Sharia

Sharia, Islamic sharia or Islamic law (Arabic: شريعة‎ (IPA: [ʃaˈriːʕa]) for law) is the basic Islamic legal system derived from the religious precepts of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. The term sharia comes from the Arabic language term sharīʿah, which means a body of moral and religious law derived from religious prophecy, as opposed to human legislation.

Sharia deals with many topics, including crime, politics, marriage contracts, trade regulations, religious prescriptions, and economics, as well as personal matters such as sexual intercourse, hygiene, diet, prayer, everyday etiquette and fasting. Adherence to sharia has served as one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Muslim faith historically. In its strictest definition, sharia is considered in Islam as the infallible law of God.

There are two primary sources of sharia: the Quran, and the Hadiths (opinions and life example of Muhammad). For topics and issues not directly addressed in these primary sources, sharia is derived. The derivation differs between the various sects of Islam (Sunni and Shia are the majority), and various jurisprudence schools such as Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali and Jafari. The sharia in these schools is derived hierarchically using one or more of the following guidelines: Ijma (usually the consensus of Muhammad's companions), Qiyas (analogy derived from the primary sources), Istihsan (ruling that serves the interest of Islam in the discretion of Islamic jurists) and Urf (customs).

Sharia patrols

Sharia patrols, also referred to as Muslim patrols or modesty patrols, were groups of young Muslim men, members of an organisation that called itself the Shariah Project, who patrolled streets in East London from 2013 to 2014. Early that year, videos of their activities, filmed by members of the patrol, were uploaded online: these showed hooded members of the patrol confronting passers-by and demanding that they conform to Sharia law. They targeted prostitutes, people drinking alcohol, couples who were holding hands, women whom they considered to be dressed immodestly, and harassed others whom they perceived as being gay. Five men were arrested in January 2013 as part of an investigation into the gang, and three were given jail sentences on 6 December 2013.

The Muslim East London Mosque community condemned the patrols as "utterly unacceptable". In response to the 'Muslim Patrols', the far-right organisation Britain First has established 'Christian Patrols'.

Online videos, 2013