ISLAM AND CRIME
THE MORAL COMMUNITY
OF MUSLIMS
Seyed Hossein Serajzadeh
International crime statistics indicate that in
Islamic countries crime rates are lower than in other countries. This feature of
Islamic countries is most often explained by two factors: a) the relatively low
level of development, which has a positive effect on crime rates, and b) the
strictness of Islamic penal law. Providing some evidence, this article
maintains that the first factor fails to explain properly the difference in the
crime rates of Islamic and non-Islamic countries at a similar level of
development. It also argues that the second
explanation is a reductionist one. Following a Weberian approach, the
article develops the argument that the content and structure of Islamic belief
and practice is the dominant shared element among Islamic countries. It has
given rise to a particular socio-cultural structure among Muslims, one of the
impacts of which has been the low crime rate. Islamic beliefs and practice,
therefore, are discussed as the main explanatory factor for the low crime rate
in Islamic countries. (Keywords: religion, crime, development, Islam, Sharia,
Islamic law, Muslim attitudes.)
Recite what is sent of the Book by inspiration to
thee, and establish Regular Prayer: for Prayer restrains from shameful and evil
deeds. And remembrance of God is the greatest (thing in life) and God knows the
(deeds) that ye do (Koran
29:45, trans. A. Yusuf Ali).
1.
Introduction
Islam is seen
by many scholars as a religion that consists of a set of political, economic,
legal, and social doctrines that affect every facet of the social life of believers (Kurtz 1995, 106, 135;
Groves et al. 1987, 497; Schacht [1964] 1982; Turner 1974, 112; Robertson 1970,
86; Watt, 1961). Koranic teachings promote an ascetic ethic of
self-control that bears on virtually all aspects of everyday activity. For
Muslims, faith has not merely been a matter of private life and a personal
relation with God. It has had pervasive social consequences. Thus, following
Stark et al. (1982), it may be argued that Islam develops a strong sense of
moral community, where religion is an influential social force generating
social sanctions (Groves et al. 1987, 497), and that this contributes to a low
crime rate.
Further, within
Islam a detailed penal law has been elaborated in [112] which severe punishments have been prescribed for many serious criminal
acts. Accordingly it has been suggested that the severity of punishments in
Islamic penal law accounts for the low crime rate in Islamic countries (Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Interior,
1980; Haroon 1993, 83; Mohammad 1991; Souryal 1990).
The
examination of these arguments is the concern of the present writer. Firstly,
in order to illustrate the difference between crime rates in Islamic and
non-Islamic countries, these will be compared. Secondly, the content of Islamic
belief will be discussed, in order to understand its impact on the
psychological and cultural formation of Muslim individuals as well as on the
development and maintenance of the community of Muslims. Thirdly, we will look
at Sharīʿa (the Islamic code of behavior) and the content of
Islamic penal law (as part of Sharīʿa) and then at the effect of this complex on crime.
Here a Weberian approach will be followed in two senses. To begin with, like
Webers approach in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, the impact of religious (Islamic) creeds on
the psychological and cultural formation of individuals and society will be
considered, and, moreover, Islamic creeds and Sharīʿa will be
treated as an analytical ideal type, the diversity of which will be disregarded
(Gerth and Mills 1995, 5961).
2.
Comparison of Crime Statistics
In spite of
the rise in the general crime rate in recent years, most Islamic countries are
still low crime rate societies. In general, Islamic counties are categorised as
developing countries, the reported crime rates of which are notably less than
those of developed countries (Shelly 1981; United Nations 1993; Fajnzylber et
al. 1998, 13). Despite the positive relationship between the level of
development and the level of crime, countries with almost the same level of
development experience a variety of patterns of criminality and crime rate
because of significant historical and cultural differences (Wilson and
Herrnstein 1985, 457; Shelly 1981, 50; Bennett 1990, 356).
Looking
at crime rates, Shelly (1981, 5052)
distinguished three general groups among developing countries:
Table 1. Average crime rate per 100,000 population of three groups
of countries in 1980
|
|
Developing
Countries |
Developed |
|
|
Type of offence |
Islamic |
Non-Islamic |
Countries |
|
Assault |
36.3 |
132.6 |
183.3 |
|
Intentional homicide |
3.2 |
7.0 |
4.5 |
|
Non-intentional homicide |
1.4 |
14.1 |
1.9 |
|
Drugs |
9.0 |
19.4 |
140.8 |
|
Rape |
5.2 |
7.8 |
9.2 |
|
Robbery |
2.0 |
75.2 |
49.8 |
|
Fraud |
9.4 |
72.8 |
280.1 |
|
Theft |
141.2 |
206.5 |
3164.6 |
|
Total |
694.2 |
1028.5 |
5968.5 |
Calculated based on data from Results of the
Second United Nations Survey of
Crime Trends (United Nations 1992). The
countries of each group are as follows:
·
Islamic countries:
·
Non-Islamic
developing countries: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Fiji, India, Madagascar,
Nepal, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand
·
Developed
Countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom
(including Northern Ireland), and the United States
Because of missing data the number of countries based on which the
average of each group is computed is less than the number of listed countries.
As can be seen in Table 1, according to United Nations data, while the
average total crime rate of Islamic developing countries in 1980 was 694.2 per [114] 100,000
inhabitants, those of non-Islamic developing countries and developed countries were 1028.5 and 5968.5, respectively per
100,000 inhabitants. This pattern can be seen in almost all categories of
crime, except in non-intentional and intentional homicide and robbery. In these
three categories Islamic countries again had the lowest rate, while the rates
of non-Islamic developing countries were higher than those of developed
countries. Likewise, Fajnzylber et al. have shown that from 1970 to 1994 the
intentional homicide rate in Middle Eastern and North African (Islamic)
countries was lower than in other groups of countries (1998, 13, fig. 1).
In
general, the low crime rate of the Islamic countries can be attributed to
several socio-cultural characteristics of these societies. Firstly, Islamic
countries have been culturally, to a great extent, homogeneous; in most Islamic
countries (particularly Middle Eastern countries) a majority of populations
enjoy a remarkable religious and often racial uniformity. Existing ethnic
differences are mainly overshadowed by religious harmony, which is a strong
basis for national unity. Even in many huge modern cities (mainly the capital
cities), religious, racial, and ethnic distinctions, although generally
present, are not particularly noticeable.
Secondly,
in Islamic countries a cohesive family network has been largely preserved. Even
in modern cities, the family network is still impressively effective. It
fulfils a considerable role in the process of socialization and provides social
support and security for its members (Helal and Coston 1991, 138; Shelly 1981,
50).[2] Thus, even
those who live in big cities do not find themselves alone among the masses,
because family and communal relations are active and strong.
Thirdly,
in the religious world-view of the peoples of Islamic countries there is more
emphasis on the duties of individuals than on their rights. Individuals interests are regarded as subordinate to social
and group interests. Consequently, family, community, and even state
interventions in some individuals private
affairs are tolerated and justified for the sake of their social benefits.
Finally,
and perhaps as a result of the previous factors, public opinion in Islamic
countries is less tolerant of criminal behavior and more favorable towards
severe punishments than in other nations (Evans and Scott 1984; Scott and
Al-Thakeb 1980, quoted from Wilson and Herrnstein [115] 1985, 44951; Newman 1976).[3] As far as the comparison of the three selected groups of developing countries is concerned, the strong religious
foundation of Islamic countries may be regarded as the core factor underlying the factors we have discussedhomogeneity, a cohesive family net, more emphasis on individual
duties than on rights, less tolerance toward criminalityand can account for the low crime rate of these
countries. Therefore, as Helal and Coston (1991, 126) argue, the Islamic religion that has formed the underlying
current for harmony and norm sharing is largely responsible for the law abiding
behavior that results in low crime rates. In order to elaborate this argument it is necessary to look at the
particularities of Islam that contribute to low crime rates in Islamic
societies.
3.
Islam: Submission to God
The
information contained in this and the following section (4) is largely common
knowledge for Muslims and for students of Islam. It bears repeating here,
however, because it is a necessary part of the argument made in this study and
because certain points of particular relevance to our purpose might otherwise
be overlooked. In the following, the contents
of Islamic creeds will be briefly introduced and their possible impact
on the psycho-social dimensions of Islamic societies that contribute to low
crime rates discussed. Muslims are admittedly divided into a variety of
denominations and sects. As mentioned above, however, disregarding the
diversities, we will consider the core beliefs and rituals in which all Muslims
in one sense or another share as an ideal type in a Weberian sense.
The
Arabic word islām is commonly taken to mean submission (of oneself
to God), and a Muslim is accordingly one who submits to the will of God. Gods will, Muslims believe, is revealed in the Koran,
which is the word of God dictated to the prophet Mohammed (PBUH). They likewise
believe that Mohammed (PBUH) was the last messenger of God and that his teachings
reflect the most complete account of the message of the Almighty to human
beings. Gods word
and Gods will
are thus the central elements of Islamic belief and the main preoccupations of
a person brought up in accordance with the dictates of Islamic culture. Islām
or submission is summed up under the famous
five pillars in the well-known
ḥadīth of Gabriel, with
which Muslim opens his authoritative ṣaḥīḥ, namely,
testifying to the divine unity, ritual prayer, alms, the fast of Ramadan, and the
pilgrimage to
3.1. Articles of Faith
Alongside islām
and its works lies the deeper level of faith (īmān) that not
all achieve. The articles of faith are generally summarized as being five in
number, although there is some difference regarding them and the question of
which are essential.[4] Perhaps the
most usual summary is that reflected in the ḥadīth of Gabriel just mentioned
(Muslim 1976, 1:34), which we give in a somewhat expanded form here:
1. belief in one and only one God
of the universe (tawḥīd);
2. belief in the existence of other
spiritual beings, the angels, creatures of God who perform different tasks,
including watching over the deeds of humans;
3. belief in prophethood and the
revealed scriptures, among which the Koran represents the last and only
uncorrupted version of the word of God;
4. belief in the Day of Judgement,
when every human being will be held accountable by God;
5. belief in the Divine Decree and
Predestination (although Gods
overwhelming power over the life of people is not generally interpreted so as
to remove from them entire responsibility of for their own actions in the
framework of their limitations).[5]
Considering the content of the articles of faith, one may readily
observe that the most important thing in them is the focus on belief in God, on
submission to His will as revealed in the Koran, and on the responsibility of
individuals for their behavior before Him on the Day of Judgment. It may be
argued that other religions, particularly Christianity and Judaism, share the belief in God, prophethood,
revealed scriptures, the [117] Day of
Judgment, and an efficacious divine decree. Nonetheless,
it seems that Muslims are unique in the extent of their emphasis on submission
to Gods will in all aspects of life, in the widespread
acceptance among them, regardless of sect, of the infallibility of their holy text,
and in their stress on the accountability of individuals for all their
behavior in this world.[6] These
theological characteristics of Islam, particularly the emphasis on submission
to God, have had a visible impact on the socio-psychological, and even
political, development of Muslim societies and have made them distinctive from others. This impact is discussed by
Robertson (1970, 8688), who
argues that
subscription
to the religious point of reference, Allah, in and of itself, is assumed to
entail involvement in a religiously bonded social sphere. This emphasis upon
the simple act of submission says a lot about the unique feature of Islam. In
contrast to Confucianism and Judaism, Islam has definitely been a religion of
evangelizationthat is, it has sought to widen its social and cultural scope and bring
large numbers of individuals within its boundaries. . . . In contrast
to Christianity, Islam through its emphasis on submission, rather than on conversion and induction, reveals again its unique
form of dynamismembracing the social world and sustaining it through the religious
impulse.
Giving
priority to Gods will in all
aspects of individual and social life is in
open contrast with individualism, at least in its extreme version, which lies
at the foundation of Western society. On this matter, Occidental and Islamic
cultures are clearly at variance (Turner 1994, 34). That the key notion
in Islam of submission to God is articulated through the idea of a personal
relationship with Him and the accountability of individuals for all their
behavior in this world, moreover, increases the divergence between Islamic and
Modern Western culture. Within homogeneous religious communities, an emphasis
on personal responsibility for salvation, defined in terms of obedience to Gods rules on the one hand and stress on the
significance of the community of believers on the other, contributes to a tight
social bond and effective control over the individual. The dynamism of this
kind of control is highlighted by Marxs observation
on Protestantism:
Luther, without question, overcame servitude through devotion but only
by substituting servitude through conviction. He shattered the faith in
authority by restoring the authority of faith. He transformed the priests into
laymen by turning laymen into priests. He liberated man from external
religiosity by making religiosity the innermost essence of man. He liberated
the body from its chains [118] because he fettered the heart with chains. (Marx 1972, 18, quoted from
Kurtz 1995, 113)
Like Judaism and Catholicism, Islam is regarded as a religion that
develops a community-based identity among individuals (Kurtz 1995, 109).
Nonetheless, with its emphasis on personal salvation and responsibility, it
appears that Islam is in a certain sense more similar to some Protestant sects
that effectively internalize their norms and values and strictly control their
members (Kurtz 1995, 113). In the process of internalization of religious
values and norms, the formulation of religious practice and ritual in Islam
seems to play a significant role.
3.2.
The Rituals of Islam
The religious
practices and rituals that accompany the articles of faith are noticeably
specific to Islam. These are the well-known Five Pillars of Islam, summarized
in the ḥadīth of Gabriel. In their Islamic form these rituals
seem to contribute markedly to the internalization of the articles of faith as
well as to the establishment of a sense of a community of believers. They are:
1. the
profession of faith (shahāda), which must be uttered with
full understanding and which is repeated several times a day during a Muslims daily prayers;
2. ritual prayer (ṣalāt),
which must be performed in a regulated manner
five times a day;
3. alms (zakāt), that is, an alms-duty every Muslim should pay,
consisting of a proportion of his or her wealth and/or income, either in money
or in kind, provided a certain minimum is owned;[7]
4. fasting (ṣawm) in the month of Ramaḍan, that is, refraining from
eating, drinking, smoking and any sensual pleasures, from sunrise to
sunset;
5. making the pilgrimage (ḥajj) to the holy city of
[119]
Considering
the nature of Muslim belief and practice, one can hardly fail to agree with
Aziz (1995, 45), when he states that the basic pillars of belief no doubt play
an important role in the psychological and cultural formation of the Muslim
individual and serve as a basis for his stands and attitudes towards himself,
his community and others. In other words, the essential beliefs and practices
of Islam function as a visible and regular reminder of the believers duty to
uphold God and the ummah at the centre of his or her life (Kurtz 1995,
110). Not only do they result in the development of a community based identity,
they also construct and reinforce a sense of personal accountability. Thus both
the beliefs (articles of faith) and practices (pillars) of Islam function to
strengthen considerably external and internal sources of control. They must
consequently be regarded as significant elements of the social control of
crime.
4. Sharīʿa or Islamic Law
On the basis
of the foregoing discussion, although an exhaustive comparative study would be
necessary to prove our conclusions, we feel it safe to say that the ethos of
Islam, viewed alongside that of other religions,
is distinguished by its comprehensiveness, that is, it tends to
encompass all aspects of the private and social life of Muslims (Kurtz 1995,
106, 135; Groves et al. 1987, 497; Turner 1974, 112; Robertson 1970, 86; also,
generally, Schacht 1982 and Watt 1961). Likewise in ethical principles the
distinctive feature of Islam, compared with other religions, seems to be its
unswerving stress on following rules laid down by God and on strict discipline
in private and public life (see Kurtz 1995, 104).
The
ethical codes of Islam began to be developed in the early days of the religion
by scholar-jurists,[8] who
attempted to discover and elaborate [120] Islamic
regulations in accordance with the will of God as revealed in the Koran and
crystallized in the prophet Mohammeds (PBUH)
sayings and deeds (see Schacht 1982, 1075; also Turner 1974, 113). Sharīʿa, as the sets of religious codes of behavior they
produced are called, is usually translated as
Islamic law. This translation, however, may generate misunderstandings, because the
coverage of Sharīʿa is more comprehensive than that of law. It covers
in meticulous detail practically every aspect of human behavior known to the
scholar-jurists, from dietary rules to
criminal procedures and from the rituals of worship to commercial
contracts.
Islamic jurists generally classify all actions into
five categories, namely, obligatory (wājib), recommended (mustaḥabb/mandūb),
permissible (mubāḥ), disapproved (makrūh), and
forbidden (ḥarām). This categorization
reveals that Sharīʿa includes both positive and negative prescriptions, most of which are
not legally enforceable, while many aspects of Sharīʿa would be
generally excluded on the basis of a Western understanding of law (Breiner
1995, 52; Newman 1982, 56657; De Seife
1994, 4). Broadly speaking, only omitting the first kind of actions
(obligatory) and committing the last kind (forbidden) are considered to be
sins. The sinner will be subject to punishment either in this world or in the
hereafter, or both, if he or she does not repent. Those actions that merit
punishment in this world come under the penal law of Islam, to
which we will return later.
For Muslims, law and religion are completely fused and
Muslims ideological conception of themselves has been that of a community based on revelation or a
community observing Gods law (Watt
1961, 22781).
Moreover, external piety in Muslim society is considered to be a symbol of
respecting Gods will and of
inner belief. Muslims are therefore very sensitive about adhering to the
mandates of Sharīʿa both in private and in public. For this reason it
has been argued that Sharīʿa is one of
the most important and distinctive features of Islamic civilisation (Watt 1961,192) and that Islamic law has had a far greater influence on Muslim society than
Western law has had on Western society (Savory
1976, quoted from De Seife 1994, 4).
[121] Turner (1974, 12213), dealing
with the development of Islamic ethics (that is, Sharīʿa), focuses in
particular on the role of the motive of faithful
Muslims for clinging to the guidelines of the Koran and the Prophet. He
emphasizes, however, the function of Sharīʿa for the whole of Muslim society, maintaining that
in the unstable situation of the urban life of Islamic societies in the Middle
Ages, Sharīʿa, which bears all the
marks of a law and order campaign, functioned
to mitigate social disorder. It provided a
theoretically universal set of norms by which Muslims were held together and,
at the same time, the ulema, while identified with
the notables, penetrated every level of society (1974, 104105). However, since (both theoretically and practically) Sharīʿa has remained
almost unchanged after its early development,[9] its application in a changeable social context has, at least in some
areas, been met with difficulties. Consequently, though remaining as a sacred
and ideal law for Muslims, in practice it has only partially been applied in
Muslim society (Schacht 1982, 7685; Turner
1974, 11516; Coulson
1978, 1450).
Ironically,
as Turner (1974, 116) points out, Sharīʿa has remained an ideal
ethical system that has, at least potentially, always provided a source
of protest against the existing social and political order. It occasionally serves as the ideology of rebellion as
defined in Mertons anomie theory (see Merton 1980, 11622), particularly in the modern world, and provokes social and political
unrest. Nonetheless, as a widely accepted social norm, it has for the most part
been a source of conformity and social order
in Islamic societies. Either way, as Watt (1961, 193) suggests, Sharīʿa is recognised at least as an ideal throughout the
Islamic world . . . and, even where it is little observed, it sets a standard
which has some influence on actual practice. The attitudes of the people towards criminal behavior and criminal
procedures are among those aspects of social life in Islamic societies that
have patently been stamped by Sharīʿa and the corollary penal law of Islam.
4.1. The Penal Law of
Islam
Since Islamic penal law, which is in some cases very harsh, is part of Sharīʿa, there have been numerous but few succesful calls
for its implementation, and the matter has
been the subject of considerable controversy in the Muslim world. The
low crime rate of Islamic societies is sometimes attributed to the severity of
Islamic penal law and the application of its
penalties (Saudi Arabia, Ministry of Interior, 1980; Haroon 1993, 83; Mohammad
1991; Sourial 1990). In order to evaluate this [121] argument, we must briefly review of the main features of the Islamic penal
system.
As
previously noted, from the characteristic religious point of view of a Muslim,
all actions are subsumed into five categories, ranging from obligatory to
forbidden, with three intermediate categories. Committing forbidden actions and
omitting obligatory actions are considered sins that will in principle receive their punishment in the hereafter. However,
some sins are regarded as crimes that are punishable by the temporal authorities as well. Thus crimes are seen by
Muslims as a sub-category of sin, the prevention of which is part of the
religious duty of every believer. Because of this, those who commit a crime
will be under great informal social pressure from family and members of the
community to repent and to compensate for their wrongdoing. However, it is the
criminal act, not the criminal himself or herself, that is most rigorously
condemned.[10]
Three
types of crime are distinguished by Muslim scholar-jurists. The classification
is based mainly on the nature of the punishment laid down for the crimes,
namely, ḥadd, qiṣāṣ, and taʿzīr.
1. Ḥadd, which literally means limit(ation) or prohibition,
refers to punishments laid down in the Koran for unlawful intercourse, false
accusation of unlawful intercourse, drinking wine, theft, and highway robbery
(cf. ṣādiqī 1372/199394, 407408; Schacht 1982, 17881). Ḥadd
punishments are considered as the right or claim of God (ḥaqq
Allāh). Thus, they are fixed, and after conviction no pardon or
amicable settlement is possible. The punishment of these crimes is also very
strict, even harsh. In spite of the severity of the proposed penalties,
students of the Islamic penal system argue that there is a strong tendency to
restrict the applicability of the ḥadd punishment as much as
possible, except the ḥadd for false accusation of unlawful
intercourse. This in turn serves to restrict the applicability of the ḥadd for unlawful intercourse itself. (Schacht 1982, 176; see also Saif 1995a, 1314; Haroon 1993, 2841.)[11] [123]
2. Qiṣāṣ (retaliation, lex talionis) applies to
offences like murder and bodily assault. Since qiṣāṣ
is considered to be the right of the people, the decision to prosecute and
punish the offender is the right of the injured party or his or her family. For
intentional homicide, they can demand the death penalty, or material compensation, or can completely forgive the
offender. Thus, retaliation (the death penalty in the case of murder)
depends entirely on the victim or his or her family. Given that people are
normally influenced by public opinion, the likelihood of qiṣāṣ
penalties being applied may vary (Haroon 1993, 2627). Moreover, the Koranic verse
on qiṣāṣ strongly recommends forgiveness and material
compensation.[12]
3. The third category of crime is punishable by taʿzīr. The term legally refers to a penalty that is not fixed because it is
not cited in the sacred texts (the Koran or the tradition of the Prophet). In
fact, taʿzīr is applicable to all crimes that are outside the realm of ḥadd and qiṣāṣ crimes. Taʿzīr
is the dynamic part of Islamic penal
law, under which Islamic scholar-jurists discussed a variety of offences
that could appear at different times and in different societies.
With this overview of Islamic penal law in mind, we can return to the
question of the effect of this law on crime in Islamic societies. As previously
noted, it is argued that the low crime rate of Islamic societies reflects the
severity of punishments in Islamic penal law. However, considering the extreme
caution built into Islamic penal law as well as the relative unlikelihood of
its being applied in Muslim societies, this argument would seem to be
irrelevant. Three reasons may be suggested for the irrelevance of the argument.
Firstly,
Islamic penal law has not been the dominant law of the great majority of
Islamic countries in recent decades. From the early twentieth century, Islamic
countries began to adopt a Western style of criminal, commercial, and general
civil law (Coulson 1978, 1452).[13] The appeal [124] for the
application of Islamic law in Muslim countries, as a general demand of the
Islamic revival movement, has appeared mainly in recent years.[14] In a few
countries, like
Secondly,
there are three dimensions of punishment that may affect crime: severity,
certainty, and celerity (Davis and Stasz 1990, 44). With respect to these
dimensions, Islamic penal law would appear to introduce a high level of
punishment. Nonetheless, with respect to the likelihood of conviction and the
execution of punishment, it enjoys a low level of certainty. As previously
noted, Islamic penal law tends to restrict the application of ḥadd
punishment. The application of qiṣāṣ punishment,
moreover, depends entirely on the decision of the victim or of his or her
family, who are exhorted to forgive the offender. Regarding celerity, Islamic
penal law, in its traditional form, seems to be very swift. Nevertheless, as
far as its application in modern times in a few Islamic countries is concernedwe may take the example of
The
third and last reason to doubt that the stringency of Islamic penal law
accounts for the low crime rate of Islamic societies is connected with the general
controversy over the relationship between the level of punishment and the
crime. The prohibiting impact of the level of punishment has been a matter of
dispute among criminologists. While empirical studies seem to suggest a
positive relationship between the certainty of punishment and the crime rate,
most studies fail to prove the existence of a
relationship between the severity of punishment and the crime rate [125] (Tittle 1969;
Davis and Stasz, 1990, 44; Mohammad 1991, 8389, 9196). Given
the disputes on this matter on the one hand, and the fact that Islamic penal
law enjoys severity but not certainty on the other, it is reasonable to
question whether the severity of punishment in Islamic penal law has any
significant effect on the crime rate.
We
think that Islamic penal law, in a particular sense, has indeed been an
effective element contributing to the low crime rate in Islamic societies;
namely, that as part of Sharīʿa Islamic penal law has been considered by Muslims
as an Ideal to be
respected (Watt 1961, 193; Schacht 1982, 199; Saif 1995b, 121). In other words,
for Muslims, Sharīʿa reflects Gods will, prohibiting wrongdoing and indicaing the way to salvation. Thus, the more severe the suggested penalty
for an action, the more sinful the action is according to Muslims. In
this regard, comparing the crime rate of
Saudi Arabia with those of surrounding Muslim countries, Souryal (1990,
295) concludes that the application of Sharīʿa undoubtedly plays a role in keeping the crime rate
of Saudi Arabia low. However, he adds that unlike Western style positive laws, Sharīʿa reflects an
expanded view of socio-religious rules based on the principles of prevention,
conditioning, bonding, moralizing, and punishment.
In
general, therefore, it may be concluded that if Islamic penal lawas part of Sharīʿahas had a real prohibitive effect on crime, it is not simply
because it is applied as formal penal law. It is mainly because the complex of religious
ideas to which it belongs has had a great influence on the mentality of
Muslims. Watts suggestion
cited above (p. 121) that even when Sharīʿa is little observed it sets a standard that is to
some extent influential in the actual
practice of Muslims thus seems to be warranted. Consequently, regardless
of whether the official penal law is based on Sharīʿa or not, public opinion in Muslim countries can be
expected to be stricter towards crime, particularly towards those offences
named in the penal law of Islam that are considered to have an especially
devastating effect on the moral health of the society. In summary, Islamic penal law has had its prohibitive effect on crime as
a normative system respected by Muslims, and not just as a penal law that threatens
offenders.
5. Muslim Attitudes towards Crime: Empirical
Evidence
The argument
that, as a normative system, Sharīʿa and the penal law of Islam have had an impact on
Muslims negative
attitudes towards crime may be supported by the findings of a few empirical
studies. In these studies the attitudes of Muslims towards the seriousness of
particular kinds of deviant behaviour were compared with those of other
nations. In a cross-national study conducted by Newman (1976), people in six countries
[126] (India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Yugoslavia, and the USA) were asked
about nine activities that are generally recognized as deviant behaviour in
most cultures: robbery, incest, appropriation of public funds, homosexuality,
abortion, taking drugs, factory pollution, public protest, and not helping a person in danger. Among several other
questions, the respondents were asked, Do you think this act should be prohibited by law? The average of positive answers across the set of
acts for the countries was as follows:
In another cross-national study, Scott and
Al-Thakeb (1980, quoted from Wilson and Herrnstein 1985, 45051 and fig.) ranked the perceived seriousness of several categories of crime. The
study included eight samples from
Moreover, based on two samples of American and
Kuwaiti students, Evans and Scott (1984) measured the seriousness of
a list of offences. Their findings were
consistent with the previous findings. As can be seen in table 2, Kuwaitis were
tougher regarding all categories of offences.
Table 2. Mean Seriousness of Offence Category:
|
Offence Category |
Mean Seriousness |
Mean Seriousness |
|
Violent Property White Collar Morals |
11.2 7.8 6.1 4.1 |
11.6 8.4 7.8 10.5 |
Source: Evans and Scott 1984, 52.
The observed differences with respect to the social tolerance of crime between Islamic and non-Islamic countries may
conceivably be explained [127] by the level
of development (Grove et al. 1987). The fact that almost all non-Islamic countries included in the previously discussed
studies were developed countries may give support to the argument that
emphasizes the significance of the level of development. However, based on the
data given in these studies, it is difficult to distinguish between the effects
of Islamic culture and those of modernity. In order to examine precisely the
effect of Islamic culture on the significantly different crime rates of Islamic
developing countries and non-Islamic developing countries shown above in Table
1 (p. 113), one must compare public opinion towards crime in these countries.
Of
course the process of development and modernity, as it has happened so far, has
weakened traditional family, community, and religious bonds. Consequently, it
has changed traditional attitudes towards crime in favor of greater tolerance
of at least some categories of crime. In this regard, Islamic countries seem to
be no exception. Nevertheless, it can be argued that, because of the great role
played by religion, the process of development itself in Islamic societies is
strongly influenced by Islamic teachings. Thus it is very likely that public
opinion in Islamic countries will remain more sensitive towards crime,
particularly towards offences against public decency and personal morality (modesty in male-female relations, sexual morality, and drug
and alcohol codes), even when
the effect of the development variable is controlled.
In
this light, it does not seem unlikely that the fact that Islamic countries are categorized as a low crime rate group
among developing countries (Shelly 1981, 5052; cf. section 2) should be attributed to their Islamic cultural legacy. The argument that Islam plays a role in the
difference in the crime rates of developing countries may be supported ,
moreover, by Newmans (1976)
earlier cited study, in which the average judgment of illegality in samples
from two Islamic countries, Indonesia and Iran, was stricter than that of an
Indian sample (see the first paragraph of this section).
6. Conclusion
In sum,
belief, ritual, and practice have placed God, His word, and His will at the
center of Muslim life. The development in Islam of the set of religious and
moral precepts collectively known as Sharīʿa that cover almost all aspects of life is a result
of this fact. The penal system of Islam, as part of this moral system, has some
influence on the individual and social consciousness of Muslims, even when it
is not in practice enforced. This influence may act as a constraint that inhibits
crime and consequently contributes to the low crime rate of Islamic societies.
[128] The application of Sharīʿa has been a matter of serious controversy in Islamic societies. This
debate, however, lies far beyond the concerns of the present study. Nonetheless,
it should be noted that in spite of the strength and popularity of the Islamic
revitalization trend, which emphasizes bringing Islamic values to bear in
regulating society, the movement is a heterogeneous one, within which two main
interpretations of Islamization and Sharīʿa can be distinguished.
Traditional Islamists are loyal to the
reading of Sharīʿa that was developed by early Muslim scholar-jurists, and they consider that reading to be on the level of divine law
and unchangeable. Modernist Islamists, in contrast, criticize the thesis of the
continued validity of the body of doctrine developed by medieval scholars to
respond to the necessities of their age (cf. Schacht 1982; Coulson 1978, 145455; Saif 1995a, 919; Saif 1995b, 12023). While traditionalists have pursued a nostalgic quest for past
communal values, modernists have attempted to create an Islamic version of
modernity by reflecting on and embracing the values of the modern world as well
as the general principles of Islam (cf. Turner 1994, 9295).
During recent decades the
socio-economic structure of Islamic societies
has been modernizing and has changed dramatically. Religion, however, has remained an influential force
in the social life of Muslims. They still
show great concern for obeying Gods will and observing Koranic teachings in their everyday life. It seems that the voices of
modern Islamists have had louder echoes than those of traditionalists.
Nonetheless, the modernist approaches to Islamic revitalization tend to present
not only a more moderate but also a more individualistic
interpretation of Islamic law. One
may therefore ask whether or not modernist versions of Sharīʿa, or Islam in
general, can create the social consensus that the more stringent traditionalist
versions have succeeded in creating so far.
Muslim societies
have shown that they have been able to preserve their religious commitment in
the modern world to a great extent (Turner 1994, 9295). However, they have not yet
experienced fully, or reflected seriously on, the late modernity and
globalisation era, in which an all-embracing religious ethos seems very
difficult to practice (Kurtz 1995, 106;
Robertson 1970, 88). Nonetheless, whatever the form and the strength of
religion in the era of late modernity will be (cf. Beckford 1996, 3047; Berger 1997), it
could be argued that religion is more fervently practiced and more effectively
maintained in Muslim societies than in others. This is undoubtedly a result of
the dynamism of the motivation of being submissive to God among Muslims. This
dynamism, as previously discussed, generated in the traditional world a
particular version of sacred law that has made Islam different from other
religions [129] with respect to the
application of religious codes in the everyday life of believers, and it has
maintained Islam as a strong vigorous religion in the modern world. Thus, if
the future of any culture is stamped by its heritage (which it is), then it is
more likely that the dynamism of submission to God will lead Muslims to create
new versions of Sharīʿa that preserve their classical religious sentiments
and codes more effectively than others will be able to do with their
traditional religious and ethical systems. Hence, if religious sentiments, in a
general sense, function to control criminality, then it may be argued that when
the level of development (modernity) and other variables affecting crime are
controlled, perhaps Islamic societies will continue to experience lower crime
rates than their counterparts.
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[1] There has
been great concern among some scholars about the reliability of crime statistics for cross-national comparison
(Groves et al. 1985, 5960; Rogers 1989, 325). The main reason for this
concern is the poor quality of crime statistics from developing countries, in
which unreported crimes in particular (the dark figure) are much higher than in
statistics from developed countries (Tanner 1983; United Nations 1993, 4).
However, an investigation of the reliability
of four widely used cross-national data sets on crime has suggested that
for studies seeking aggregate descriptions of world crime or analytic
explanations of cross-national crime rates, differences in the data sets do not make a difference in the results (Bennett
and Lynch 1990, 153). Moreover, cross-national comparison of different groups
of developing countries may be more reliable because, among them, the
quality of crime statistics with respect to the magnitude of dark figures seems
to be almost the same.
[2] Although
divorce is neither prohibited nor especially difficult in Islam, the divorce
rate and the singleness rate in Islamic countries have been very low. For
instance, in spite of the increase in the number of divorces in recent years in
Iran, the proportion of divorces to marriages was 8% in 1992 (Statistical
Centre of Iran 1373/199495, 50). Also, a survey study revealed that only 3.3% of high school students in Tehran had divorced
parents (Serajzadeh 1998).
[3] These
studies will be discussed in section 5.
[4] Lists of the of the articles of
faith vary somewhat from school to school, and not all include faith in the
Divine Decree and Predestination among the essential beliefs (see., e.g.,
Koran 2:177, cited in n. 7 below). Cf. Encyclopedia of Islam, new ed.,
3:1172a.
[5] It is
worth noting that according to Islamic teachings the psychic, social, economic,
and political limitations within which one is acting are recognized as elements
reducing ones accountability. This leads to lightening of punishment, both in
this world and the hereafter. For instance, a Koranic verse stresses that on
no soul doth God place a burden greater than it can bear (Koran 2:286, trans.
A Yusuf Ali). The punishment for burglary, for example, is very harsh according
to Islamic law. However, it can be only be carried out if several conditions
are met, one of which is that the offender must not be in desperate need of
basic requirements of life (see Schacht 1982, 176, 178; Saif 1995a, 1314;
Haroon 1993, 2841; Qutb 1977, 13435).
[6] Whether
or not this situation is itself a function of development is a matter of
speculation and is not relevant to our purpose here.
[7] One of
the Koranic verses stipulating zakāt, along with other practices,
shows exactly the social and moral dimension of zakāt: It is not
righteousness that ye turn your faces towards East or West; but it is
righteousness to believe in God and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book,
and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for
your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and
for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular
charity [zakāt]; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made;
and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and
throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the God-fearing
(2:177, trans. A.Yusuf Ali).
[8] The
function of the religious leaders among Muslims, the ʿulamāʾ
or learned, is to teach the requirements and the rules of Islam to ordinary
people and to attempt to draw up Islamic codes of behavior for new situations (ijtihād).
Religious jurisprudence must be based on the
Koran, the tradition of the Prophet, reason, and the consensus of previous
scholars. What at present is known as Islamic law was mainly developed
by scholars relatively early in Islamic history (the eighth to eleventh
centuries). By the eleventh century, many scholars considered that ijtihād
(religious jurisprudence) had been exhausted by great preceding jurists and
that no further development of law was in principle possible (see Turner 1974,
113, and, generally, Schacht 1982). Although Shiite ʿulamāʾ
still believe in the possibility of ijtihād, in practice they have
been very conservative in changing the content of Sharīʿa. It
must be added that among Muslims a twofold
ethos has developed from the time of early Islam: that of Sharīʿa and that of Sufism,
which have often challenged and sometimes been in conflict with each other.
While Sufism, with its focus on emotion and internal piety, has been impressively influential in Islamic societies, the more
rational Sharīʿa, with its focus on external piety, has
been the dominant ethos in most Islamic societies. Sufism will therefore not be
discussed here.
[9] See n. 8.
[10] In Koran
2:178, which deals with retaliation for murder, the next of kin of the slain
person (walī al-dam) is called the brother of the murderer and
he/she is exhorted to forgive and accept compensation. The translation by A.
Yusuf Ali of akhīhi in the verse as the brother of the slain does not
follow this interpretation. But the text of, for instance, al-Bayḍāwīs
commentary is clear on the matter: . . . akhīhi,
that is to say the walī al-dam, named here with the word signifying
the brotherhood existing between them [this person and the murderer] in race
and in Islam that he might relent and take pity on him. (1846, 1:100).
Pickthalls translation gives this meaning: And for him who is forgiven
somewhat by his (injured) brother. . . .
[11] Some instances of this tendency are as follows: It is strongly
recommended that individuals who witness
others sins do not report the incidents but privately
advise the sinner; for unlawful intercourse, four eye-witnesses are
required whose statements should be precisely the same, otherwise, they will be
convicted for false accusation; the confession of the person who is accused for
a ḥadd crime can be withdrawn, and even the judge should suggest
this possibility to the person who has confessed, except in the case of false
accusation of unlawful intercourse; For carrying out the punishment for theft,
several conditions are required, some of which can rarely be met. One such
condition is that the offender should not be a needy person (see Schacht 1982,
176, 178; Saif 1995a, 1314; Haroon 1993, 2841; Qutb 1977, 13435).
[12] Koran
2:178. See note 10.
[13] The only exception is Saudi Arabia, where a traditional approach to Islamic law has
long been in force. Most recently, under the influence of the Islamic
revival movement, the application of Sharīʿa
law has emerged as a strong social demand.
However, not all Muslim revivalists believe in application of the
traditional version of Sharīʿa. Therefore, what is applied in
Iran as Islamic Law is to a great extent different from what has been applied
in Saudi Arabia, or what was applied recently
in Afghanistan by the Taliban, who adopted to a considerable extent
tribal rules as those of Sharīʿa.
[14] It must
be noted that among Muslims there are various interpretations of the content of
Sharīʿa and the ways in
which it may apply (see the last parts of section 6).