The trouble with religion is that it acts like a magnifying glass. When people are in harmony with God and with one another ,religion becomes a beautiful gift. God is glorified and and all is magnificient. This is rare though. So rare that it is hard to think of a time in history when a people who applied the laws of God to themselves as a nation were upheld as a model to aspire to. Even the Old Testament epic of a people who followed God through the desert and established themselves in the Promised land failed to impress. There was corruption, there was consistent and deliberate rebellion - in short religious laws did nothing to make people into a better nation.
The pattern conintues throughout the Middle Ages. under the power of the Christian church we had the Inquisition, the fanatical Crusades and thousands of people were tortured to death in the name of Christ - all sanctioned by the laws of state which applied the rule of God. never again should we let the church be the ruling power of any nation.
Then there is the Islamic sharia' law. Admittedly there has been periods of history where Islamic law held vast empires together and culture and education flourished. What happened? There is a recent call for Sharia law to be applied in Kuwait. I asked a Kuwaiti friend recently what he thought. He admitted that there is no contemporary society in the world today who offer a positive model of Islamic law. Instead we think of Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan under the Taleban and Pakistan. None of them inspire us as fair and free societies. What on earth makes Kuwait thinks she can do any better? History would suggest otherwise.
As a Christian I think we are called to be good citizens by being salt and light. This means being engaged in our society and seeking to serve all humanity. Our religious beliefs and convictions should impact the public domain in a positive way. The minute though we have a group of people who starts to impose God's will in the form of codified laws we are in trouble. Of course the law should reflect the compassion and justice of God - but this is best achieved through God working through the lives of individuals and transforming them into his likeness through loving relationship. This is when religion comes at its best. Unsolicited grace and mercy manifested though a desire to do the right thing rather than because we are legally obliged to do so. May God write his laws on our hearts.
What do you think? Will Sharia Law make Kuwait a better place?
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2 comments:
No ... it will make Kuwait more fake then it already is.
I met so many people here that would be the first to say 'YES!!! Shari'a Law is great! We want it!!' but they are the same ones having wild parties in privat and only act this way to have a good reputation in public. But of course ... NOT EVERY MUSLIM IS LIKE THIS!!
However ... some of the very basic laws will be found in all big religions too ...
- You should not kill
- You should not steal
- ...
I just remebered 'Kite Runner' ... there was only ONE law! You should not steal ... no ones life, no ones property, no ones right to do something, no ones right for a father/mother/child... I liked this alot!
Religion and law is a very tricky and touchy subject...
so i better stop talking now before i tell you that ... upps ... almost said it ... :)
Shari'a Law is scary to me, an admittedly uninformed and sadly ignorant Westerner. There is something about the imposition of 'religious' laws on the general public that reeks badly... maybe because it feels like an odd form of involuntary conversion? From my perspective, I strain to find how imposing Shari'a Law in Kuwait could have a positive impact on her social development, global credibility, and reputation as a moderate country.
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