Theme:

Islamic jurisprudence is divided on the question of the abolition of the death penalty. Some Shia scholars argue that capital punishment must be abolished in the absence of an Infallible Imam. Some Sunni thinkers also maintain that the death penalty is against Maslahah Mursalah (Public Interest). However, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia, among others, continue to use the death penalty as a punitive measure against perpetrators of different crimes, e.g. drug trafficking, corruption on earth, sedition, and murder. This session introduces and explores Islamic Jurisprudence’s perspectives on the death penalty and evaluates the possibility of abolishing the death penalty in different contexts.