Is sharia a good legal system? A few weeks ago, two YouTubers started a discussion on the topic. It has been occupying all of Turkey for days.
The question of whether the YouTuber Diamond Tema did not hurt the religious feelings of the population - with his statements about the prophet Muhammad - is being discussed mostly. At least that's what the Turkish presidency and the Turkish Ministry of Justice think so. They announced that the 30-year-old Turkish YouTuber with Albanian roots is now being investigated for "inciting the people" and "humiliation of religious feelings", and that a warrant has been issued for his arrest.
Crime or free expression of opinions?
Tema tries in a number of subsequent videos to explain that he did not commit a crime. He says he simply read the traditions about the prophet from generally accepted sources. "There is no problem either legally or morally. Distorting the situation and presenting it as if an ungodly person slanders Sharia is manipulation," the YouTuber emphasizes. The case shows once again how deep the division is in Turkish society. Some believe that everything said by Diamond Tema is an expression of freedom of opinion. Others claim that he insulted the Prophet Muhammad and hurt religious sentiments.
What exactly did Tema say?
In the aforementioned YouTube show, Diamond Tema, who is an agnostic and staunch supporter of the separation of church and state, spoke with nationalist-conservative influencer Asrin Tok, who says sharia is a better system than democracy. For more than two hours, the two discussed various topics - from basic rights and the rights of minorities to democracy or the equality of men and women.
Muhammad's marriage to his last wife, Aisha, is also affected. According to many Islamic sources, Aisha was six years old at the time of the engagement, and nine at the time of the marriage. "Do you believe that your prophet married a six-year-old girl? Under Sharia, a Muslim can marry a six-year-old girl, but do you think that's right?'' Diamond asks his opponent.
Even that alone was explosive enough. Since then, the web has been flooded with millions of death threats against Tema and his family. The YouTuber is disappointed - mostly because of the intervention of the Turkish Ministry of Justice, which is tantamount to a preliminary conviction. "He is also my minister, he should also protect my rights," Tema points out. Despite all this, for now he has decided to stay in Albania and return to Turkey only when the situation calms down.
Turkey is divided
Since coming to power in 2011, President Erdogan's Islamic-conservative Justice and Development Party has only increased polarization in the country. The narrative that since the founding of the republic 100 years ago, the faithful and the conservative, ie. Erdoğan's electorate are constantly discriminated against and oppressed, continues to be propagated to this day. At the same time, during his administration, the president managed to create his own elite and turned extremist orders and brotherhoods into his powerful supporters. Today, people who are in favor of a strict separation of state and religion are under pressure. And they are many.
Sharia is not particularly popular among the population
In 2016, 75 percent of people were in favor of a clear separation between state and religion, four years later the percentages jumped to 81. The opposite trend was observed among supporters of Sharia, with support for it in 2016 at 22 per one hundred and four years later, it dropped to 17%. Otherwise, 85 percent of the population state that religion plays an important role in their lives, but not among young people between 18 and 24 years old. As the theologian Cemil Kilik stated to DV, for years Islamic brotherhoods and communities and the media directed by them have been propagandizing that Sharia and Islam are one and the same. But Sharia is not a religion, nor an embodiment of Islam.
What is Sharia?
According to Serdar Kurnaz, a professor at the Berlin Institute of Islamic Theology at Humboldt University, the answer to this question is not easy. Because Sharia has been interpreted in different ways throughout history. "Sharia is a divine system of norms that is not formalized and has no textual basis that can simply be read and applied," Kurnaz explains.
It is precisely this that gives rise to contradictions - not only in Turkey and not only between believers and others, but also among practicing Muslims. Because there are different understandings of Sharia. Professor Serdar Kurnaz formulated the explanation of Sharia as follows: on the basis of scriptures on various topics of daily life and religious practice of Muslims, attempts are made to derive norms that are in accordance with the divine system of norms. "But we do not know exactly what the divine system of norms is. We can only guess what it would be like in the spirit of God. The scientist also notes that Sharia law is not a monolithic and rigid structure - it is dynamic and adaptable. Especially in relation to interpersonal relationships, it can always be renegotiated and reshaped.
Author: Elmaz Topchu