veiled4allah: confronting injustice done to non-Muslims in the name of Islam

Jonathan Edelstein has an excellent post about the history of Somaliland (a breakaway part of Somalia). I highly recommend reading it. Life wasn't over in Somalia after the American troops left it.

Somaliland, like a number of other Muslim countries, is trying to adopt a more "Islamic" government by implementing parts of the Shari'a. The problem with these so-called Islamic governments is that very often the laws they implement are not in accordance with what Islamic law actually says. I've discussed this in previous blog entries and comments in regard to policies in Pakistan and Nigeria, as well as making general comments that apply to Afghanistan, Iran, and other countries. You're welcome to search my archives to see what I've said before.

In regard to Somaliland I would like to focus on one particular aspect, which is mentioned in Jonathan's blog post. This is the question of the rights of non-Muslims in an Islamic state.

Jonathan reports

The constitution provides for democratic multiparty elections, but these are subject to a religion-based vetting system. Candidates for office are required to be Muslim.

Thus non-Muslims in Somaliland are disenfranchised in that they have no representatives to take their concerns to the government.

According to actual Islamic law, non-Muslims are to live in autonomous regions. They are not required to abide by the Shari'a, but may follow their own laws to govern their internal affairs. They should also have representatives to the central (Islamic) government so that they can bring up their concerns.

In other words, the reason why non-Muslims have different rights than Muslims do is that they are actually citizens of a different state. The autonomous region that they are citizens of provides parallel rights for them.

When I mentioned this in a comment on Jonathan's blog, he suggested that the number of non-Muslims in Somaliland is so small that it wouldn't be practical for them to form any kind of autonomous community. This may well be true, but the fact remains that an injustice is being done to the non-Muslims in Somaliland, and injustice is contrary to the Shari'a.

Some references you can read are Principles and Guidelines for Muslims' Relations with Non-Muslims, by conservative Saudi scholar Shaykh Muhammad al-Munajjid, and The History of the Jews Under Islamic Rule. The latter provides descriptions from Jewish historical sources about the status and condition of Jews under Islamic rule from the seventh century to the present.

The Muslim world is in sad shape today, there is no denying that. Many things are being done and given the name of Islam that have nothing to do with Islam. I hope that in some small way I can clarify what Islam does call for and invite other Muslims around the world to work together with me to remove these injustices and wrongs committed in our name and establish justice in their place.

Added: For much more detail on Somaliland, and a more hopeful prognosis, see Somaliland: Democratisation and its Discontents from the International Crisis Group.