Western and Islamic Laws

Western and Islamic Law

Written by: Chelsea Cruz

Teacher: Mr. Timothy Sparks

Date: 04/22/2010

If you ever read the story of The Kite Runner, did you ever question what might be

the punishment for Sohrab shooting Assef in the eye with the slingshot? Should Assef

get punished for raping Hassan and then raping Hassan's son, Sohrab? Would Amir get

punished for pretending not to see Assef raping Hassan? Well, let's take a look at both

the Western law and Islamic Laws and together we can decide what, if any, might be

their punishments.

Self-defense in the Western Law is defined as "protecting oneself from injury at the

hand of others. Self defense is not about taking vengeance or not about punishing

criminals, instead it involves preserving one's own health and life when it is threatened

by the actions of others. When speaking about using potentially lethal force in self

defense, they are talking using weapons to protect ourselves and others, even if the

weapons used could kill the attacker. (Alexander, Larry)

With or without a constitutional right to self-defense, all states grant a defender the

right to defend himself in certain circumstances. At the level of legal

implementation of moral rules, there may be reasons why the state may need to

depart from the underlying morality. Or, more accurately, the state may need to

take into account moral considerations outside of the morality of self-defense itself

in determining how to codify self-defense.

According to defense attorney Kevin Snider, it is not a crime to watch a crime, so

to speak. If you are out somewhere and happen to witness a crime, you have no

duty to report it, no duty to help and you are not committing a crime if you're

solely there watching it. (Biblical Self-defense)

Now, lets take a look at the Islamic laws. If someone gauges [sic, gouges] out the

eye of another, he can be condemned in accordance with the law of retaliation, even if

he himself has only one eye and will be blind as a consequence. No reason exists for

him not to pay compensation.

Removing eyes and teeth come directly from the Quran, the eternal word of Allah,

which must be imposed on humankind for its own good. Therefore, how can traditional

and Quran-believing Muslims reform unless they leave behind their sacred book?

Here is how the eye-for-eye nightmare appears in the Islam that Muhammad taught--

pure, true, and original Islam. First, a verse in the Quran, analyzed in its literary and

historical context, orders explicitly this punishment. Second, the hadith (reports of

Muhammad's words and deeds outside of the Quran) records reliable traditions that say

to knock out teeth and poke out eyes. (Muslim Village)

"Spreading mischief in the land" can mean many different things, but is generally

interpreted to mean those crimes that affect the community as a whole, and destabilize