How Islamic law and American law deals with various aspects of the Dissertation

How Islamic law and American law deals with various aspects of the human life - Dissertation Example Center of discussion in this paper are American law and Islamic law that are geared towards achieving justice. There emerges a problem though as some people tend to differ with the way both laws are handled This is because; non-Muslims do not understand Islamic law while Muslims on the other hand would like to have their own courts that would be handling their cases, especially in countries where Muslims are the minority. Some non- Muslims associate Sharia law with â€Å"ruthlessness.† This is especially when it comes to punishing offenders by either public whipping or stoning. Many people especially non-Muslims tend to have a problem with some of these forms of punishments. To a Moslem, that is just a form of obeying Sharia, which is considered as God’s Law. There is no problem in implementing God’s law when it comes to Sharia law. On the other hand, American law appears to take a different route. The law dictates that there should be democracy in everything inc luding when passing judgments. There are, therefore, differences between Islamic Law and the American law. In America, stoning and whipping suspects in public is considered illegal. This act is considered as being contrary to human rights. This notion about Islamic law being tough and firm against culprits has brought fear among many states in the United States of America, where the number of Muslims has been rising especially after the September 11 attack. Islamic laws have been used in many states but that fear has prompted many states reconsider outlawing the laws as they consider them going against basic human rights. Since America believes in the values of democracy, many are of the opinion that Sharia Law is sometimes extreme and go against human rights expectations. This paper will outline the view of Islamic laws and American law and delineate frictions in the two laws especially in America. These challenges have emerged as there have been cases in court where there appeared to be conflicts between American Law and Islamic Law. An example is a case that occurred in the state of Florida. Freeman was a woman who had converted to Islam. Islamic women are not allowed to uncover their faces in public. Their faces should be covered. As Freeman had converted to Islam, she was bound by the Islamic laws as well. Freeman was to have her photo taken, but she declined to remove her face covering. Within the Islamic law, Freeman was without crime. On the contrary, the state of Florida revoked Freeman’s driving license. This act prompted heated views from Muslims and non- Muslims alike. The state of Florida was acting within their law which emanate from American laws where they felt that it was better revoke Freeman’s driving license. From this act by the state of Florida, one can assume that all women irrespective of religion are supposed to have their photos taken with their faces uncovered. On the contrary, this is not the case in all states in Amer ica. In some states in America, one does not need to have to a photo taken to procure a driving license. What is required in those states is only a birth certificate or a social security card. These conflicts arise from having an interest a state is so much interested in protecting and a phase of Islam that a Moslem would be willing to articulate (Amanat 112). In many of the cases, what seems acceptable in Islamic law appears to contradict with American law. Under Islamic law, teachers and pupils should be dressed according to their respective law. On the other hand, American law does not dictate a specific dress code for either students or teachers depending on religion. This seems to forge conflicts between the two laws. In the state of Pennsylvania, there is a law stipulated prohibiting the wearing of any dress or exposing any mark that would portray the wearer as being a member of a certain religion. In such a state, it becomes difficult for a Moslem