Muslim and Western ethics

Professor Shahul Hameed, a consultant on the IslamOnline site, recently answered a question about the difference between Islamic and Western ethics.

To bring a few quotes (bold in the original):
The core of the Western ethics is supposed to be Judeo Christian values. But, the real Judeo-Christian ethics has little difference from the Islamic ethics. This is because Muhammad (peace be upon him) came in the same line of prophetic religion, as Moses and Jesus; he taught the same morals, within the same framework of Semitic tradition. Muslims worship the same--One and Only--Creator, as Jews and Christians do. If we adopt a more inclusive "Abrahamic" view, Islam can no more be considered "the other"

In short, there is little difference between the core ethics of the West and Islam. This is despite the materialism and utilitarianism is now dominant in certain circles, which is abhorrent to Islam. But, in fact, it is abhorrent to the real Judeo-Christian tradition too..


Hameed goes on to explain why there is no real difference between Islam and Western ethics, though relating to his arguments will require a whole different article. More basic, is to understand what Hameed is doing here. He’s playing with the terms used so they will fit his view. Of course, once you ignore the meaning of ‘Islam’, ‘Judeo-Christian’ and ‘Western’, you can come to the conclusion that their core ethics are the same.

Hameed is right that the core of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is similar. They are all based on the same Messianic laws that developed around 3000 years ago. However, the big difference between Judeo-Christian laws and Islamic laws is that the Judeo-Christian society developed.

Jewish scholars throughout the ages did not shy away from reinterpreting the Messianic laws in accordance with the current norms. And so, if it says in the Torah “an eye for an eye”, the Jewish scholars explained that this is merely an issue of payment.

Laws which were relevant to an earlier type of society, such as Levirate marriages (a custom which required that a man marry his brother's widow if the deceased died childless) are now simply forbidden according to Jewish law.

It is enough to take a look at another one of Hameed’s answers about stoning to understand that in Islam that is not the case. If stoning was prescribed 1400 years ago as the punishment for adultery, then it will be the punishment today, no matter how barbaric it seems.

Hameed can go on and on about why stoning will only be used in certain cases and why adultery is so bad that it is requires stoning. That has nothing to do with ethics. Nobody today claims that adultery is 'good'. However, stoning as a punishment, is seen as barbaric. No Jew today would consider stoning a person to death, despite it being clearly written as punishment in the Torah. In fact, death as punishment is not accepted today by Judaism, and the Jewish state does not punish serious offenders, such a serial murderers and terrorists, with the death sentence.

I think that in that, lies the core difference.