Islamic Law In Saudi Arabia Sociology Essay

Moslem uprightness In Saudi-Arabian-Arabian-Arabian-Arabian-Arabian-Arabian Arabia Sociology EssayIslamic law, or shariah (termed Syariah in Malaysia), refers to the sacred holy laws of the Islamic religion. shariah law mingles with multiple fields communicate by secular law, which whitethorn include economics, crime, and politics, as well as personal matters such(prenominal) ashygiene and sexuality.Sharia mainly derives from ii sources, of which the 1st one would be the heavenly revelations in the Quran, and the 2nd being examples and sayings laid down by Prophet Muhammad within the Sunnah. In sum total to the above work forcetioned sources, second-string sources argon besides adopted. One example of these secondary sources is the ijma of various prominent ulamas in the Islamic world.In regards of the topic at hand, I sh entirely explain how Islamic law is practiced in Saudi Arabia.Before I go into explaning how Sharia is practiced in Saudi Arabia, I would like to po int out that this essay will sole(prenominal) touch on the developments and the ways in which Sharia is implemented in the Third State of Arabia, also known as the current Saudi Arabia.Sharia was officially enforced in Saudi Arabia by the introductory Law in 1992.The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia is a pack written in Arabic which bears marking resemblance to a constitution. It is split up into nine chapters, and consists of 83 names. It is ground on the Salafi school of chthonicstanding of Sharia and it does non bypass the fiqh.In Chapter 1 Article 1 of the express charter, it is expressly written that, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a soereign Arab Islamic state with Islam as its religion Allahs Book and the Sunnah of His Prophet, Allahs prayers and peace be upon him, atomic number 18 its constitution, Arabic is its langu get on and Riyadh is its capital.In Saudi Arabia, felonious cases be tried under Sharia courts. These courts exercise authority oer the entire population . In other words, people who ar not of Islamic faith atomic number 18 clam up subjected to the criminal laws of Saudi Arabia. Cases which involve dainty penalties are adjudicated in Sharia Summary Courts, whilst more serious crimes are tried in Sharia Courts of Common Pleas. In levelts where each party finds the decision made was unsatis accompanimentory, the give tongue to party can also assemblage through the Court of Appeal.For civil cases, it could also be tried in Sharia Courts, but with one exception Moslem of the Shia denomination may try such cases in their own courts. Other civil proceedings, such as those involving claims against the Saudi Arabia government, and claims on the enforcement of foreign judgements, are held before a special panel in certain specialized administrative tribunals, such as the Board of Grieviences, and Commission for The Settlement of Labor Disputes.In set adherance to the Saudis sources of law, the system prescribescorporal penalty or capital penalty, which in the Sharia sense may includeamputationsof limbs for certain crimes such ashomicide,rape, robbery, drugs trafficking, adultery, and transgender/bisexual activities. It is to line of work that petty theft is also punishable by the means of amputation of the hand, although, it is rare for first-time offenders. For less serious crimes, such as drunkenness, the courts may impose less severe punishments, such asfloggings.Under Saudi law, when someone commits murder, accidental destruction, and/or bodily harm, the said person is commit or subject to punishment from the victims family. Retribution may also be, and are usually, sought through the method ofblood specie. It is to note that the blood money being payable for causing a womans accidental death, or, that of a Christian phallic,is lonesome(prenominal) half as much as that for a Islamic male. All the others (men or women of different faiths and believes other than Islam) are valued at 1/16th.The main reasoning for this, according to the Sharia, men are judge by right to be providers for their families and thus are expected and pretended to earn more fiscally in their lifetimes. The blood money by a man would be expected to be enough to uph of age(predicate) his family, for at least a short period of time.Honor killings are also not punished as severely as murder. This largely stems from the fact that honor killings are within a family, and done to set for some dishonorable act committed.Saudi Arabia is also the one and only country in the world where women are prohibited to direct on humanity roads. Women can only drive in off-road conditions and in mystic housing compounds, some of which extend to mevery square miles. The ban may be lifted soon, although with certain conditions.The Saudi government regard its face of Islamic law as its sole source of guidance on benevolent rights, and Sharia has failed to evolve and develop to ensure the rights of women are protected. In addition to prohibition on driving on public roads, women are not allowed to travel around without the license, written or verbal, of their closest male kin. This resulted in women being re rigoroused from travel by their sons and/or junior brothers. Divorcees are required by law to return to the home of their father, and any form of travel must then be approved the father. In other words, under Saudis law, women of 30 or more years old cannot make independent decisions without the approval of male relatives..MORE TO COME.QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE PRACTICE OF homo RIGHTS IN SAUDI ARABIAHuman rightsinSaudi Arabiaare based onsharialawsunder the rule of theSaudi royal family.The Saudi Arabian government has also been known and criticized for its lack of regard for the apparitional political minorities,homosexuality, andwomen. The Human rights of Saudi Arabia are specified in article 26 of theBasic Law of Saudi Arabia, the constitution of Saudi Arabia, as mentioned earlier. Then, in October 1997, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ratified theInternational Convention against ache according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The first independent human rights organization in Saudi Arabia, theNational Society for Human Rights, was accomplished in 2004.In 2008, theShura Councilratified theArab Charter on Human Rights.It is to note that Saudi Arabia, is one of around thirty countries in the world with that still practicesjudicial corporal punishment. For Saudia Arabias judicial corporal punishments may includeamputationsof either limbsfor robbery, andfloggingfor smaller crimes such as drunkenness. The exact number of lashes is mistily prescribed by the law it is varied in accordance to the adjudicate discretion, and may range from dozens of lashes to several hundred, which is usually applied over a period of weeks or months.In 2004, theUnited NationsCommittee against single-footcriticized and deplored the Saudi Arabian law over theamputationsa ndfloggingsit carries out underSharia. The Saudi delegates, responded, unfazed, in the defence of legaltraditions that has been held since the birth of Islam 1,400 years ago, and rejected hang-up of any kind in its legal framework.For serious law-offenders, Saudi Arabia also engage themselves incapital punishment, which in Sharia include the likes of public executions bybeheading.Beheading is the punishment for rapists, armed robberers, drug traffickers and of course, murderers, according to strict interpretation ofIslamic law. In 2005 there were 191 executions, in 2006 there were 38, in 2007 there were 153, and in 2008 there were 102.To illustrate how serious is human rights misdemeanor in Saudi Arabia, I would like to draw a childlike reference to a spokesman for Saudi Arabias National Society for Human Rights. He reasoned that numbers of executions are rising because crime rates are rising, that prisoners are treated humanely, and that thebeheadingsdeter crime, saying, Allah, our creator, knows best whats good for his peopleShould we just gestate of and preserve the rights of the murderer and not think of the rights of others?WOMEN RIGHTS/GENDER ISSUESReligion affects all aspects of life in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi women facediscriminationin many aspects of their lives.The Sunni Muslims in Saudi Arabia, which is about 90% of the population, are governed by strict conservative interpretations of Islam. Saudi Arabia is a patriarchal society in which women are treated and seen as 2nd class citizens only. And because of that, they continue to go victims of discrimination, everyday. They have lesser say than men in family matters their freedom of bowel movement is very limited and their economic opportunities and rights are restricted. In addition, womens actions and choices depends on the permission or wishes of their mahram. Saudi Arabia also applies rules of strict gender segregation and unrelated men and women are separated in all public places. Women a lso, do not enjoy the freedom of dress, but are required to poke out themselves comp allowely from head-to-toe. The usual dress-code includes a jet black cloak-like garment (abaya) and a matching face veil (niqba). Women who deliberately choose to not adopt or as they say, protect, themselves fully, which rates is increasing in certain separate of the country, run the risk of being provoked and harassed.Although they make up 70% of those enrolled in universities, for kind reasons, women make up just 5% of the work force in Saudi Arabia, the lowest proportion in the world. These treatments of women has been referred by social scientists as Sex segregationand gender apartheid. Even implementation of a government resolution supporting the expansion of employment opportunities for women, met strong resistivity from within the labour ministry, from the religious police, and from the male citizenry.In most part of Saudi Arabia, it is thought that a womans place in this world is in th e home, tending for her spouse and family. Rooting from tradition, there is also segregation intimate their own houses as some elbow rooms have separate entrances for men and women.Before 2008, women were not allowed to enter hotels and furnished apartments without a chaperon ormahram. With a 2008 Royal Decree, the one and only requirement needed directly to enable women to enter hotels are their national ID cards, but the hotel must let the nearest police station know of their length of stay and room reservation.The driving ban for women was unofficial until 1990 when it was introduced as official legislation aft(prenominal) 47 Saudi women drove cars through the streets of the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Even though illegal, women in rural areas and other areas outside cities do drive cars. It may sound made-up, but according to credible studies, many Saudis believe that allowing women to drive could lead to Western-style openness and an erosion of traditional values.Womens rights c alls for reform in Saudi Arabia calls that are testing the Kingdoms political status quo. International, as well as local womens groups are also forcing the government to react, taking advantage of the fact that some rulers are eager to project a more industrial image to the West.WOMEN/FAMILY LAWWhile the Saudi Arabian law is unruffled on the legal age of marriage, the practice of forced marriages was prohibited by the countrys religious authority in 2005. Nevertheless, to be fair to the case, the level to which said bride is involved in decision-making in regards of her own marriage varies between families. consort to Saudis family law, the marriage contract is between the mahram of the bride and the husband-to-be. An estimated 16 percent of girls between 15 and 19 years of age are currently married, divorced or widowed in Saudi Arabia.Polygamy is allowed under Sharia and a Muslim male could take as many as 4 wives, given over that he can give equal support and treatment. The practice is reportedly on the decline, but both for demographic and economic reasons.Women are discriminated against with regards to agnatic authority as, legally, children belong to their father. If divorced or widowed, a woman is unremarkably granted custody of daughters until they reach the age of nine and sons until they reach the age of seven. Older children are a good deal awarded to the divorced husband or the enate grandparents. Women cannot confer citizenship to their children (if born to a non-Saudi Arabian father).Female genital mutilation is not a general practice, but reports suggest that there is some situation of the practice among Shia Muslims in the Eastern Province, and possibly among some Bedouin groups.Violence against women is vernacular and there are no specific laws addressing the issue, nor any adequate trade protection for the victims. Incidents of domestic violence are rarely reported or even talked about publicly. For instance, the so-called honour crimes, whereby a woman is put to death or punished by male family members for having put disgrace to the family honour, are also prevalent. The suspicion alone of a womans wrong-doing is often enough for her to be subject to violence in the name of honour. Women, as well as men, may be subject to harassment by the countrys religious police, the mutawwain straining (although outlawed) and physical punishments, often without having their case presented in court.Islamic law provides for lucubrate and complex calculations of inheritance shares. A woman may inherit from her father, her mother, her husband, her children, and under certain conditions, from other members of her family, but her share is generally smaller than a mans entitlement. A daughter, for example, inherits half as much as a son. This is usually justified by the fact that a woman has no monetary responsibility towards her husband and children. Women, particularly in rural areas, are often deprived even of their ent itled share as they are considered to be supported by their fathers or husbands.