:sl: and Greetings,
First of all, for a discussion on the Criminal Punishment system and Shariah law, please refer to the following thread:
http://www.islamicboard.com/showthread.php?t=4498
Now, I think many Americans feel the same way as what Mr. Blair has stated and most would agree with separation of church and state. However, from what I understand, the Qur'an is the principal source of Islamic law, the Sharia, correct?
Correct.
Considering that Great Britian, the United States, and pretty much any non-muslim majority country in this world do not subscribe to Sharia, do you think muslims can happily live in countries that expect them to live under their laws?
Certainly. Islam requires that Muslims obey the laws of the land in which they live in. If these laws contradict Islam and prevent a Muslim from practicing their religion, then they should leave the country and travel to a land where they may practice their religion. As Shaykh Muhammad Ibn Saalih Al-Uthaymeen rh clarifies regarding living in non-muslim countries:
...Likewise I invite you to have respect for those people who have the right that they should be respected, from those between you and whom there is and agreement (of protection) [i.e. Non-Muslims]. For the land which you are living is such that there is an agreement between you and them. If this were not the case they would have killed you or expelled you. So preserve this agreement, and do not prove treacherous to it, since treachery is a sign of the hypocrites, and it is not from the way of the Believers.
And know that it is authentically reported from the Prophet that he said : "Whoever kills one who is under and agreement of protection will not smell the fragrance of Paradise."
Do not be fooled by those sayings of the foolish people : those who say : 'Those people are Non-Muslims, so their wealth is lawful for us [i.e. to misappropriate or take by way of murder and killing].' For by Allaah - this is a lie. A lie about Allaah's Religion, and a lie in Islamic societies.
So we may not say that it is lawful to be treacherous towards people whom we have an agreement with.
O my brothers. O youth. O Muslims. Be truthful in your buying and selling, and renting, and leasing, and in all mutual transactions. Because truthfulness is from the characteristics of the Believers, and Allaah - the Most High - has commanded truthfulness - in the saying of Allaah - the Most High -
"O you who believe - fear and keep you duty to Allaah and be with the truthful"
And the Prophet encouraged truthfulness and said : "Adhere to truthfulness, because truthfulness leads to goodness, and goodness leads to Paradise; and a person will continue to be truthful, and strive to be truthful until he will be written down with Allaah as a truthful person".
And he warned against falsehood, and said : "Beware of falsehood, because falsehood leads to wickedness, and wickedness leads to the Fire. And a person will continue lying, and striving to lie until he is written down with Allaah as a great liar."
O my brother Muslims. O youth. Be true in your sayings with your brothers, and with those Non-Muslims whom you live along with - so that you will be inviters to the Religion of Islaam, by your actions and in reality. So how many people there are who first entered into Islaam because of the behaviour and manners of the Muslims, and their truthfulness, and their being true in their dealings. (Tele-link 28th July 2000, Birmingham UK)
Likewise, Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih Al-Munajjid writes:
8- The Muslims believe that it is not permissible, under any circumstances whatsoever, for a Muslim to mistreat a non-Muslim who is not hostile towards Islam; so the Muslim should not commit aggression against him, or frighten him, or terrorize him, or steal his wealth, or embezzle him, or deprive him of his rights, or deny him his trust, or deny him his wages, or withhold from him the price of his goods when buying from him or withhold the profits of a partnership if he is in a business partnership with him.
9- The Muslims believe that it is obligatory upon the Muslims to honour treaties or agreements made with a non-Muslim party. If a Muslim has agreed to their conditions when seeking permission to enter their country (i.e., a visa) and has promised to adhere to that, then it is not permissible for him to commit mischief in their land, to betray anyone, to steal, to kill or to do any destructive action, and so on. (Islam Q&A)
So once a Muslim agrees to live in a non-muslim country they must adhere to those laws because they have agreed to live there. This is part of the Shariah, and therefore there is no conflict between the Shariah and Muslims living in the West.
Do you think his request attainable? To my knowlege, muslim nations do not subscribe to the laws of the Geneva Convention (that protects prisoners of war) because Sharia is their law.
The Shariah
does protect prisoners of war. Shaykh Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid comments about the treatment of prisoners:
If the Muslims capture them and take them to a place that has been prepared for them, they should not harm them or torture them with beatings, depriving them of food and water, leaving them out in the sun or the cold, burning them with fire, or putting covers over their mouths, ears and eyes and putting them in cages like animals. Rather they should treat them with kindness and mercy, feed them well and encourage them to enter Islam... ...The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to enjoin the Muslims to treat prisoners well, whereas the Romans and those who came before them the Assyrians and Pharaohs, all used to put out their prisoners’ eyes with hot irons, and flay them alive, feeding their skins to dogs, such that the prisoners preferred death to life.
I hope this helps.