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Monday, November 28, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
It's time to abolish the lashing penalty
By KHALID ALNOWAISER
Destroying a person's
dignity should not be the purpose of lawful punishments in any society
I realize that this is
another very sensitive subject, but I would like to make an important point in
order to dis
pel any confusion or
misunderstanding. When I discuss a matter having religious implications, I do
not mean to criticize the divine Islamic religion itself nor the positive
achievements realized by Saudi Arabia, of which I can only express admiration,
respect and my sincere devotion. However, I will criticize the wrongful
practice of the religion when it betrays Islam's fundamental principle of human
rights. My role as a writer is to speak out, no matter how sensitive the
subject and try and stimulate my readers' thinking. I am not trying to impose
my ideas on anyone, since it is up to the reader to decide what to believe. I
do believe, however, that my articles serve a public purpose in promoting
discussion among concerned citizens who can accept or reject my arguments as
they see fit.
Having said this, I am
fully aware that the penalty of lashing (like any other Islamic punishment) is
a very sensitive issue for most people. Nevertheless, and in addition to the
serious moral implications of such punishment, I must speak out because unless
lashing is abolished, the image of Saudi Arabia will be profoundly and
negatively impacted.
There are many men and
women lashed daily in our country, and their cases are unknown to the public so
punishment by lashing requires due consideration and deep thought and this
should offend our sensibilities. Certainly, there must be an appropriate
penalty for those guilty of violating our laws to prevent others from
committing similar offenses; otherwise, anarchy and disorder would prevail in
society. In this day and age, however, lashing is too harsh a penalty,
especially when used on a woman; it not only destroys humanity and pride but
also a person's dignity. This is not the purpose of lawful punishments for violations
in any society. Demeaning the character of the offender produces negative
effects far greater than any societal benefits.
One who is lashed loses
his self-esteem and no longer cares for the consequences of his or her present
or future criminal actions, no matter what punishment he or she may face. What
other punishment could be harsher than lashing? It fully destroys personal
dignity and creates lifelong shame among one's neighbors, coworkers and
acquaintances. What other punishment is more repugnant, particularly if the
punishment is imposed on a woman who might be a mother, a sister or a daughter
of any of us?
We live in a great
nation that has a strategic role in the international community due to
religious, historic and geographic factors, in addition to its prominent place
in the Middle East and its natural resources. Saudi Arabia is not Iran or any
repressive regime; instead, it is a civilized country that is a member of the
G20, an important member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and more importantly,
one of the most stable economic and political countries in this ever-changing
and unstable world. This makes Saudi Arabia the focus of the entire world in
the age of open satellite channels and globalization.
The issue of the lashing
penalty as imposed in the Kingdom is troublesome, considering all of its civil,
human and moral dimensions, especially now when we live in a time that
emphasizes the importance of human rights issues like never before. We all know
that the Kingdom imposes the lashing penalty in accordance with the provisions
of the Islamic Shariah, but consider the following:
1. If the lashing
penalty is imposed on the basis of texts in the Holy Qur'an, we must consider
the text in the context when it was written and what the circumstances were at
that time. For example, some Qur'anic verses are associated with a certain
event that occurred in the lifetime of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him). So the text was associated with a certain period, context and event. How
can some people insist on reciting texts without thinking about the reasons and
circumstances then existing or considering their context?
2. Let us ponder that
there is no place for jurisprudence in the presence of a relevant text in the
Holy Qur'an. Why did Caliph Al-Farooq stop granting people who converted to
Islam their share from alms-giving (zakah), although mentioned in the Holy
Qur'an, and declared that there was no need for them? Moreover, he suspended
one of the Islamic penalties of theft in the year of Cinders (Aam Al-Ramada).
Didn't these texts exist at that time as well? Didn't Caliph Al-Rashid issue a
jurisprudence in spite of the existence of the texts very clearly in the Holy
Qur'an and sought to achieve the interests of the Muslims without abiding by a specific
text?
3. Furthermore, Shariah
law includes many other penalties that are no longer imposed or indeed never
have been imposed as punishments (an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear
for an ear and a tooth for a tooth). The Kingdom stopped - or even did not
practice at all - the gouging out of eyes, the cutting off of noses and ears,
the breaking of teeth, and the cutting off hands of thieves. Yet, these
penalties are included in clear and explicit Qur'anic texts as stated above.
How can this be when religion is followed as a whole and not in parts, that is,
it cannot be divided or classified?
The truth is that the
Kingdom has been misunderstood and is suffering from a rigid interpretation of
Islam by so-called religious scholars who are not only experts in memorizing
and reminiscing instead of contemplating and studying, but who are resistant to
change. All they want is to maintain the status quo and suppress intellectual
curiosity and discussion.
Yet the question
remains: Why are people in the Kingdom lashed? Is this the result of the
Qur'anic texts or for other reasons? If the texts are the reason, it is clear
that clinging to the text without taking into account the factors,
circumstances and times of these verses is worrying and dangerous.
Saudi Arabia, for the
sake of its image and human rights, should seek a religious way (fatwa) to
abolish the lashing penalty in its entirety, especially when other Shariah
punishments are not enforced. We live at a time when human rights should never
be infringed, regardless of the circumstances. In fact, the Kingdom has always
sought to defend human rights before every international convention.
The recent extraordinary
resolutions allowing Saudi women to stand and vote in municipal elections and
become members of the Shoura Council are not only wonderful and welcome, but
are just another example of the truly progressive attitude shown by the Saudi
government even at these challenging times where political turmoil is prevalent
throughout the Arab world. We must now hope that these positive initiatives
evolve into legislation furthering human rights and abolishing the lashing
penalty once and for all. The question is: Do we have the collective will to do
so?
- Dr. Khalid Alnowaiser
is a columnist and a Saudi attorney with offices in Riyadh and Jeddah. He can
be reached at: Khalid@Lfkan.com and/or Twitter (kalnowaiser)
Sunday, November 6, 2011
قراءة قانونية في قاعدة العقد شريعة المتعاقدين
د.خالد
النويصر
khalid@lfkan.com
إن من أهم الأسس النظامية أن العقد شريعة
المتعاقدين، حيث أصبحت قاعدة نظامية راسخة في الكثير من النظم القانونية في مختلف
دول العالم، فالعقد بالنسبة إلى عاقديه يُعد بمثابة النظام أو هو نظام خاص بهما،
وإن كان منشأه الاتفاق بينهما، وقد أوضح المولى - عزّ وجلّ - أثر العقد ومدى
إلزامه طرفيه بقوله عزّ شأنه: (يا أيها الذين آمنوا أوفوا بالعقود)، وحديث الرسول
- صلى الله عليه وسلم: (المسلمون عند شروطهم)
ومعنى أن العقد شريعة المتعاقدين أن يكون
الالتزام الناشئ من العقد يعادل في قوته الالتزام الناشئ من النظام، ولا يجوز
للفرد أن يتحلل من كليهما. وتقوم هذه القاعدة على أسس فلسفية وأخلاقية واقتصادية
وتاريخية وحضارية، فهي تقوم أولاً على إعلاء مبدأ سلطان الإرادة، أي أن الفرد لا
يُلزم إلا بما أراد وإذا أراد أن يُلزم فلا يحول دون ذلك شيء، وهي تقوم ثانياً على
أساس احترام العهد (إن العهد كان مسؤولا)، كما تقوم على وجوب استقرار المعاملات،
فإذا كان العقد لا يقيد العاقد، فإن الناس تنصرف عن إبرام العقود وتشيع فيهم
الفوضى وتنعدم الثقة، لذلك كان لا بد أن يكون للعقد قوة ملزمة بحيث لا يجوز لأحد
المتعاقدين أن ينفرد بنقضه أو تعديله، وتلك هي الأسس التي تقوم عليها قاعدة العقد
شريعة المتعاقدين.
وعلى هذا فإن العقد إذ يكون شريعة المتعاقدين،
فإن النظام قد أراد له ذلك ليصير العقد نوعاً من النظام الخاص لمن عقدوه برضائهم،
فإنه يتعين على المتعاقديْن أن يخضعا لما اشترعاه كخضوعهما لما شرعه النظام، كما
يتعين على القاضي رعاية تلك العقود وحمايتها كرعايته للنصوص النظامية، بمعنى أنه
إذا طُرح عليه نزاع بشأنها، فإنه يجب عليه تطبيق ذلك الحكم الخاص الذي وضعه
المتعاقدان فيما بينهما والذي فرض له النظام العام تلك الصفة وذلك الإلزام، وأنه
وإن كانت شريعة المتعاقدين تتفق والنظام في:
إن
النظام والعقد لهما قوة الإلزام.1
2.إنه
على غرار النظام وإمكان إلغائه بالطريقة التي سُن بها يمكن كذلك حل العقد بالوسيلة
نفسها التي تم بها، أي باتفاق الطرفين
وجوب أن يسيطر حسن النية في تطبيق النظام كوجوبه
في تنفيذ الاتفاقيات.3
كما أن هناك اختلافا بينهما في التالي:
1.يمكن
أن يلغي النظام نظاماً آخر أياً كان أمره، ولكن لا يمكن للاتفاقيات أن تتعارض مع
القواعد النظامية المعتبرة من النظام العام أو الآداب أو العادات التي يقر بها هذه
الصفة، لأن المغالاة في إطلاق العنان للإرادة في تقرير أن العقد شريعة المتعاقدين
ليست أمراً حسناً وليس من شأنها تحقيق الصالح العام والعدالة في الكثير من
الأحيان، ذلك أن العقد ولو أنه علاقة خاصة بين شخصين معنيين، إلا أنه قد يمس مصالح
الغير ومصالح الجماعة، ولذلك وجب أن يتدخل واضعو الأنظمة لفرض رقابة على العقود عن
طريق سن قواعد آمرة لا يجوز الخروج عليها، فهو يحرم بعض الاتفاقيات أو يعطل بعض
الشروط أو يفرض بعضها على الطرفين، بل إن رقابة النظام وتدخله في ميدان العقد
كثيراً ما يكونان في صالح المتعاقدين أنفسهم، وبذلك تنعدم المساواة بين طرفي العقد
ويكون الطرف الضعيف فيه مهدداً بأن يغلبه الطرف الآخر الأقوى، عندئذٍ يجب أن يتدخل
النظام بقواعد آمرة بقصد حماية المتعاقد الضعيف والحد من سلطان الإرادة.
2.هناك بعض العقود يحرم النظام إلغاءها ولو برضا الطرفين إلى جانب
أن هناك بعض العقود التي لا تحل بإرادة واحدة كالحق المخول لأحد طرفي عقد الوكالة
وعقد العمل الفردي المبرم لمدد غير محددة، أي أنه في مثل هذه الحالات قد يقع إلغاء
العقد بغير الطريقة التي تم بها على خلاف النظام، فإنه لا يُلغى إلا بالنحو الذي
صيغ به
3.إن
من شأن النص النظامي أن يكون تفسيره أكثر مرونة وقابلية للتكيف وفق الضرورات
الاجتماعية والعملية، من ذلك الذي يضعه المتعاقدان ويلتزمان حرفيته الصريحة
الواضحة، فحقيقة هذا القول تبدو واضحة فيما نضربه مثلاً لما يستلزمه النظام من
وجوب عدم مخالفة ما اتفق عليه المتعاقدان للنظام العام أو الآداب، وهو النطاق الذي
تسيطر عليه العوامل المختلفة من اجتماعية واقتصادية وسياسية في الأزمات المتفاوتة
والأوضاع المتغايرة.
إنه لا ريب في أن العقد يكون شريعة المتعاقدين،
طالما أنه قد أُجري في الحدود التي يبيحها النظام من ناحية عدم مخالفته للنظام
العام أو الآداب العامة، وإذا جاء ما اتفق عليه المتعاقدان مخالفاً لقاعدة قانونية
ليست معتبرة من النظام العام، فإنه يجب تغليب مضمون العقد على تلك القاعدة
المخالفة.
وتفريعاً على ذلك، فإن القاضي لا يمكن له أن
يرفض تنفيذ العقد بحالته بحجة تعارض مضمونه مع العدالة، إذ إن العدالة كما قلنا لا
يمكن أن تطغى على إرادة المتعاقدين ولا يصح أن تنسخها وتعدلها، وإن كان يمكن أن
تكون مكملة لها، والأمر في ذلك يطابق تماماً شأن العدالة في النظام، فلا يصح
للقاضي أن يمتنع عن تطبيق نص من نصوصه بحجة تناقضه مع العدالة ولكن ليس معنى هذا
أن يغفل القاضي قواعد العدالة مطلقاً، بل إنه من الواجب عليه أن يلجأ إلى أحكام
العدالة والعرف ليستعين بها على معرفة إرادة المتعاقدين، وفي ذلك تكون تلك الأحكام
مكملة لإرادة المتعاقدين.
وإذا طُرح على القاضي نزاع بتعلق بعقد لا يجوز
إجراء أي تعديل فيه، فإن الأمر يكون كذلك مع أحد المتعاقدين، إذ بمجرد أن يتم
التعاقد ويصبح ما اتفقا عليه شريعتهما التي أراداها، فليس لأحدهما الرجوع عن ذلك
ولا العدول عنه تأكيداً لمبدأ أن الأفراد أحرار في تحديد مضمون الالتزامات الناشئة
من العقد، وبالرغم من ذلك فإن الأنظمة أصبحت تتدخل الآن للحد من هذه الحرية، وذلك
بإعطاء القاضي سلطة إعادة النظر في بعض التزامات المتعاقدين، إذا وقع أثناء
التنفيذ ظرف طارئ غير متوقع عند التعاقد، ومن ذلك أيضاً قابلية تعديل أو إلغاء بعض
الشروط التعسفية أو المرهقة في عقود الإذعان، فضلاً عن تنظيمه بعض العقود تنظيماً
آمراً حتى أصبحت تلك العقود أقرب إلى النظام القانوني منها إلى العقد، ومثال ذلك
عقد العمل والتأمين، فتنظيم النظام لهذه العقود هو تنظيم آمر في معظم إجراءاته.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
When Will We See Another Steve Jobs?
Saudi attorney
When
Will We See Another Steve Jobs?
With the recent passing of the most important visionary and
technology innovator of our lifetime, Steve Jobs, I am left with this question:
Why can't the Islamic world produce a person as brilliant and generous as Steve
Jobs? Let me suggest six reasons why we may not be able to do so.
We immediately think of the educational curriculum adopted in the
Islamic countries, knowing that education is the first step toward refining the
talent and minds of scientists, inventors and innovators. Yet, our curriculums
are sterile and outdated and are unable to produce persons of the caliber of a
Steve Jobs. Why is this so? Because these curriculums fail to value or embrace
the disciplines that are vital for our modern times, sciences like mathematics,
chemistry, physics, philosophy and logic, which have been disregarded and
replaced by religious subjects. A nation cannot progress if it uses an
educational system whose main focus is religion and in which secular pursuits
are not given any importance. These curriculums are based on memorization and
blind obedience while the curriculums that produced Steve Jobs and other
brilliant innovators are based on understanding, comprehension, experimentation
and invention. How can we change this paradigm?
Secondly, Islamic nations praise the abstract at the expense of
the concrete, that is, they believe in the unknown and disregard reality by permitting
religion to dominate all aspects of scientific inquiry. Although the Prophet
said to the people of Medina, "You know best about the matters of your
world," we remain obsessed with the taboos, heresies and errors of every
useful science and do all we can to suppress legitimate questions. When all
sorts of freedoms, sciences, inventors and innovators are suppressed and
restrained, we are left with those scientists who specialize in the fields of
menstruation, nifaas (bleeding after childbirth), halal, and haram.
Thirdly, Islamic countries are obsessed by angels and demons, God
and Satan. If something fails, then its failure is due to the fact that God has
decided that it is not meant to be, or Satan and his devilish schemes have
caused it to fail. Conversely, if it succeeds, then this is God's plan and the
result of prayer to keep Satan away. We rely too much on all things intangible
and insubstantial, remaining in ignorance. Our biggest concern seems to be
whether eating the meat of demons is haram or halal. How strange and ignorant
is that?
Fourthly, the religious speech in Islamic countries tells us not
to be impressed or admire the lives of other peoples, peoples who have
struggled against cancer, walked on the moon and invaded outer space, peoples
whose fleets roam the seas and whose aircraft rule the skies. While they have
the ability and freedom to do what they please, we go to them in mourning like
orphans, searching for medical cures, using their cars and airplanes, and
continue to criticize them day in and day out in secret and in public, although
we use all of their tools and inventions. How hypocritical!
Fifthly, we can see that Islamic nations have used lame and
illogical excuses to push art aside and intentionally hide it from their people.
All kinds of art such as music, theater, painting, and sculpture have been
de-emphasized or completely disregarded. This has led to creating shaken and
disturbed personalities and spirits, stifling talents that could add to the
enjoyment of life. Art is a means to satisfy our soul and feed our emotions,
producing a more confident, balanced and spiritual humanity and motivating
people to live and work, and even more, to create, innovate and give of
themselves to others. Art protects humanity from all that can bring it down and
allows spirits and hearts to soar high into a sky filled with optimism and hope
and to move steadily down the road of innovation, creation and discovery.
Finally, Islamic nations generally tend to dwell in the past at
the expense of the present and the future and thus become prisoners of an
outmoded way of thinking. Although great progress has been achieved in the
past, now such countries seem frozen in time, unwilling or unable to foster the
kind of visionary thinking and innovations epitomized by Steve Jobs. In short,
we have watched as other countries have planned for the future by emphasizing
the very things that made Steve Jobs' technologies so compelling and popular.
Times change, challenges arise, and innovators respond and adapt. So must
countries.
May God bless your soul, Mr. Jobs, for the many inventions that
you have left behind for humanity. Someone of your brilliance could only be the
product of a nation that has provided its citizens with a fertile environment
to be creative and innovative and that has understood the reality of our times.
How can Islamic nations achieve such progress? We must turn the page on
extolling religious dogma that breeds ignorance and a disgust for the future.
Let us hope another Steve Jobs will emerge to lead us towards a brighter
future!
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