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Mohsin: Yes. Some muslims can recite the quran word for word even nowadays when they don't have to. Back in Mohammed's time it was much more important to be able to pass on oral tradition - this was the only way. Most people couldn't read or write, there were no books, no internet, no...

Schizo: Well, I'm always willing to learn. I think I said that to Mohsin earlier on. But I'm not entirely sure where I have got anything wrong. Islam considers itself to be a complete guide for life. It encompasses a wide variety of things from personal behaviour to society's behaviour...

schizo, I think you misunderstood my last post. I'm not talking about punishment, this has nothing to do with punishment. I'm talking about evidential requirements. You have to put rape into either zina or hiraba - sexual misconduct or armed robbery. These two have different evidential...

Schizo, I also like things to be simple. I hate it when people overcomplicate things - there's rarely any need. Your definition of zina is great but you need to understand the problem. Instead of merely looking inwards to what you believe and ignoring the rest of the world, look outwards...

Hi schizo, The word "rape" itself does not appear in the quran but the word zina does. Zina covers all non-marital sexual relations. The quran says: Later, the Qur’an more specifically sets out actual legal prescriptions criminalising illegal sexual relations: Following this...

Hi Mohsin: The problem is that if you find one error in the quran then it is highly unlikely that that is the only error. How did that error get there? The only way that error could have got there is by some kind of human interference. Once you accept that there is human interference in the...

samabudhi said: A mixture of things including distortions of christian texts, cultural factors, pre-islamic arab religious practices and personal revelation. In the early days of christianity there were numerous gospels going round that didn't make it into the final NT. It is right that...

Brian said: Maybe later but, for now, let's take it one step at a time, one religion at a time. Mohsin said: Faith has no place in law. Law is all about logic and reason. We want to catch the maximum number of criminals possible and we want to punish them in the most effective way...

Mohsin: Well, Mohsin, I do not want to give you a hard time. I'm just trying to point out some (fairly obvious) facts about certain things eg that you don't need four witnesses to prove a rape. We don't need to ask any scholars because the answer is obvious. If English law thought that...

Mohsin: Yes but true law and true islamic law are one and the same thing, aren't they? If islam is correct then islamic law must be the best and true law. So there is no difference between the true law and the true islamic law. In this case then, shouldn't islamic law change it's rulings...

Mohsin: I'm interested in your phrase "the true law". The true law would have to be perfect, without any flaws. However I have pointed out a couple of flaws in sharia in this thread. The idea of requiring four witnesses to prove a crime is unnecessary. Three witnesses can do the job just as...

Brian said: With respect, I don't think you know what English Common Law is. It is true to say that many things were collected together during the period you mention (you may be thinking of the Domesday Book, the Magna Carta etc) but these things already existed just in a more disparate...

Hi Mohsin, You are right about Pakistan - it uses a mixture of English Common Law and islamic law as well as tribal councils in the rural Northwest Frontier area. The example I gave before (about requiring four witnesses for a rape) is an example of one of the islamic laws. Incidentally, I...

Brian said: Not at all. English Common law is older than christianity. It was already old when christianity hit the shores of Britain and it was relatively unaffected by the arrival of christianity. To claim that christianity forms a major part of English law is quite simply wrong...

Hi Brian, You said: Of course witnesses are crucial, and not just in ancient legal systems. Witness evidence is the best evidence you can get even under our current legal system. However, my point is that sharia mandates that there be four witnesses before a crime can be proven...

Hi, Religious criticism is, of course, a field unto itself. All religions can be criticised for various aspects of their theology. I myself follow no religion although I think that there may possibly be a God. It's quite surprising when muslims think that there is no case to answer as...