1) Muslims - Sami Aldeeb

Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh
MUSLIMS IN THE WEST CAUGHT BETWEEN RIGHTS & DUTIES
Foreword by Guy Hennebelle ( 2002
Shangri-La Publications
Warren Center PA MUSLIMS IN THE WEST CAUGHT BETWEEN RIGHTS & DUTIES
The Author Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh, born in 1949, is a Christian Arab of
Palestinian origin and Swiss citizenship, holding a doctorate in law from
the University of Fribourg. Graduate in political sciences from the
Graduate Institute of International Studies of Geneva. Head of Arab and
Islamic law in the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law in Lausanne. He has
written many books and articles on Arab and Islamic law besides more
general works on the Middle East (see the list in: http://go.to/samipage).
Here are some of his books:
- L'impact de la religion sur l'ordre juridique, cas de l'Égypte, non-
musulmans en pays d'islam, Éditions universitaires, Fribourg, 1979, XVI-
405 pages.
- Discriminations contre les non juifs tant chrétiens que musulmans en
Israël, Pax Christi, Lausanne, 1992, 36 pages.
- Les musulmans face aux droits de l'homme, religion, droit et
politique: étude et documents, Winkler, Bochum, 1994, 610 pages.
- Les mouvements islamistes et les droits de l'homme, Winkler, Bochum,
1998, 128 pages.
- Mariages entre partenaires suisses et musulmans, connaître et
prévenir les conflits, Institut suisse de droit comparé, Lausanne, 3rd
edition, 1998, 44 pages (available also in German).
- Khitan al-dhukur wal-inath ind al-yahud wal-masihiyyin wal-muslimin:
al-jadal al-dini, Riad El-Rayyes, Beirut, 2000, 562 pages.
- Khitan al-dhukur wal-inath ind al-yahud wal-masihiyyin wal-muslimin:
al-jadal al-tibbi wal-ijtima'i wal-qanuni, Riad El-Rayyes, Beirut, at
press.
- Circoncision masculine - circoncision féminine: débat religieux,
médical, social et juridique, L'Harmattan, Paris, 2001, 536 pages.
- Male and Female Circumcision Among Jews, Christians and Muslims:
religious, medical, social and legal debate, Shangri-la Publications,
Warren Center (PA 18851, United States), 2001, 400 pages.
- Les musulmans en Occident entre droits et devoirs, L'Harmattan,
Paris, 2002, 296 pages.
- Cimetière musulman en Occident: normes juives, chrétiennes, et
musulmanes, L'Harmattan, Paris, 2002, 168 pages.
Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh
MUSLIMS IN THE WEST CAUGHT BETWEEN RIGHTS & DUTIES
Foreword by Guy Hennebelle ( 2002
Shangri-La Publications
Warren Center PA
ISBN 0-9714683-3-8
LCCN 2001099344
( 2002
Sami A. Aldeeb Abu-Sahlieh
All rights reserved. Paperback $31.00 US
Published in Warren Center, PA USA
By Shangri-La Publications
Non-Profit Unincorporated Association PA # 2903414 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standards for Information Sciences - Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. Summary table of contents (detailed table at the end of the work)
Summary table of contents 7
General Observations 9
Preface by the publisher 11
Foreword by Guy Hennebelle 15
Introduction 18
Part I. The Muslim view of minorities 21
Chapter I. Division inside the land of Islam 21
Chapter II. Land of Islam & Land of Disbelief 30
Part II. Minorities in Switzerland 69
Chapter I. Minorities in general 69
Chapter II. Linguistic and ethnic minorities 72
Chapter III. Religious minorities 73
Chapter IV. Minorities, the individual and the State 77
Part III. Muslims in Switzerland 79
Chapter I. Recognition of Islam 79
Chapter II. Freedom of religion and worship 95
Chapter III. School and religion 122
Chapter IV. Family law 155
Chapter V. Food prohibitions 190
Chapter VI. religious cemeteries 236
Conclusion 261
Appendices 270
Bibliography 287
Detailed table of contents 305 General Observations Transliteration The Arabic alphabet can be transliterated in different ways. I avoid the
scholarly form because it is too complicated for a non-specialized reader.
The following are equivalents of some Arabic letters:
' (omitted in the beginning and end of a word) = ? + ?; kh = ?
d = ? + ? ; dh = ? + ? ; sh = ? ; s = ? + ? ; gh = ?
u + w = ? ; i + y = ? ; t = ? + ? ; h = ?? + ? ; j = ?
I do not distinguish between long and short vowels, or between shamsi and
qamari letters. For example, I write al-shari'ah instead of ash-shari'ah. Quotations from the Koran and the Bible Verse numbering is according to the standard Egyptian system. I primarily
use the translation of the Koran by Rashad Khalifa, which can be found at
http://www.moslem.org/English.html
Quotations from the Old and New Testament are taken from the Holy Bible:
New Revised Standard Version, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 1992. Main abbreviations aCst: Ancient Swiss Constitution of 1874, effective until December 31st,
2000[1].
CCS: Swiss Civil Code[2].
Covenant on civil rights: International covenant on civil and political
rights.
d. (ca): died (circa).
ECHR: European Convention of Human Rights.
LPIL: Federal Law of Private International Law[3].
nCst: New Swiss Constitution of 1998, effective January 1st, 2000[4].
Par.: Paragraph.
UDHR: Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Footnotes In footnotes, I mention author's name and/or first elements of the title.
Complete bibliographic data can be found at the end of book. Preface
by
the publisher _________________________________________
About twenty years ago, the United States started supporting radical
religious factions in Afghanistan, to fight against their enemies of the
moment, the Soviet Union and Iran. Unwittingly, through their short sighted
tunnel vision, our former leaders created a time bomb genii that has now
exploded from its bottle. Only a short time ago, the West in general, and
the United States in particular, imagined itself immune to the chaos of
war, destruction and religious terrorism they helped engender. Now, the
former buffer zone is forgotten and the Russian and Iranian republics are
siding with the West to condemn the "terrorists". For decades, we have
reveled in contributing to terror and destruction around the globe,
claiming the highest moral intent, never imagining it all could wash upon
our own shores. Meanwhile, our leaders still think that their own military
agendas constitute "justice".
Without bothering to understand Muslims, our leaders continue to welcome
inclusion of Islam to the pantheon of faiths, sharing our American
theological melting pot. November 1999, a little over two years ago,
Representatives Dana Rohrabacher, California, and Thomas M. Davis,
Virginia, introduced legislation that a U.S. stamp be issued to recognize
the Islamic holy month, Ramadan. Lawmakers noted that Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam are the three monotheist religions of the world,
and while Jewish and Christian holidays have been recognized on stamps "no
Islamic observance is similarly commemorated". The resolution noted more
than "five million practicing Muslims in the United States, who represent
one of the fastest growing segments of American society". The proposed
legislation noted, "those who follow the Islamic faith are a diverse
community comprised of all races, colors, and political opinions, who make
important and valuable contributions to American society and culture"
(http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/islam).
Since September 11th 2001, the western world has been waiting for a strong
united statement from Islamic religious leaders to condemn the atrocities
committed by a group of Muslims in the West. It will not come. This book
brilliantly outlines why such condemnation has not been forthcoming and why
such radical interpretations of Islam and Koran are not only possible in
their faith system but also comprise the core nature of their worldview. In
the immediate aftermath, Muslim-Americans were subjected to harassment and
hostility. Meanwhile, terrorist attacks paved the way for Muslims to
establish closer ties to American society.
Coincidentally, for the first time in U.S. history, the post office has
issued Eid stamps, roughly coinciding in 2001 with Thanksgiving, Christmas,
Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. In Washington, on November 13th, a beautifully simple
stamp done in Arabic calligraphy was issued. This Eid stamp, was designed
by Mohamed Zakariya, and features the Arabic phrase "Eid mubarak" which
translates "blessed festival," and can be paraphrased, "May your religious
holiday be blessed." The "Eid Mubarak" stamp commemorates the two most
important festivals in the Islamic calendar. Eid al-Adha marking the end of
the hajj, the annual period designated for Muslims to make pilgrimage to
Mecca, while Eid al-Fitr celebrates e