Who Gets to Define “Good” and What Does It Mean?

Senator Pauline Hanson’s comment has set off a firestorm in Australia. She asked, “Are there any good Muslims?”

The backlash was immediate. But before reacting, it is worth asking a simpler question:

How is “good” defined?

In Islam, “good” is defined by obedience to sharia. Classical Islamic law is explicit. The good is what the Lawgiver [Allah and his messenger Mohammed] permits or commands. The bad is what He forbids. Reason does not determine moral value. Sacred law does.

Classical Islamic law goes further. All human acts fall into five legal categories: obligatory, recommended, permissible, offensive, or unlawful (Reliance c2.0). Moral value is assigned by sharia. Nothing sits outside that legal order.

From a recognized manual of sharia:

• “The good… is what the Lawgiver [Allah and his messenger Mohammed] has indicated is good by permitting it or asking that it be done… The good is not what reason considers good… The measure of good and bad is the Sacred Law, not reason.” (Reliance of the Traveller a1.4)

When Pauline Hanson asked whether there are “good Muslims,” she used a word that carries two incompatible meanings.

Under Islam, a good Muslim is one who follows sharia.

Under Australian constitutional principles, a good citizen is one who upholds equality before the law and respects the rights of others regardless of religion or sex.

There are fifty seven Islamic states where sharia shapes law to varying degrees. Many reject the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in favour of the Cairo Declaration, which subjects rights to sharia.

The issue is not private belief. It is whether a comprehensive religious legal system can operate within a secular constitutional democracy without eroding its foundations, when even the definition of what is ‘good’ is diametrically opposed to the welfare of a nation.

That is a policy question. It deserves a serious answer.

Read the full article here: https://perspectivesonislam.substack.com/p/pauline-hanson-and-the-question-australia