NCJ Number
150989
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 19 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1994) Pages: 5-6
Date Published
1994
Length
2 pages
Annotation
This report describes the objectives and nature of penal sanctions in Islamic societies.
Abstract
The typical Islamic penal system is primarily a religious system, so it deals with sin and culpability in relation to the Islamic world's move to reach its ultimate goal of the idealistic society and the idealistic human being. The criminal policies in Islamic society seek the determination of individual responsibility to confirm the guilty and apply sanctions cited in the Koran, the holy book of Islam, and the Sunna, the traditional Moslem law. Islamic legislation aims to maintain the individual's five basic needs: the religion, the soul, the mind, the descendants, and the property. Sanctions can be grouped into principal sanctions, which are cited in the criminal code and implemented by the court, and complementary sanctions, which aim to make perfect the principal sanctions. Crimes are grouped into violations of the rights of God, violations of the rights of the collective, and violations of the rights of individuals. Alternative sanctions such as blood money paid to victims' relatives are normal substitutes not only in Islamic society but also in tribes' customary laws. Penalties include death, cutting off the hand or foot, flogging, banishment, imprisonment, confiscation, blame, and losing a job. A recent survey presented hypothetical situations to 60 criminal justice professionals in nine Islamic countries and revealed a tendency toward imprisonment as opposed to corporal punishment.