{"id":3522,"date":"2019-05-08T14:40:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T21:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/harsh-punishments-under-sharia-are-modern-interpretations-of-an-ancient-tradition\/"},"modified":"2025-02-15T21:48:43","modified_gmt":"2025-02-16T05:48:43","slug":"harsh-punishments-under-sharia-law-are-modern-interpretation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/harsh-punishments-under-sharia-law-are-modern-interpretation\/","title":{"rendered":"Harsh punishments under Sharia are modern interpretations of an ancient tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/04\/story-3012-754x432.jpg\"\n                    data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Harsh punishments under Sharia are modern interpretations of an ancient tradition\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque, one of the landmarks in Brunei. Brunei recently announced punishing gay sex by stoning offenders to death. (AP Photo\/Vincent Thian)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=politics\">Politics<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Harsh punishments under Sharia are modern interpretations of an ancient tradition<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Jessica Marglin, professor of religion, argues that Sharia law is a complex tradition \u2013 one that accommodates same-sex attraction alongside rulings condemning homosexual intercourse. <strong> [5 min read] <\/strong>\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Jessica Marglin<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">May 8, 2019<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>After Brunei introduced death by stoning for homosexuals under its Islamic law, or Sharia, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/04\/03\/world\/asia\/brunei-stoning-gay-sex.html\">condemnation<\/a> from human rights organizations and others was swift. Recently, the country backed down under mounting international pressure, saying it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2019\/05\/06\/world\/asia\/brunei-gays-stoning-execution.html\">would not carry out executions<\/a> under the new law. The sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, said:<\/p>\n<address><em>\u201cAs evident for more than two decades, we have practiced a de facto moratorium on the execution of death penalty for cases under the common law.\u201d<\/em><\/address>\n<p>And this, he added would also be applied to cases under the Sharia penal code.<\/p>\n<p>Nonetheless, homosexuals in Brunei are still subject to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/05\/05\/asia\/brunei-lgbt-death-penalty-intl\/index.html\">penalties<\/a> such as whipping and amputation.<\/p>\n<p>Is Brunei\u2019s law an accurate reflection of Sharia?<\/p>\n<p>As a <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/cf\/faculty-and-staff\/faculty.cfm?pid=1057944\">scholar<\/a> of law and religion, I would argue that Sharia is not one thing: It is a complex tradition with multiple interpretations \u2013 one that accommodates the celebration of same-sex attraction alongside rulings condemning homosexual intercourse.<\/p>\n<h2>Different views<\/h2>\n<p>Starting in the early medieval period, <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=3YvEt3PxmAcC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=hallaq+sharia&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjJy7W0jfvhAhUjMX0KHW6TDZMQ6AEINjAC#v=onepage&amp;q=hallaq%20sharia&amp;f=false\">Sharia<\/a> developed as a sprawling corpus of texts and sources of authority that were often quite independent of the state.<\/p>\n<p>Over the centuries, jurists of Islamic law have reached different decisions about what the tradition mandates in a particular case. Within Sunni Islam, four different <a href=\"https:\/\/referenceworks.brillonline.com\/entries\/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2\/madhhab-SIM_8798?s.num=0&amp;s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&amp;s.q=madhhab\">schools<\/a> have agreed to disagree about everything from criminal law to ritual observance. Shia Muslims have their own school of Islamic law.<\/p>\n<p>Take, for instance, Muslim jurists\u2019 approach to <a href=\"https:\/\/referenceworks.brillonline.com\/entries\/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2\/liwat-SIM_4677?s.num=0&amp;s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&amp;s.q=liwat\">anal intercourse<\/a> between two men. The Quran offers only a general condemnation, with no specific legal consequences. There are some sources in the Hadith \u2013 the vast corpus of sayings and actions attributed to the Prophet Muhammad and collected centuries after his death \u2013 that are more specific, including condemning those convicted of anal intercourse to death.<\/p>\n<p>Some schools of Islamic law \u2013 such as the Shafii school, which is predominant in Brunei \u2013 classify sodomy as a type of <a href=\"https:\/\/referenceworks.brillonline.com\/entries\/encyclopaedia-of-islam-2\/zina-or-zina-SIM_8168?s.num=0&amp;s.f.s2_parent=s.f.book.encyclopaedia-of-islam-2&amp;s.q=zina\">fornication<\/a>, which requires the death penalty.<\/p>\n<p>But others, such as the Hanafi school, which was the official school of the <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=9cTHyUQoTyUC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=hanafi+law+ottoman+empire&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjyrvmNkvvhAhXSLH0KHfvrDqgQ6AEIXzAJ#v=onepage&amp;q=hanafi%20law%20ottoman%20empire&amp;f=false\">Ottoman Empire<\/a>, prescribe far lighter penalties for this act. The Hanafi school is still one of the most widespread in the Islamic world, including in Turkey, the Balkans, South Asia and Central Asia.<\/p>\n<p>And even in those schools of Islamic law that prescribe the death penalty for anal intercourse, jurists have made the standard of proof so high as to be nearly impossible to meet.<\/p>\n<p>To condemn someone for sodomy requires four male, Muslim witnesses to have had such an intimate view of the act that they could see the genitals of the offenders. All schools of law require this type of evidence to condemn someone for fornication. Needless to say, such proof was exceedingly hard to come by.<\/p>\n<h2>Celebrating same-sex attraction<\/h2>\n<p>Moreover, as scholar <a href=\"https:\/\/nelc.fas.harvard.edu\/people\/khaled-el-rouayheb\">Khaled El-Rouayheb<\/a> has <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=undbSDztxVMC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=khaled+el-rouayheb+homosexuality&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiLnbDYjvvhAhVFlFQKHRmXBMkQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&amp;q=khaled%20el-rouayheb%20homosexuality&amp;f=false\">argued<\/a>, while jurists might have condemned sodomy, they also celebrated homoeroticism, that is, erotic love between members of the same sex.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272568\/original\/file-20190503-103082-1ie3ijg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272568\/original\/file-20190503-103082-1ie3ijg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=394&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272568\/original\/file-20190503-103082-1ie3ijg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=394&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272568\/original\/file-20190503-103082-1ie3ijg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=394&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272568\/original\/file-20190503-103082-1ie3ijg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=496&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272568\/original\/file-20190503-103082-1ie3ijg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=496&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272568\/original\/file-20190503-103082-1ie3ijg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=496&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"Photo of a large stone mosque.\" width=\"600\" height=\"394\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cairo\u2019s Al Azhar Mosque and University. (Photo Courtesy: Daniel Mayer, CC BY-SA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the 18th century, Abdallah al-Shabrawi, the rector of al-Azhar in Cairo \u2013 then, as now, one of the Islamic world\u2019s most prestigious centers of religious learning \u2013 was known both as a scholar and a poet. Al-Shabrawi dedicated a <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=undbSDztxVMC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=khaled+el-rouayheb+homosexuality&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj36aj34__hAhXo0FQKHXx7DQoQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&amp;q=khaled%20el-rouayheb%20homosexuality&amp;f=false\">love poem<\/a> to his male student, and wrote many others celebrating young men.<\/p>\n<p>As scholars of Ottoman history and literature <a href=\"http:\/\/faculty.washington.edu\/walter\/\">Walter Andrews<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/mehmetkalpakli.com\/\">Mehmet Kalpakl\u00c3\u201e\u00c2\u00b1<\/a> have shown, Ottoman sexuality was in many ways like that of ancient Greece and Rome. Far from stigmatizing men who sexually desired other men, young boys were often considered <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=jID6Z1l0IfEC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=andrews+kalpakli+age+of+beloveds&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwidlNrh5v_hAhVLs1QKHT9jA04Q6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&amp;q=andrews%20kalpakli%20age%20of%20beloveds&amp;f=false\">more perfect objects of desire and love<\/a> than women.<\/p>\n<p>Celebrations of same-sex love did not flout Islamic law. Rather, love for another man was considered widely acceptable even by jurists, as long as one avoided the sin of sodomy.<\/p>\n<h2>Islamism and Sharia<\/h2>\n<p>The interpretation of Sharia that originally guided the recent laws in Brunei is not a straightforward revival of an ancient tradition.<\/p>\n<p>On the contrary, this interpretation is related to a particularly modern approach to Islamic law, one that is typical of <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=2hxmm2N6jOgC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=introduction+to+islamism&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj1osCHkPvhAhUcJzQIHez0CBkQ6AEIPDAD#v=onepage&amp;q=introduction%20to%20islamism&amp;f=false\">Islamism<\/a>. Islamism is an approach to Islam and the Sharia that arose in the 20th century across the Muslim world. Among its best-known example is the <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=ltVtj3Kh7IIC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=Richard+P.+Mitchell,+The+Society+of+the+Muslim+Brothers&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj18-rI5ofiAhUHsFQKHeB3AjAQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&amp;q=Richard%20P.%20Mitchell%2C%20The%20Society%20of%20the%20Muslim%20Brothers&amp;f=false\">Muslim Brotherhood<\/a>, which originated in Egypt and argued, for instance, that Sharia was indispensable to a vibrant Muslim community.<\/p>\n<p>Today, many Islamist political parties point to a revival of the Sharia as a <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=CE_sgHj4k0EC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=noah+feldman+the+fall+and+rise+of+the+islamic+state&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwivtajQ5__hAhWmwFQKHZ7BDBoQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&amp;q=noah%20feldman%20the%20fall%20and%20rise%20of%20the%20islamic%20state&amp;f=false\">political solution<\/a> to the problems plaguing Muslim-majority societies, including corruption and inequality.<\/p>\n<p>However, there are many different viewpoints even among those linked with Islamism. For example, the Egyptian Islamist group al-Gama&#8217;ah al-Islamiyah <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=ieflBQAAQBAJ&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=jackson,+S.+A.+(2015).+Initiative+to+Stop+the+Violence:+Sadat%27s+Assassins+and+the+Renunciation+of+Political+Violence&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiwpq6M5IfiAhXIr1QKHbDnDPgQ6AEINDAC#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\">renounces violence<\/a>. On the other end of the spectrum is the Islamic State, which has taken up perhaps the most extreme version of a violent interpretation of Islamism.<\/p>\n<p>In spite of these differences, many Islamists share the belief that Sharia is a way to harken back to an authentic Islam free of the corruption that is perceived to come from the West.<\/p>\n<h2>Pre-colonial Sharia<\/h2>\n<p>In fact, Sharia was not usually the primary source of <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=7EAsmttzXjcC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=criminal+law+islamic+world&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiDr96ukPvhAhXNIzQIHbkcAqwQ6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&amp;q=criminal%20law%20islamic%20world&amp;f=false\">criminal law<\/a> in the pre-modern period.<\/p>\n<p>Rather, <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=3YvEt3PxmAcC&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=hallaq+sharia&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjJy7W0jfvhAhUjMX0KHW6TDZMQ6AEINjAC#v=onepage&amp;q=hallaq%20sharia&amp;f=false\">Sharia courts<\/a> focused more on regulating issues such as contracts, debts, marriage, divorce, mortgages and other everyday matters of civil law. This was in part because the Sharia required such high standards of proof for crimes as to make conviction nearly impossible.<\/p>\n<p>My own <a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=WqIqDQAAQBAJ&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=marglin+across+legal+lines&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjuqqGuj_vhAhXLwlQKHUIUBmMQ6AEIKjAA#v=onepage&amp;q=marglin%20across%20legal%20lines&amp;f=false\">research<\/a> on law in pre-colonial Morocco shows that everyone \u2013 Muslims and Jews alike \u2013 used Sharia courts, which were mostly concerned with making sure that debtors paid their debts.<\/p>\n<h2>Sharia stereotypes<\/h2>\n<p>The way in which Sharia is codified and enforced by the state in a place like Brunei bears little resemblance to the way it functioned when al-Shabrawi was rector of al-Azhar.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272570\/original\/file-20190503-103057-142gr37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272570\/original\/file-20190503-103057-142gr37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 600w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272570\/original\/file-20190503-103057-142gr37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1200w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272570\/original\/file-20190503-103057-142gr37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 1800w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272570\/original\/file-20190503-103057-142gr37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=1 754w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272570\/original\/file-20190503-103057-142gr37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=30&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=2 1508w, https:\/\/images.theconversation.com\/files\/272570\/original\/file-20190503-103057-142gr37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=15&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;h=503&amp;fit=crop&amp;dpr=3 2262w\" alt=\"Photo of man wearing hood caning another man. A large audience watches, with some holding cameras and phones, recording.\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some countries use a harsh interpretation of Sharia. (AP Photo\/Heri Juanda, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To many Americans, Sharia has become synonymous with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/five-myths-about-sharia\/2016\/06\/24\/7e3efb7a-31ef-11e6-8758-d58e76e11b12_story.html?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.962edfb45af4\">harsh punishments<\/a> and intolerance. This is a misunderstanding of Islamic law, both as it functioned historically and as it informs the daily lives of millions of Muslims today.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/115211\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: http:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/jessica-marglin-716245\">Jessica Marglin<\/a>, Associate Professor of Religion, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-southern-california-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\">University of Southern California \u2013 Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"http:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/harsh-punishments-under-sharia-are-modern-interpretations-of-an-ancient-tradition-115211\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/what-happens-next-in-us-iran-relations\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >What happens next in US-Iran relations will be informed by the two countries\u2019 shared\u00a0history<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/israel-bombed-an-iraqi-nuclear-reactor-and-pushed-program-underground\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Israel bombed an Iraqi nuclear reactor in 1981 \u2212 it pushed program underground and spurred Saddam Hussein\u2019s desire for\u00a0nukes<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/israel-hamas-ceasefire-deal-shows-limits-of-us-influence-trump-unpredictable-impact\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Israel-Hamas deal shows limits of US influence \u2013 and the unpredictable impact of\u00a0Trump<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jessica Marglin, professor of religion, argues that Sharia law is a complex tradition \u2013 one that accommodates same-sex attraction alongside rulings condemning homosexual intercourse. <strong> [5 min read] <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":3525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[87,71,649,104,83],"class_list":["post-3522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-expert-viewpoint","tag-history","tag-middle-east","tag-religion","tag-the-conversation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Harsh punishments under Sharia are modern interpretations of an ancient tradition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sharia law is a complex tradition \u2013 one that accommodates same-sex attraction alongside rulings condemning homosexual intercourse. 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