Keith Ellison. Andre Carson. Ilhan Omar. Rashida Tlaib. These names have two interesting things in common. One, they are all Democrat congressmen and congresswomen in the United States House of Representatives. Two, they are all Muslims. And while Muslims, like Christians, are not all the same, they also, like Christians, have a common code of law that attends their religion. For Muslims, Sharia is “the path.” It is the expected behavior of everyone under its domain.
Seeing Islam become more widespread in America, and Muslims beginning to win places in government, has made the word sharia come up much more often of late. Often times, when it does come up, it is mentioned as a fear; “what do these people want?” That question is normally met with an instant charge of “You are Islamaphobic!”
But what is not normally done is the one thing that truly should be done first; an examination of exactly what sharia law is.
When it comes to sharia law, caveat emptor, let the buyer beware, is a maxim that no one dare ignore.
Much talk of Islam and sharia is no more than opinion, much more heat than light. But that is absolutely not necessary. Very few people in America realize that there is, in fact, a single, easily accessible source for all things sharia. It is not necessary for us to ask people what sharia law is; we can read it for ourselves.
As I write this column, the large green book with ornate gold writing sits on the desk to my right. The Reliance of the Traveler, A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law, more than 1200 pages long, spells out sharia in all of the often eye-popping details.
As to the “present-day authority” of this book, the authors leave no doubt that it is, in fact, applicable for today:
 “The authors of the present volume and their positions do represent the Orthodox Muslim intellectual and spiritual heritage that has been the strength of the community for over a thousand years, and the means through which Allah has preserved his religion, in its purest and fullest sense, to the present day.” P. 7
Canadian Citizens for charter rights and freedom echos that claim:
 “This text is the first Islamic legal work in a European language to receive certification from the most important seat of Sunni Islamic jurisprudence, Cairo’s al-Azhar University. It has also been endorsed by the Muslim Brotherhood who supply the leadership for al-qaeda and many of the other jihadist groups.” (https://www.canadiancitizens.org/reliance-of-the-traveller-sharia)
So, what exactly is in this book? What is sharia law? Buckle up, the ride may get a little bumpy…
Sharia law makes sodomy unlawful (page 11). Yes, the Bible also regards it as unlawful. But the irony is that the so-called “progressive bloc” of American politics usually contains both advocates of homosexual rights, and those who are virulently opposed to “Islamophobia.” This despite the fact that under sharia law, this unlawful act is to be punished by stoning (page 610). If sharia ever does somehow become law in America, all parts of the progressive bloc (feminism, homosexuality, transgenderism, etc.) will be at the front of the line for punishment!
On page 59 we find that “circumcision is obligatory for both men and women.”
On page 94 we find what amounts to marital rape: “if a woman claims to be having her period, but her husband does not believe her, it is lawful for him to have sexual intercourse with her.” The #BelieveAllWomen movement does not have any sway within the bounds of sharia; women are liars who can be forced into intercourse against their will.
For those in America who believe in treating children with tenderness and compassion, the commands of sharia law on page 109 will likely be a bit of an eye opener. “When a child with discrimination (meaning he can eat, drink, and clean himself after using the toilet unassisted) is seven years of age, he is ordered to perform the prayer, and when ten, is beaten for neglecting it.”
Can you even imagine the outcry if a set of church bylaws of, say, a Baptist Church in Alabama, was found to contain such a command? But with sharia, this is not even to be a “mosque by mosque decision;” it is binding upon everyone under its sphere of influence.
Misogyny is a term thrown about consistently in America these days. Try this bit of sharia law on for “misogynistic.” On page 191 we find that a woman is not allowed to travel against her husband’s wishes.
Here is one that I find particularly humorous. “ It is offensive for an attractive or young woman to come to the mosque to pray, though not offensive for women who are not young or attractive when this is unlikely to cause temptation.” (Page 171). One can only imagine what it must be like to have the job of “door checker” on that one:
 “Yes, yes, it seems that you are old enough and unattractive enough not to cause anyone to lust. By all means, come right on in and pray.”
Pages 199 through 201teach that it is illegal for men to wear silk, gold jewelry, a silver necklace, armband, or bracelet.
Page 201 makes it illegal to have a picture hanging on your wall. Goodbye, Thomas Kincaid.
On the “women are weak” front, pages 241 through 242 say, “ it is offensive for women to visit graves, because of their lack of fortitude and excessive grief.”
On page 280 we find another example of child endangerment that would surely provoke a visit from Child Protective Services if these words were spoken by a Baptist:
 “A child of seven is ordered to fast, and ten is beaten for not fasting.”
On page 510 we learned that a woman must have a husband or a male relative accompany her to be allowed to travel. And in a law sure to please the modern “I can wear as little as I like” feminist, page 513 informs us that it is illegal for a woman to leave home without a veil over her face.
Perhaps one of the most sobering portions of the book is found on page 522. One third of the way down the page we find the heading in all capital letters, GUARDIANS WHO MAY MARRY A VIRGIN TO A MAN WITHOUT HER CONSENT. The quotes that follow under that heading are these. 1. “The only guardians who may compel their charge to marry are a virgin bride’s father or father’s father, compel meaning to marry her to a suitable match without her consent.” 2. “Whenever the bride is a virgin, the father or father’s father may marry her to someone without her permission, though it is recommended to ask her permission if she has reached puberty. A virgin’s silence is considered as permission.”
Note as well that based on that passage, pre-pubescent girls, minors, children, can be forced into “marriage” with a ful grown adult man, and their “permission” need not be asked for said “child marriage.”
On page 525 we find that it is obligatory for a woman to let her husband have sex with her immediately when he asks her. Just a few paragraphs later we find that “the number of wives one may have is four.”
On pages 540 to 542 we find the myriad of reasons that a man may beat his wife.
On page 595 through 596 we read, “when a person who has reached puberty and is sane voluntarily apostasizes from Islam, he deserves to be killed. In such a case, it is obligatory for the Caliph to ask him to repent and return to Islam. If he does is accepted from him, but if he refuses he is immediately killed.” Again, the double standard is striking. If a church exercises church discipline and removes someone for their sin, it becomes weeks worth of fodder on social media, late-night talk shows, and the 24 hour cable news cycle. But you will be hard-pressed to find any of those entities saying much about this command of sharia law.
On page 617 we find that drinking alcohol is expressly forbidden, and the punishment for doing so is to be scourged 40 stripes. As a Bible believing Christian, I find alcohol as a beverage to be sinful and off-limits. But I do not know of any Christian entity anywhere who scourges people for disobeying that principal.
In another clear death threat to homosexuals, page 665 says “kill the one who sodomizes and the one who lets it be done to him.”
After nearly 700 pages, sharia is still not done with “fun things for women.” Page 681 through 682, under the heading “a wife’s rebelling against her husband,” says, “men are the guardians of women, since Allah has been more generous to one than the other… And if you fear their intractability, warn them, send them from bed, or hit them.” Sorry, ladies, your inferiority is showing!
What else is illegal under sharia law? Musical instruments (p. 774-775) bas reliefs (p.792) buying or selling insurance (p.829) pictures (p.959-961) tv (p.965) hair extensions, tattoos, and plucking eyebrows (p.971) perfume (p.982) and going to a psychic or astrologer (p. 984).
And these are simply highlights out of a 1200 page book.
Across the world there will be people who voluntarily submit themselves to sharia law; and to the extent that it affects only them, they certainly have the right to do so. My issue is the fact that in this country, in the entire Western world, in fact, people instinctively shout “Islamophobia!” when someone dares to mention that sharia law might not, in fact, be a safe or good thing, when the people doing the shouting have utterly no idea what they are shouting about.
Caveat emptor.
(All quotes taken from The Reliance of the Traveler, Amana Publications, Beltsville, Maryland. Nu Ha Mim Keller, 1991 and 1994)
Feature Photo by Bo Wagner