Ali al-Sistani Quotes
Religious laws should be interpreted according to this era's circumstances … Benefit from the modern laws of other nations and cultures
Sistani, as opposed to many Islamic imams and scholars, argues for learning from outside their culture and he was an advocate for the interpretation of Islamic law (Sharia) based on contemporary society as opposed to having a literal, immutable, reading of the Koran and other legal documents with no change in interpretation allowed over time
Ali Husaini Sistani, Iraqi Grand Ayatollah, Senior Moslem Cleric in Iraq, Quoted in The Religious Authority, Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Husaini Sistani
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
All modern legal systems conflict in some respects with a literal interpretation of the Koran which is the basis for the traditionalists view of Sharia—Islamic law. Therefore a student of modern law is learning things which go against Sharia as interpreted by fundamentalists. There was a time when Jewish and Christian American religious families were uncomfortable with studding modern law as there were contradictions with Biblical law. There are still a few.
He was out of office and speaking as an individual. The then President was spewing hate and barbaric fundamentalism which represented the views of the Mullahs who control Iran. (The President has very little power and he can be overridden by the religious authorities whenever those authorities feel that Islam is being compromised.
Sharie is the Islamic code of law based on the Koran which is so brutal that they would stone a woman to death who had illicit sex or kill someone who wanted to change his religion.
The mullahs had a great deal of power in Iraq and were among the most vocal opponents of democracy and freedom and instead argued for a Theocracy under Islamic law—Sharia which allowed almost no freedoms for the individual.
This problem which was so well described over a century ago in Egypt, still vexes most of the Islamic world.
A fatwa is a religious legal ruling.
The Governor had introduced Sharia, Islamic Law, into his state. When a woman was sentenced to death by stoning, the Federal Government nullified the sentence on the ground that stoning was not morally right nor was a death penalty for her actions. The woman was not executed
In September of 2005 a Danish Newspaper published some political cartoons showing the hypocrisy of some Muslims who use Islam to justify murder of innocents and terrorism. Months later, in January of 2006 many in the Middle East protested vehemently and Muslim riots broke out because the Prophet Muhammad's visage was depicted against Islamic tradition. Many Muslim nations started a boycott against Denmark. Many Muslim leaders claimed that insulting religion was an “abuse” of freedom of speech including those from nations which regularly publish material that is virulent against Christians and Jews.
One remarkable aspect of this quote is that most Western nations have the exact same perception he claims the Islamic word does of what the West is doing. While the Western nations think the defense is necessary and desirable, the Muslim nations fundamentally believe that Christianity and Judaism should and will be supplanted by Islam. To the Islamic fundamentalist religion is a zero sum game. Every person in the world who is not a Muslim is an attack on Islam in that God wants all to follow Islam and wants the faithful to make it so.
This is one of the early calls for a partition of India which was to be so disastrous after the Second World War. The “free Muslim state of states” turned out to be Pakistan where they have been fighting amongst themselves about how much Sharia would prevail.
Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani, commonly known as Ayatollah Sistani, is one of the most influential Iraqi Shia marja' of Iranian origins living in Iraq.
