Crime and punishment theme

• Punishment


  The infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense
• "Obey the laws of the land": 'Qur'an'
• "Obey those charged with authority among you": 'Qur'an'
• The legal system

  • Must uphold fairness in society
  • Ensure justice for victims
  • Rehabilitate criminals
• The justice system

  • Punish the guilty
  • Protect our liberties
  • Rehabilitate offenders
  • Break the destructive cycle of crime
• Views on evil

  • Evil depends on our upbringing, influences our lives when those influences are bad, they can trigger or sow the seeds for evil actions, evil is not a force within us but rather a psychological phenomenon, so the person themselves has the potential to be evil
  • Actions are evil, not the person themselves, however, we do not cannot punish the action, so we must punish the person for committing the crime
• Beliefs about punishment

  • Some believe the punishment should be as severe as the crime
  • Some believe in rehabilitation
• Inhumane treatments of criminals is wrong
• Why do Christians believe in rehabilitation?

  The Parable as the sheep and Godts: Jesus treated prisone well. For I was in prison and you come to visit me
• Theft

  Stealing a physical object, not owned by then, without permission
• Hate crime

  Crimes motivated by specific, usually physical, attributes a person has, like race or gender
• Murder

  Deliberately ending a person's life
• Any just and fair laws should be followed in non- Sharian countries
• Beliefs about punishment

  • Some believe that the punishment should reflect the crime committed
  • Punishments under shari’an law are severe
  • Some believe that offenders should we helped to not re-offend
• God created all humans with equal value so no humans should to singled out as inferior to others with hate crimes
• Types of crimes in Sharia law

  • Unforgiveable crimes (Haaud): adultery, theft, drugi, alcohol
  • Forgiveable crimes (Al. Jynayaat): live crimes against the individual like GBH and murder
  • Community crimei (Al-Ta'azir): fraud and antisocial behaviour
  • Crimes against the state law (Al-Mukhalafat): parking offen- and speeding
• Justice is a fair way of victims of crime to achieve reparation
• Criminal Justice


  Dealing with people who break the law and warning others
• Social Justice


  Making society fair and keeping society fair. Protecting peoples human right
• Aims of punishment


  • Protection: Locking criminals away protects the majority of society
  • Deterrence: Punishment deters criminals from committing the same crime again
  • Reparation: Criminals need to compensate society or the victim
  • Vindication: Punishments justify the law and teach people they must not break the law
  • Reformation: Attempt to teach criminals about the error of their ways
• Retribution


  Making a criminal pay for the crime they have committed. They owe society a debt. Society decides upon the way criminal pays their debt.
• Retribution in Christianity


  Lex talionis (the law of retaliation) meaning that criminals should receive the same damage that they caused the victim
• If a Muslim sins, or causes harm, they are to seek repentance and forgiveness from God, and from those harmed. He will forgive because he forgave Adam and Eve
• What makes a criminal?

  • revenge

  • poverty

  • addiction

  • mental illness

  • the devil/ evil

  • substance abuse
• Socio-economics factors:

  • poverty and need
• Environmental factors:

  • upbringing

  • trauma
• Psychological factors:

  • rise of individuals

  • personal need and desires

  • more strangers, less social empathy
• “Lord, how many times should I forgive my brother… not seven times but seventy seven times”
• “Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God”
• ”For i was in prison, and you came to visit me”
• “God commands justice… and prohibits wrongdoing and injustice” -Qur’an
• Christians believe criminals should not be treated inhumanely, punished according to the law and in helping prisoners they are helping Jesus.
• Muslims believe they should obey the laws of the country they live in, under Shari‘ah law or not. Shari’ah laws are intended to be severe so the person does not reoffend.
• Lex Talionis - the law of retaliation, the law of an eye for an eye, or that the criminal should receive punishment in proportion of damage done to the victim
• In islam, substantial evidence under Shari’ah laws must be presented to decide a guilty verdict. If there are any doubts, the punishment is invalid. However the victims family can choose to show mercy.
• Christian views towards retribution:

  • punishment should be severe enough but not too severe
• Islamic views towards retribution:

  •punishment should be as severe as the crime but not greater than
• Christian views on deterrence:

  •does not support punishments that inflict harm onto the criminal, or punishment in public. They should be treated with respect
• Islamic views on deterrence:

  •Shari’ah laws are in public to deter people from committing crimes
• “Cut off the hands of thieves, whether they are man or woman, as punishment for what they have done”-Qur’an