One view on what Sharia is (and isn't) [View all]

Last edited Fri Jan 20, 2012, 10:43 AM - Edit history (1)

I hope you'll forgive a link to what may be really basic to the rest of you.

I know embarrassingly little about Islam - other than that I recognize bigotry when I see it in the wider world and here on DU, and it makes me angry when we tolerate it. I guess not wanting to embarrass myself when I speak out against the bigotry I see is as good a motivation to better educate myself as any.

I ran across this very helpful (to me) piece on Sharia (done in response to Newt Gingrich's suggestion that Sharia was a threat to our existence).

http://soundcloud.com/theciviccommons/what-exactly-is-sharia

ETA: Part of what I found really useful were the concrete examples near the end about the interplay between the Quran, prophets, and ishtihad on items not explicitly addressed in the Quran beer consumption and mortgages (and banking in general). It put the rigidity and "stuck in the past" understanding, which seems to form the basis or fear for many in a very different context.