Scholar says U.S., Islamic law congruent
Published by Haseeb April 4th, 2007 in Current News, Umar Faruq AbdallahSource: The Daily Texan (& found on Sufisticated)
By: Rebecca Persons
The U.S. Constitution is compatible with Islamic culture and should be an agent to help Muslims and others coexist in the U.S., said Islamic scholar Umar Faruq Abd-Allah 
in a speech attended by about 70 people at the Jester Auditorium Monday night.
“Most people believe the Constitution and Islamic law are really incompatible, but they’re trying to achieve the same ideas of equality and justice,” said history junior Saba Syed, spokeswoman for the Muslim Students Association, which sponsored the event. “They really are compatible.”
Abd-Allah is the chairman of the Nawawi Foundation, a nonprofit organization aimed at teaching Muslims in America. Abd-Allah was born in Nebraska to a Protestant family. He converted to Islam in 1968 and has pursued and studied Arabic and Islamic studies and taught in Saudi Arabia.
Abd-Allah said the majority of Muslims in the U.S. value and support the Constitution and in his experience, even civil and human rights groups defend Muslim rights referencing the U.S. Constitution. He said it is a common misconception for people to believe that followers of Islamic law oppose the Constitution.
He said there is nothing in Islamic law that should make it difficult for Muslims to accept the Constitution, and that under Islamic law, which states that “good customs have the power of law,” Muslims should assume the Constitution is beneficial unless proven otherwise.
Abd-Allah said it should be expected that there will be differences, including the issue of separation of church and state, which is a concern among many Muslims, who sometimes advocate the integration of the two.
“Islamic law allowed Muslims to accept others and create unity in diversity,” Abd-Allah said.
Government sophomore Zaid Hassan said he could relate to Abd-Allah ’s speech and appreciated his discussion of the issues.
“It is very critical to have a debate about Islam, so we can have proper understanding of where each party stands and how we interpret it,” Hassan said.
Vive Dr. Umar!
Comparing the law of Allah
to the law of creation is really nonsensical. Why is that muslims seem that they must reform there ways at every turn to please a people who wouldnt like us even if we completly changed our ways. Why is it today that muslims are more worried about pleasing the American govt ( which has no power ) in stead of Allah 
. Think for one sec to your self why are muslims the only sell outs in the world ??
Neither did Dr. Umar call for a reform and nor is he selling out.
Muslims aren’t necessarily trying to please the American government. They are trying to create a more viable environment for Muslims to live in by showing that there are no clashes in the laws themselves.
As far as Dr. Umar’s conclusions are concerned, they are for the most part, correct. One needs to look at our Qawaid/Maqasid literature and then compare it with the constitution to be able to come to that conclusion.
The fact is that, constitutionally, there are very little differences between the Maqasid of the Shari’ah and U.S. Federal Law.
If you look at it, it’s the other way around. For example, the 12 man jury. Imam Malik had a principle that when 12 educated men agree on something, it cannot be wrong. Amongst the things that American law is a synthesis of is Islamic law. If you look at the evolution of European thought, it begins in Islamic Spain. Many of the Philosophers (such as Rene Descartes) were results of Muslim Spain so the the influence exists. Sidi Faraz Rabbani said that if a Hanafi scholar went through some US laws, he might confuse it with a book on Maliki fiqh because they are so close. This article does not show that Dr. Umar is a sell out, rather it is a demonstration of the brilliance and relevance of Islamic law.
SufiStication*
Danya: u should change ur blog title to sufisticated.
Muslims Sell Out: I believe Ahsan and Ibraheem answered ur criticisms well. Before jumping to such conclusions why dont u take a course in constitutional law and actually attempt to understand what Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah
is talking about. And by no means is he the first person to make such statements.
Not only in Constitutional Law, but also in Maqasid.
One has to know both before making the connection.
Muslim Sells out: put ya real name (or something that can identify you) if ya man or (woman enuff)
I hate haters who hate anonymously. They bunch of weak Muslims. They sell out on Islam, the Prophet (saas), the companions, the tabieen, the tab tabieen, the great scholars through the Islamic history up to this day.
Where you at ‘Muslim Sells out’!