Saeed Al-Suraihi
Two contradictory news stories have been published recently in our daily newspapers. The first was published by Okaz daily and was about a book whose author claimed that the faculties of law in the Kingdom’s universities teach students disbelief. The writer, Moad Al-Mabrad, is a judge at Leith Court in Makkah region. He said that all of the laws taught at faculties of law all over the Islamic world are against Shariah and are manmade.
He also claimed that the courses taught at these faculties aim to strengthen manmade laws and do not seek to solidify Shariah rulings. In his book, Al-Mabrad said that the graduates of law schools in Muslim countries believe it is permissible to issue judgments according to manmade laws without relying on Shariah. They, therefore, permit acts of adultery, fornication, usury, etc.
The second news story was published in several newspapers and focused on workshops organized by the University of Dammam to discuss strategies of teaching and learning for students of Shariah and law.
As readers, we could have accepted the above book if it was talking about law schools in Western countries or Islamic countries that do not enforce Shariah. However, the book talks about Saudi universities, specifically King Saud University. The writer cited excerpts from the law courses and exam questions.
There is a stark contradiction between what Al-Mabrad says in his book and the law courses taught at our universities. The higher academic institutions in our country should not let this matter rest, and the law professors and lawyers should say something about this book and express their opinions about it. They should either endorse everything mentioned in it, including the accusations leveled at Saudi universities, or reject them. Our society is full of contradictions that have confused our youth who do not know who to believe and what to follow. They no longer know what is right and what is wrong, or what is true and what is false.
