Analysis Of Sharia And Democracy

In 2006, Peter Costello gave a speech in which he declared that ‘there was no place for Sharia laws in secular society like Australia.’ He continued by also describing that being an Australian means that ‘ you do have to believe in democracy, the rule of law and the rights and liberties of others.’ However, Costello’s description of being an Australian does not necessarily exclude the possible implementing of Sharia laws in Australia. Costello’s main argument is that Sharia and democracy are incompatible and moreover, that Muslims do not believe in democracy, however this is not entirely true, and this essay will be proving that it is possible for Sharia and democracy to coexist, as well as discussing the truth in other of Costello’s statements

Sharia and democracy in theory actually have quite similar objectives. One of the key objectives of both Sharia and democracy is justice and freedom of speech. Many people, including Peter Costello, would argue that Sharia would oppress the right to freedom of speech, and therefore Sharia would reject a fundamental value of democracy. However, Sharia does advocate for freedom of speech in many different circumstances, most importantly Sharia allows an individual to speak out if it’s for a good cause, or to speak out against something bad. Again Sharia expresses the right to freedom of speech and expression, by encouraging individuals to criticize the government if they are being unlawful or not doing what is best for the people, even more so if the government or a ruler is being oppressive. In this sense, Sharia is abundantly cooperative with democracy as both are in place to prevent oppression and oppressive

As Australia is a secular democracy, and overall not a very religious country, it is difficult and can be quite a confronting idea to introduce religious laws in the form of Sharia for Australia’s Muslim communities. Sharia generally applies to the personal lives of Muslim, and therefore it would be quite easy to apply Sharia within Australia in regards to Muslims only. Whilst Australia already allows religious freedom, Sharia laws would allow Muslims to better practice their beliefs. In relation to relationships, the implementing of Sharia courts in Australia to deal with marriage, divorce and inheritance, could respectfully follow Australian law whilst also appeasing to the larger Muslim communities. This would also theoretically suit to people like Peter Costello who believe that being an Australian citizen means you must respect Australian law and abide by it. While other aspects of Sharia might not be as easy to implement, such as education laws or in regards to business, however all aspects of Sharia law should be seriously considered by the Australian government so as to form compromises that could both represent the Muslim community while also not loosing, in Costello’s terms, what it means to be