An interesting interview with an Islamic scholar on the history of Islamic law — and how some folks get such odd takes on it.
Bin Laden would be shocked to hear that in many ways he epitomizes American legal realism: You reach the result and work backward to find the justification in the text. So bin Laden would say that nowhere in the Quran does it say explicitly don’t take hostages or don’t blow up people. All it says is don’t kill women and children and right now that is a necessity. Also he’d argue I don’t intend to kill the children and women, and when the Prophet says don’t kill women and children, he means don’t intend to kill children and women. It’s a wonderfully legalistic cop-out.
Q: Isn’t he then interpreting the text?
A: If you ask bin Laden he’d say no, because he doesn’t engage in interpretation. You and I would say nonsense, this is clearly interpretation. He claims he is just reading the text literally. He maintains that unless you are prejudiced or biased or have ulterior motives, you will see that he is correct; you will not reach a different conclusion. Well, you know, every literalist can make that argument.
Islamic law, from the sound of it, has a long, rich heritage — a heritage largely squandered in recent years by politicians and demagogues.
Really good reading.
(Via InstaPundit)