PAKISTAN AND SHARIA LAW 1

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Name of Student

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PAKISTAN AND SHARIA LAW 2

Pakistan and Sharia Law

It has been a common belief to a lot of people that the church and the state should be

separated. I think that is the case of Sharia Law in the U.S. The U.S. has its own state and federal

laws, so there is no reason to abide in a foreign law like Sharia Law.

Sharia, in Arab, literally means a way to follow, which had a lot of different

interpretations worldwide, even among the Muslims themselves. From the term itself, I believe

that a religious-based legal system is beneficial to civilians because it recognizes the existence of

a God. This same God is the Supreme Ruler of all, to which even the government should abide

with (Sacirbey, 2013).

Aside from recognizing the presence of a God, another reason why a religious legal

system such as Sharia is beneficial to civilians is that it does not tolerate further crimes. It is true

that Sharia involves harsh punishments like death penalty. However, there is a due process for it,

evidenced by four witnesses to the crime. Furthermore, if the criminal has repented for the

crime/s he/she committed, then there would be no need for a harsh punishment (Sacirbey, 2013).

The last reason why I think religious-based legal systems are beneficial to civilians is that

it relates to the people’s character and actions necessary to achieve peace and harmony. Sharia

emphasizes the need to act with humility and kindness towards other people. Additionally, it

teaches people the need for prayer and fasting in order to have a strong connection with the Lord.

With these two teachings, peace will undoubtedly be achieved individually (Sacirbey, 2013).

The separation of the church and state signifies their own respective functions in the

community. However, these functions should be deeply rooted in their love and care towards

their people.
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Reference

Sacirbey, O. (2013). Sharia Law in the USA 101: A Guide to What it is and why States Want to

ban it. Religion News Science. Retrieved from

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sharia-law-usa-states-ban_n_3660813.