Sharia is applied in UAE courts only in limited circumstances.
It is referred to for offences where the Quran specifies a penalty, including premeditated murder and consuming alcohol.
But even for these offences, Sharia penalties are not always applied.
The Sharia penalty for premeditated murder is “vengeance”, which is essentially a death sentence if blood relatives of the victim refuse to pardon the killer.
This penalty applies to anyone found guilty of the charge, regardless of their religion.
For offences involving alcohol, however, Sharia penalties apply only to Muslims. Non-Muslims will be penalised if found guilty, but the punishment will be prescribed by civil law, not Sharia.
Likewise, a Muslim who confesses to alcohol charges faces penalties under Sharia.
But a Muslim who denies the offence can be found guilty only under civil law, where the penalty usually ranges from one to two months in jail and possibly a fine.
Juvenile cases are another area of law influenced by Sharia. In charges involving Sharia penalties, whether a defendant is treated as a juvenile or adult depends not on their age, but on their maturity.
A 17 year old charged with possessing alcohol could undergo trial as an adult if the court decides he is past puberty.
There has been some debate about whether drugs charges should be treated similarly.
In one high-profile case at the Criminal Court, a youth aged 17 found guilty of drug dealing was issued a life sentence because he was deemed to be an adult in Sharia terms.
But the Appeals Court overturned the verdict and reduced the sentence to three years.
It ruled that no text in the Quran, or hadith of the Prophet Mohammed, specified a penalty for drugs.
hdajani@thenational.ae
