July/August 2012 Newsbrief → Message From Maitreya

Sharia Laws
 

There are many people who are very afraid of sharia (Islamic) laws. They oppose (are afraid of) the spread of Islam because they say Islam is out to establish these laws in their communities and nations and eventually take over their cultures, etc. This phenomenon is now known as Islamophobia.

Here is an explanation of how this fear has become prevalent in many cultures:

The Center for American Progress defines Islamophobia as an "exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility toward Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination, and the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims from America's social, political, and civic life."

The impact of the Islamophobia campaign upon the American public's perception of Islam and Muslims has been very negative. Approximately half of all Americans hold an unfavorable view of Islam. To date, dozens of bills have been introduced in more than half of the states to ban Sharia and/or international law. Some of these bills are overly broad, and some in essence would outlaw any organization that adhered to any Islamic jurisprudential school.
(Source)

Wikipedia defines sharia as:

The word Sharia has evolved from an archaicArabicword denoting "pathway to be followed",[16][17]or "path to the water hole".[20]. Though interpretations of sharia vary between cultures, in its strictest definition it is considered the infallible law of Godas opposed to the human interpretation of the laws (fiqh).

There are, therefore, laws made by man (fiqh) and those which are made by God. It is obvious that whatever is not made by God is made by man. We are not going to concentrate on the laws of man in this article. Whatever Laws are made by God are what we would like to look at and consider.

The first question that arises is: Do we believe God exists? That question has been answered clearly through THOTH and our teachings, and the answer is: Yes S/He DOES. If God has said He will do all the things we have Revealed and He has done them, is that not undeniable proof for His existence? He is a Being who has predicted things He will do and has delivered what He said He will do. Therefore God does exist, for sure.

Now if God exists, and He has created this universe, why has He done that? Why has He created the universe? Was the creation created for play and there are no Rules and Laws Guiding it? Or was it created for a purpose and so is set to accomplish something? If we accept that the latter one is true, and so there is a purpose in creation, as the Mission has proven clearly that there is, what is this Purpose, and how can we achieve It?

The purpose can be defined as the Goal to accomplish or achieve. The Mission has given humanity this Goal, and has stated clearly what it is: The Goal of Life is to Be(come) Divine (One with God, return Home, etc.). The creation was created for us to return to God.

God has created the whole universe for this purpose. Did He create any Rules and Laws which will assist the unit consciousnesses to achieve this Goal? He Surely has mentioned that He has a Way, and many Rules for following this Way, all through His Scriptures. The phrase, "Follow the Lord," is used in all religions. When you follow someone you will follow his ways (rules).

The next question will be, what are these Rules/Laws? Moses brought many Laws. So did Prophet Muhammad. There are Laws and Rituals in all religions. It is pretty confusing, isn't it? Now Muslims come along and say that they have the last Prophet, and that is what He set up as the Laws of God, and they call it sharia. If Prophet Muhammad is the last Prophet, to them, the Laws He brought have to be the ultimate Laws sent by God.

However, even among Muslims there is no consensus of what sharia is. Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia:

There are two primary sources of Islamic law: the precepts set forth in the Quran, and the example set by the Islamic prophet Muhammadin the Sunnah. Where it has official status, sharia is interpreted by Islamic judges (qadis) with varying responsibilities for the religious leaders (imams). For questions not directly addressed in the primary sources, they extend the application of sharia through consensus of the religious scholars (ulama) thought to embody the consensus of the Muslim Community (ijma). Islamic jurisprudence will also sometimes incorporate analogies from the Quran and Sunnah through qiyas,....

So the sharia is not set to be rigid and is adaptable to almost any situation. There is no rigid consensus of what it really is. However, many safeguards are put into creating and following it so to make it as humane as possible.

Furthermore, at the end of the explanation above from Wikipedia (which is mostly from the point of view of Sunni, the largest branch in Islam), it is added: "...though Shia jurists prefer reasoning ('aql) to analogy" (Shia is the second largest branch). So even Muslims do not agree on the method and/or the approach to conclude and come up with Laws that will be considered part of sharia!

We also Know that Prophet Muhammad was not the last Prophet. The Last Prophet will be the Seventh Angel, who opens the Seven Seals, comes at the End Time, etc. So sharia cannot be the Ultimate Laws of God.

Then what are the Laws of God?

There are a few general guidelines that we might consider before answering this question:

  1. God takes no prisoners: In all the Laws of God, not even once does God say that: You should imprison a person for this amount of time for a crime. Apparently God considers prison to be an environment infested with greater criminal activities, where criminals learn to be even better at committing crimes. They are expensive. Prison creates ineffective people. It is unhealthy to be so idle and destroys people physically, mentally, emotionally, Spiritually, etc.

  2. The judgment is swift: The criminal is taken to the panel of Elders (or those who are known to be Just), the verdict is given, and the punishment (after careful consideration of the circumstances) is pronounced and carried out. You may keep the criminal in custody for a short time (indeed a very short time) so they can be judged, but may not sentence him or her to prison, as this is not allowed in God's Way, as explained above.

  3. The highest compassion and consideration should be applied: In being compassionate and considerate, first offenders should be given as much leeway as possible. The situation in which the crime was committed should be examined and all factors have to be looked at. The social environment also has to be a factor in the decision made. For example, if the social environment is such that people are constantly hungry, there are no jobs, and only a few are rich and others are starving to death, etc., if someone steals a loaf of bread, he might not be a great criminal but is in desperate need for food, etc. In such cases the utmost leniency should be applied. People should work toward improving their situations and so will not resort to crime for their basic needs.

  4. The idea is to create a society free of crime: Although the Elders and society should be compassionate and considerate, the Goal is to create a society with as little crime as possible (ideally free of crime). If a person is a habitual criminal, after a few times of being judged and society trying to rehabilitate him, and nothing helped, such a person deserves a very severe punishment in order to protect the society and good people from him. If such a person is a great threat to society, even eliminating him is advised. The idea is to create a society where people are not afraid of one another and criminals are not pampered but are prevented from criminal activities, a society which is for good people (the meek). The Leaders and Elders are here to protect them, not the criminals.


Furthermore, the following conditions are needed in order for the Laws of God to be effective:

  1. Just social environment: As briefly mentioned above, we must first have a just environment before we even can implement the Laws of God. Otherwise, those who have the power and are not just may use God's Laws, under the name of God, for their selfish and corrupt ways. This has happened throughout history. For example, in the Dark Ages in Europe, the Catholic Church became so powerful that it used the name of God to completely pacify many societies there and created much injustice. Even sharia has been used for this purpose in many nations. Although God's Laws can bring the Ideal society, they also can be misused: They can be used from ignorance (not knowing what the Will of God is), passion (for selfish reasons to gain the world) or Knowledge (correctly as they are intended to be used). Many of those who are opposed to implementing God's Laws are not against the Laws if they are just, but are against what they know about history and how much injustice has been committed under the name of God.

  2. Incorruptibles: Only those who are incorruptible can bring justice to all. We Know that "absolute power corrupts absolutely." When you put yourself in the position of representing God (His Laws), for those who truly follow you, you have absolute power over them. It is the same for those who judge the society under the pretense of using God's Laws. Therefore only those who are incorruptible can assume these all-powerful positions (leaders and judges) in order to prevent the misuse of the Laws. We have identified such people as Paravipras (Leaders) and Elders (Judges). Dominating others and being unjust is deeply ingrained in the human psyche. To find Truly incorruptible people is a huge task. They are few and far between among those who come to us and claim to be Paravipras. However, there are True Paravipras (Incorruptible people) who have been prepared to start the process of creating a Just society.

  3. Formation of the Communities Of Light (COLs) is essential: Our system, which is based on the COLs, is essential for Paravipras and Elders to be found (emerge). These people cannot be found by the commercialized mode of modern elections. You will only be worthy of such positions by proving yourself in many levels and to many people. Only such a system will be connected to Spirit (God) and that is an Essential part of the Mission's Teachings. If the Head (leadership) is Sick (is not connected to God), the body (society) will also be sick!

So, if we call these Laws, which are supposed to be from God, sharia, then all religions have them. However, if we call only the laws implemented in Islam sharia, then the question will be: Have we considered all the factors we just mentioned above so to be sure these laws are from God and are Just, etc.?

First of all, we saw that even Muslims cannot agree on what exactly sharia is. Secondly, are these laws implemented in just social environments? Are those people who set themselves as judges incorruptible? How have they been chosen? Are they from the COLs or are they from political systems which favor people with specific accepted cultural norms? Or are they chosen by influential people without input from the communities (better yet COLs)?

So now the conclusion become easy: If sharia means the Laws of God, then all religions have them. If it means Islamic laws, then Muslims have to consider this article and see that there is a new way to look at sharia. If they really want to follow what Prophet Muhammad meant by sharia, this is the way to fulfill His desire. Prophet Muhammad was Incorruptible (Paravipra) and so had the authority to pass Laws and implement them (be a Judge). Are these Muslims who sit in His place also Incorruptible?

There are a few final points left to consider in order to complete this article:

Process of decision making: With the directives above, the process of deciding what is the Will of God in each situation is the question of: What is the Will of God in that specific case? A decision has to be made which is Godly, Just, Compassionate, Swift, Firm, Benefits the society, Guides the misguided (the criminal), etc. What is God's Will, without being influenced by any worldly biases, is the Law (sharia, if that means the Will of God). That is why we have to choose the Elders (Judges) from those who are connected to the Spirit (God) and trust them to be unbiased in every situation. With these true Judges, Leaders who also are Just and supportive of those who implement Justice (Elders), and vigilant Communities (COLs), the human race will, for the first time after the flood of Noah, have a Just society based on God's Laws (Way).

Most judgments of petty crimes can be rendered in community levels. For more serious crimes there can be systems which will implement more organized due process to come to a Just decision. There even can be an international system to judge those who commit crimes affecting the whole (or large part of) earth. There are already many systems used on earth to bring justice in many places and communities. It has to be decided which one of these systems is best in any situation.

There will be appeal options when a person feels justice is not served. People who are judged in a community level can appeal their case to the higher court with more organized due process. The appeal processes can continue to higher levels, if needed.

Even in the higher courts with more organized due process, judgment should be rendered swiftly and correctly. People cannot be kept in prison for a long time, or indefinitely, waiting for their trials.

Justice should not cost citizens a penny! Anyone should be able to seek justice free of charge. Taxes and tithes should pay for it. The idea is to have justice for everyone, not just for the rich. If justice is not for everyone then the rich become richer by being unjust and the poor become poorer because they cannot fight the oppressors, etc. This is another service which should be free for everyone!

Of course with free access to the legal system there might be many frivolous claims filed. We can have layers/levels (arbitrators) at the very bottom of the judicial system (the first one might be established at the community level) to screen to see what will be appropriate for consideration by higher courts so the frivolous claims can be rejected right away. A person could file his claim three times with different lower arbitrators (if they wanted) or with the same arbitrator but with modified versions of the claim. If their claim was rejected three times they should stop trying.

God is calling the East and the West, the South and the North, and all humanity to come and have only One Way, the Laws of God. This is a Call To All!

His Way is not man's way. His Way is the Way.