Justice and Injustice - Essay Example

Justice and Injustice In my home country of Saudi Arabia, I was raised in an environment, based on Islamic teachings, which ensured that I knew what was right from wrong, and this has enabled me to develop my own philosophy in life concerning how the society works. I have a strong sense of justice in the society and this has ensured that I have what in my society is considered to be a unique outlook on life. When I first came to the United States, I found an extremely different society from my own, as well as some stereotypes about my own people that I found interesting. For example, I found that many individuals in America believed that since Saudi Arabia is an Islamic society, it does not have the necessary development to be in the modern world. The major American image of the Saudi society is one which is extremely backward with little to commend it to the world apart from its oil wealth. This image of Saudi Arabia is a very bad stereotype of the people of this state because most of the population of this country is very much in line with the modern world, but living their lives in compatibility with Islam. The people of Saudi Arabia have adopted many of the ways of the Western world that they find to be good and this include has included the adoption of automobiles for transport, the wearing of western clothing, especially the men and most of all, they live in houses which have been built in the western style. The justice system of Saudi Arabia, while considered by many as extremely harsh, can be said to be among the most just in the world, because justice tends to be swift and decisive (Rosen 819). This has led to a situation where Saudi Arabia has among the lowest prevalence of crime in the world, meaning that its justice system is, while not perfect, among the best. The popular opinion in America is that Saudi Arabia is a country which is mired in political fanaticism because of the fact that its laws are derived directly from the Quran. This image only applies to a few of the people in this society because the majority is surprisingly very liberal in matters concerning religion. Very few Saudis share the same religious point of view as that which is propagated by religious fanatics who commit acts of terrorism in the name of Islam. In fact, most Saudis tend to display the same kind of liberalism that is displayed by the other Arabs in the Middle East. The western perceptions of Saudis have been by the media’s portrayal of it and the only way to learn the truth is through finding out the facts. It is my opinion that the death penalty should continue to be applied in all societies because it is the surest way to ensure that justice against heinous crimes is attained. It can be argued that the death penalty serves as a disincentive to misdemeanours, since those who are given the death penalty serve as an example to those who would be tempted to indulge in criminal activities. In addition, it can be stated that there are some individuals, such as murderers, who when sentenced to death ensures that similar crimes within their societies are deterred from happening frequently. In the Islamic belief, it is stated that those individuals who cannot conform to the morals of the society, such as the natural laws against murder, have to be removed from society on a permanent basis. This action, however harsh it is helps to ensure that such individuals are kept from repeating the same crimes that they have committed. It can further be argued that the death penalty is a just punishment for those individuals who commit such heinous crimes as rape, murder, and other violent crimes it can be said that such people lack the human conscience to live in civilised society. It is my belief that the death penalty is completely justified especially when applied to cases where individuals have committed sequential murders or have committed mass killings, since these acts are unpardonable in most human societies in the world (Miller and Hayward 113). One would argue that the putting of such individuals to death is a means of showing the members of society that such acts cannot be tolerated and that if they are committed, then the lives of the offenders would be lost. It is a fact that in the modern world, one has to realise that what is considered morally right in one society may not be so in another, because morality is not a universal norm. There are often chances where what is considered morally right in one culture may be considered wrong in another, an example being homosexuality. It is common in the western world for homosexuality to be an accepted aspect of the society but this is not the case in other, especially in Africa and the Middle East, where one will find that this practice is frowned upon, and those found committing homosexual acts are normally punished. All the religious texts of the major religions in the world consider homosexuality wrong and, in fact, there are severe punishments meted out to those who practice it (Mizuno et al 725). In this matter, it is my opinions that while all the people have to be given their human rights, according to my upbringing; gay people should be discouraged because their acts are in contravention with my religious beliefs. The classical definition of racism is that it is the belief that humanity is divided into various groups known as races, and that such groups bear certain characteristics which either makes them superior or inferior. In my opinion, racism is one of the most predominant forms of discrimination today, and it is experienced by people in all walks of life. An example of racism is when an African American or an Arab goes to find a job in a place that is dominated by whites. This person is most likely to be denied the job, not because he is not qualified, but because of his skin colour, as well as ethnic and religious background. It is, therefore, important that in the modern world, such blatant displays of racism as well as the use of racist language should be avoided at all costs because it only leads to the further divisiveness within the global community. On a crowded, sinking ship, it is a normal human response to preserve one’s life over those of others, but while this may be so, it is also important to ensure that due consideration is given to the most vulnerable people on the ship. It is the right thing to ensure that women and children are given the priority when it comes to getting onto the final lifeboat. According to the teachings of the Quran, it is the responsibility of all those individuals who are able bodied to ensure that the weak and vulnerable are protected, and this teaching should be extended to the final lifeboat situation (Shaikh 104). Thus, it is the women, children and the elderly who should be given the few seats on the final lifeboat because to do so would ensure that there is justice as well as the fulfilment of the wishes of God. The location as well as the killing of Osama bin Laden, who for a long time was considered the most wanted man in the world in connection to terrorism, is among the greatest American successes in recent years. But while this may be the case, the belief that it would have been preferable for those who were with him in his compound to be killed along with him is wrong. This is because of the fact that although there may have been some individuals affiliated to him through terrorism; there were also innocents in the compound. If all the people in the compound had been killed, it would have led to the killers having innocent blood in their hands and in their conscience. The main objective was to capture or kill bin Laden and this is what the navy seals did, with minimal casualties among those in the compound. In conclusion, one would state that the implementation of justice in human society is extremely fundamental to the survival of the human race as a whole. All the major religions in the world, especially Islam in this context, accept as true and stress that acts of justice are important in the eyes of God. Therefore, it is my personal belief that justice can only be achieved if the human society does not only understand of each other, but also ensures that they do not deviate completely away from religion. Religion should be given a prominent role in the administration of justice because religion, more than anything, is capable of influencing the conscience of those who would otherwise be tempted to commit injustices. Justice is inseparable from the survival of the society because it is the prevalence of injustices which often lead to revolution. Works Cited Miller, Monica K., and R. D. Hayward. "Religious Characteristics and the Death Penalty." Law and human behavior 32.2 (2008): 113-23. Mizuno, Yuko, et al. "Homophobia and Racism Experienced by Latino Men Who have Sex with Men in the United States: Correlates of Exposure and Associations with HIV Risk Behaviors." AIDS and Behavior 16.3 (2012): 724-35. Rosen, Lawrence. "LAW: Dispensing Justice in Islam: Qadis and their Judgments/Intent in Islamic Law: Motive and Meaning in Medieval Sunni Fiqh." The Middle East Journal 60.4 (2006): 819-22. Shaikh, Khanum. "Contesting Justice: Women, Islam, Law and Society." Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 5.2 (2009): 104-6. Read More