Most Muslims want sharia law, split on interpretation - study
US: A majority of Muslims around the world want sharia law to be
implemented in their countries but are split on how it should be
applied, a Pew Research Center study has found. A comprehensive study
titled "The World's Muslims: Religion, Politics and Society" conducted
between 2008 and 2012 focused on 38,000 people in 39 countries and
territories drawn from a global Muslim community of 2.2 billion people.
A solid majority of Muslims, notably in Asia, Africa and the Middle
East, were in favour of sharia -- traditional Islamic law -- being
adopted as the law of the land.
The percentage of those in favour of sharia being implemented as
their country's law varied from eight percent in Azerbaijan to 99
percent in Afghanistan.
The study revealed many Muslims were in favour of applying sharia in
the private sphere to settle family or property disputes. However, in
most countries surveyed, there was less support for severe punishments,
such as cutting off the hands of thieves or executing people who convert
from Islam to another faith.
A majority of Muslims are also in favour of freedom of religion, even
while backing sharia. In Pakistan, for example, 84 percent of Muslims
want sharia enshrined as official law but 75 percent believe non-Muslims
are free to practice their religion. Around half of Muslims in the
survey expressed concerns about religious extremism, particularly in
Egypt, Iraq and Tunisia.
In most countries, a majority of Muslims said a wife must obey her
husband, although a majority also said a woman should decide whether or
not to wear a veil. Most Muslims said they do not feel tension between
their religion and modern life, prefer a democratic regime, enjoy music
or Western movies, even if such pastimes are sometimes regarded as
undermining morality.
A strong majority surveyed said so-called honour killings could never
be justified. The only exceptions came in Afghanistan and Iraq, where
majorities condoned executions of women deemed to have shamed their
families by engaging in premarital sex or adultery. Violence carried out
in the name of Islam was also widely rejected.
In the United States, 81 percent of Muslims said such violence can
"never" be justified against a global median of 73 percent. Substantial
minorities in Bangladesh, Egypt, Afghanistan and the Palestinian
territories said violence was permissible.
AFP
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