The TFG charter and the offending article

[James Dahl]

Here is the Transitional Federal Charter
http://www.iss.co.za/AF/profiles/Somali ... rfeb04.pdf

ARTICLE 8
RELIGION.
1. Islam shall be the religion of the Somali Republic.
2. The Islamic Sharia shall be the basic source for national
legislation.

ARTICLE 15
EQUALITY OF THE CITIZENS BEFORE THE LAW.
1. All citizens of the Somali Republic are equal before the law and provisions of this Transitional Federal Charter and have the right to equal protection and equal benefit of the law without distinction of race, birth, language, religion, sex or political affiliation.
2. Equality shall include the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms.

Basically Article 8 states that Somalia is an Islamic country and Sharia is the legal framework, except where the status of being an Islamic Country with a Sharia legal system would violate Article 15, which guarantees someone's right to equal protection and benefit of the law. Article 15 also states that legal discrimination based upon sex, religion, political affiliation, language, birth or race is unconstitutional.

It should be emphasized that Article 15 is a good article, and is primarily anti-discriminatory and is in fact one of the few articles in the constitution that protects people's legal rights. It is however, the one article that clearly violates Sharia, as under Sharia, non-Muslims and women do not have the same legal and political rights as Muslims and men.

Should Article 15 go?

[surroundsound]

The whole document is littered with things that are objectionable from an Islamic viewpoint. But most fundamentally how did you manage to get to article 8 without coming across article 1?


All the sovereign authority belongs to the people of Somalia

Whereas Surah Yusuf says

Verily the law, judgement is for God alone. (12:40)

God is soveriegn over all his dominion and he affirms this in his attribute of Al-Malik. So no, despite the claims of the TFG constitution, soverign authority does NOT belong to the people of Somalia and this goes against sharia in the most fundamental way. It is kufr to deny any of the attributes of God. Even the pakistani parliament, with all its problems Islamically, has acknowledged that all soverignty belongs to Allah but the flimsy TFG charter cannot do this?

Secondly so what if Sharia is recognised as the basic source of legislation. Anything can be a source of legislation. Here is the west most legislation comes about after pressure from interest groups, some legislation that comes about from sheer inspiration.( about 3%) Anything can be a source of legislation. However the sharia for Muslims isn't just something you can pick and choose from as demonstrated in the ayah in Surah Baqarah. Do you believe in part of the book and not in another? Rather sharia must be the means of legislation, not a 'source' It is all rather absurd, how can sharia be a source in a document declaring the soverignty of the Somali people when the whole raison de etre of sharia is to establish God's will not the people's will? The west will certainly not tolerate any legislation that is undemocratic. While in theory the British Parliament has full soverignty and can even institute undemocratic laws, the courts have hinted that they would reject any legislation that was undemocratic. But this flimsy document even rules out any challenges to itself by saying its validity cannot be challenged in any court!!!!! Why is it consistent with Natural Law? Are its principles so right-minded that they they are understood intiutively? OIr is it sacred of any legal challenge because it is a pile of junk?

I am really disturbed by you and you have yet to explain why democracy is excellent means to acheive sharia in Somalia while sharia is not crucial to democracy in Canada. Why not make democracy a 'source' of legislation in the Canadian Sharia?