Last week I blogged that a Saudi Arabian court was considering snapping a defendant’s spinal cord, which is justified under Sharia law. The posting initiated several private discussions with friends and colleagues regarding the acceptance of Sharia law under international law.
I follow a variety of developments in international law ranging from political issues to business law to human rights, but at some point these spheres intersect. I am often conflicted about the intersection, and to what degree human rights concerns should effect international business/political relations. This concern is certainly not unique, and papers/articles on these issues have been written/dissected ad nauseam.
One of my biggest intrigues is whether countries practicing strict Islamic law will evolve into more open, less rigid, and less violent systems of justice. And in the meantime, how should other nations, businesses, general society, and international organizations confront Sharia law?
I am going to do something unusual by linking the Washington Post’s blog on faith. Ali Gomaa, Grand Mufti of Egypt, discusses whether “Sharia law [is] reconcilable with modernity.”
I am linking neither to join the political discussion on constructing a Mosque near the site of the World Trade Center nor to create a discussion on the validity of Islamic beliefs. Instead, I wish to highlight Mr. Gomma’s argument concerning Sharia law as I try to process it against the reality of how Sharia law is practiced in Islamic nations.
What are your thoughts?