, devotion etc. Sound familiar? If not, ask a Catholic.
Xian Sharia
I’m Catholic. Ok, I’m a Strong Atheist but I’ve never been excommunicated so I’m still a Catholic – Catholics know how that works. When Catholics go to Confession, confess their “sins” and receive absolution at a relatively minimal cost, that is literally Xian Sharia in action. When the Catholic Church (and other demonisations) dictates rules and dynamics around marriage and divorce, how is that not Xian Sharia? That question is entirely rhetorical. There are endless examples of this across various Xian demonisations.
The Intersection of Religious and Secular Law in Western Democracies
It’s to be expected that in theocratic Muslim nations Sharia and secular law are mostly indistinguishable, and any disparity likely revolves around the acceptance by such theocratic nations of ostensibly secular International Law. More broadly, the issue of religious law imposing itself, or quietly embedding itself, into secular law and culture is where things get murky and highly problematic. As a devout anti-theist, for me it’s really quite terrifying. But when conservatives whinge and moan about the imposition of “Sharia” on their precious culture, are they being disingenuous and evasive? Are they trying to distract from the real problem? Yes, yes, and yes. The real problem is the patent imposition of Xian Sharia into otherwise secular law and culture.
Let’s look at the United States, which is the poster child for this dynamic:
While conservative political pundits and sundry pathetic partisans pontificate on the dangers of Sharia Law, they not-so-accidentally fail to acknowledge the myriad ways in which Xian Sharia has been introduced to American polity, both at a State and Federal level. With the recent growth of right-wing Xian sentiment and sensibilities in the US, the dynamic of legislators trying to force their religious beliefs onto the general public has significantly accelerated (mitigated at the Federal level only by the 1st Amendment). A few examples:
Abortion Restrictions and Fetal Personhood: if you think the overturning of Roe v Wade was done on purely legal grounds I’ve a lot of real estate to sell you. And we all know what various Red States have done regarding abortion laws and the operation of Planned Parenthood in the US. All on strictly theocratic/theological grounds.
Conscientious Objections in Public Services: service (including health) providers being able to withhold such service on religious grounds.
Blasphemy and Religious Censorship Laws
Mandated Displays of the Ten Commandments in Public Schools
Direct Entry and Chaplaincy Programs in State Schools
In Australia, the Catholic Church’s refusal to comply with State laws that demand Priests report confessions of child sexual abuse to authorities is unashamedly an expression of Xian Sharia. I mean, theologically I get the Church’s position in that it would undermine a pivotal aspect of Catholic theology: clericalism. But that refusal still represents a point of intersection between religion and secular law.
The potential list of examples of how Xian doctrine intersects with secular law and undermines the principle of the separation of Church and State is longer than John Holmes’ …. well, it’s long. But the salient point here is that all of these things, all of these examples of religious beliefs being imposed on secular law and culture is, not just predominantly, but almost exclusively coming from the Xian Cosmos. But when’s the last time you heard anyone outside the Atheist/Humanist community even note this fact? The “Islamic Sharia” paradigm is frankly frenzied.
For the record, if Muslim legislators did in fact begin to push for an introduction of their faith’s religious sensibilities into secular law and culture I’d immediately and fiercely oppose it. Trouble is, it’s just not happening. It’s the Garden-Variety Xian God-Botherers we have to beware. And sadly they are legion.
The rise of Zionist sentiment and influence
Let me be candid about this from the start: I consider Zionist ideology to be one of the great modern evils. As an anti-theist I have readily articulable arguments against religious belief, and therefore Judaism, but Zionism is a different beast altogether. Its connection to Judaism is tenuous and where such exists, it’s transparently self-serving. You only have to look at the ideas and utterances of its progenitors to see this. But the global reach of the Zionist lobby is large and growing. Is that growing influence on secular governments an expression of Halakha (Judaic Sharia)? Kind of. Is it consistent with traditional Judaic principles? That’s ultimately a matter for religious Jews, but the sense of humility and responsibility that automatically accompanies Am Segula is absent in Zionism, at least to my eyes. For proponents of such an ideology it represents superiority, exclusivity, authority. It’s no wonder it’s taken hold of America, the land of the freely feckless.
Is Israel a secular democracy? It’s at best a complex hybrid of secular principles and religious practice. In truth, it’s a theocratic society that pretends to be otherwise and makes weak gestures evoking secularism. The degree to which it influences the cultural and political reality of the world represents an encroachment of a form of Jewish “Sharia”.
The point of this article is not to dismiss valid concerns about the encroachment of religious sensibility into our collective polity, but rather to suggest we are, and have long been, looking in the wrong direction. For me, this whole Sharia shenanigan has been about distraction and cheap culture warfare. I don’t mind an occasional culture skirmish here and there, so long as it’s about something important or real, and this isn’t, at least in the way it’s being manifested. Let’s talk about the really scary people and the overt ways in which they’re being scary ….
