Intisar Rabb, professor of law at Harvard Law School and a director of its Islamic Legal Studies Program

Mandatory criminal penalties are basic to any penal code. Like other criminal systems, Islamic jurisprudence does prescribe certain punishments in certain situations, but any criminal judgement must be carried out by a state authority, as Islam does not allow vigilantism. Furthermore, most of these punishments were meant to act as deterrents, and, in practice, the most severe punishments were rarely carried out. Much of the conflict between Sunnis and Shi‘ah is more political than religious. For instance, in Iraq before the Second Gulf War, Sunnis dominated the government. After the war, rule was shifted to Shi‘ah, and this has produced tensions that have often been exploited by extremists on both sides.Islam Q&A is an academic, educational, da‘wah initiative which aims to offer advice and academic answers based on evidence from religious texts in a comprehensive yet easy-to-understand manner. Therefore, it is important to understand that the answers to the following questions reflect the views of the American Muslim scholars that ING has worked with.In other words, we do not speak for or on behalf of all Muslims. In most cases, however, the views of these scholars probably reflect the views of the majority of Sunni Muslims in the U.S. and worldwide. Islam is the name of a religion, as Christianity and Judaism are names of religions. The Arabic word “Islam” is based on the root “slm,” which means peace or surrender to God. Combining both translations results in the combined meaning “the state of peace through following God’s guidance.” Though both Sunnis and Shi’as revere and respect the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, many Shi’a’s consider the rulings of the twelve Imams a primary source having a status similar to that of the aforementioned sources. Other sources may exist for different Muslim sects. For the holy month this year, Muslims in Murmansk, Russia, will need to fast for more than 20 hours, while it’s at least 18 hours in Copenhagen, 17.5 hours in London and 15.5 hours in Rome.

Islamic Questions and Answers" serves not only as a reference book but also as a tool for fostering interfaith dialogue and understanding. It promotes tolerance, dispels misconceptions, and encourages readers to explore the beauty and wisdom of Islam. Whoever has three daughters and treats them kindly, they will be a protection for him against the Fire.” (Hadith/ prophetic saying)

We believe that God created us all with the diversity of race, religion, language, and belief to get to know one another, respect one another, and uphold our collective human dignity.

Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, famous for her defense of women’s right to education, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 Amina Wadud, author of the books Qur’an and Woman and Inside the Gender Jihad and co-founder of the organization Sisters in IslamThey also ignore principles of the interpretation of texts followed by legitimate scholars of religion, above all the principle that a text must be understood with reference to the time, place, and situation in which it was given. The Qur’an, like other seminal religious texts, has a dual nature: one that is specific (particular or transitional) to the occasion, time, and place, and another that is universal and permanent, dealing with principles that apply for all times and places. The specific cannot be made to apply universally, while the universal always informs the specific. Ignoring this principle leads to arbitrary interpretations tailored to fit political agendas.

Out of a total world population of around 1.8 billion Muslims, terrorists make up a tiny minority. A CNN article estimates the total number of members of Muslim terrorist groups as around .00625% of the world’s total Muslim population. Even if one assumes that there is a total number of Muslim terrorists several times that figure to account for “lone wolf” extremists and currently unknown groups, one still finds only a very tiny percentage of Muslims involved in terrorism or extremist violence. The second assumption is likewise misleading. While religion is sometimes invoked by parties to support a war, religion is at most one factor among many in producing conflict, and usually not the most important one. Economic and political issues are generally the underlying causes behind most conflicts, including those involving Muslims. While one cannot speak for their motivations or methodology, Muslim terrorists use the Qur’an the same way that Christian extremists such as the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations or Jewish extremists such as Meir Kahane and Baruch Goldstein in Israel use the Bible: by taking phrases out of context and developing interpretations that serve their agenda.There are also many female Muslim scholars of Islam as well as renowned academics in related fields at leading universities today, including these examples: Whoever does right, male or female, and is a believer, We will revivify with a good life; and We will pay them their due according to the best of what they have done.” (Qur’an, 16:97)