A member of the IICT, referencing the Quran’s strategies for preventing delinquency and crimes against human bodily integrity, stated: Islam seeks to design a social framework that, if implemented, would prevent many disputes and conflicts.
According to the Public Relations Office of IICT, an academic and promotional forum titled “Strategies for Social Prevention in Islamic Criminal Policy for the Protection of Human Bodily Integrity” was held in-person and virtually on Sunday, June 9, 2024, by the Institute’s Department of Jurisprudence and Law, in collaboration with the Islamic Research Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly.
This forum featured Hojjat al-Islam Dr. Ali Mohammadi Jorkuyeh as the presenter, with Hojjat al-Islam Dr. Jalal al-Din Qiasi and Dr. Seyed Mahmoud Mirakhlili as critics. Below is a summary of the discussions:
One of the critical discussions in modern societies is criminal policy. Given that criminal law has been unsuccessful in combating delinquency, scholars have been inclined toward adopting criminal policies to fight crime. Islamic teachings also follow this approach, with Islam offering a unique policy for combating crime. Unfortunately, what our jurists have primarily worked on is specifying the punishments for each crime, which is the last resort in the fight against crime. However, it is appropriate for our jurists to examine the criminal policies of Islam for each case. For example, in crimes against chastity, our jurisprudence only defines and sets conditions and punishments for such crimes, while Islam’s primary concern is to prevent these crimes from occurring in the first place.
We have only focused on the final step in fighting crime
The same applies to crimes against bodily integrity. We do not see jurists discussing the preventive measures of Islam for such crimes; instead, they focus solely on defining types of homicide and the punishments associated with them, which does not lead to effective results. Nowadays, no matter how much the judiciary expands, crime rates do not decrease. In our own country, the judiciary is being expanded, but crime statistics do not decline. The reason is that we have only focused on the final step in combating delinquency and ignored more critical stages.
A significant part of criminal policy is social prevention of crime, which is the core of the fight against delinquency. All efforts must be made to ensure this barrier is not broken. Islam pays special attention to this and aims for individuals in society to reach a level of self-discipline and resilience where, when tempted to violate values, they can resist such temptations. Additionally, Islam seeks to eliminate crime-inducing factors, which may be political, economic, or cultural. In our research on Islamic and Iranian criminal policy, part of our discussion was dedicated to what strategies we can derive from the Quran for social prevention of crimes against human bodily integrity and life.
The Foundations of Islam’s Superior Vision Regarding Social Relations
It seems that, from the Quranic verses, strategies for preventing harm to human life can be categorized into two parts: preventive strategies and reactive strategies. Preventive strategies are those implemented before disputes and conflicts arise. The Quran offers solutions to prevent conflicts from emerging in human relationships. In discussing preventive strategies, I was able to identify a few: Islam seeks to design a social vision that, if implemented, would prevent many disputes and conflicts from arising. I believe this vision is so beautiful that we can call it a “superior vision.” If pursued, it would eliminate the grounds for many errors, conflicts, and disputes.
Islam builds this superior vision on several pillars, one of which is unity. Islam strongly emphasizes unity among people. When unity is pursued, it leads to solidarity and cooperation, which in turn fosters progress and peace in society. Naturally, when peace and progress prevail, conflicts decrease because cooperation leads people to view the interests of others as their own, eliminating grounds for confrontation. Unity means oneness, and conflict arises from division. When God advocates for unity, He reminds us that we were once divided and on the brink of destruction, and it was through divine intervention that we were saved from that division. Therefore, unity is one of the foundational pillars of Islam’s strategy for safeguarding human life in social relations.
Another pillar of this strategy is love and compassion. Islam seeks to instill love among individuals, which fosters warmth and closeness. Naturally, with a loving view of one another, conflict and disputes do not arise. In his letter to Malik al-Ashtar, Imam Ali (peace be upon him) advises showing love to people because they are either your brothers in faith or your equals in creation. Although the letter is addressed to Malik al-Ashtar, it is directed at all rulers and people.
Another pillar of this strategy is “peace” (silm), which means that we should pursue peaceful relations. God says in the Quran: “Enter into peace (silm) , all of you.” One of the interpreters says that peace or silm here refers to social harmony, which prevents many conflicts and disputes.
Another key pillar of this superior and advanced vision is forgiveness. Muslims in social relations are obligated to forgive the mistakes of others rather than seek revenge. God lists forgiveness as one of the traits of the righteous. One interpreter mentions that while it is good to restrain anger in response to others’ mistakes, it is not enough; one must forgive completely, leaving nothing in their heart.
The second Islamic strategy is the internalization of values. Islam seeks to internalize values so that they become intrinsic to human nature. One effort in this direction is strengthening human emotions. The Quran tries to evoke and reinforce emotions in people.
Regarding reactive strategies, the Quran promotes several things: one is increasing knowledge and understanding of human beings, encouraging people to view others with a deep, informed perspective. This can be achieved in various ways to make individuals aware of the great value of human life. One way is to remind people that God has made humans the noblest of creatures. Another strategy is to remind humanity of the covenant they have with God—a covenant that includes respecting others’ lives. Furthermore, the Quran encourages the preservation of human life.
Differentiation in Criminal Policy
Seyed Mahmoud Mirakhlili, a faculty member of the University of Tehran and one of the forum’s critics, stated: As was mentioned, in our society, judicial approaches are largely reactive and punitive. We hope that one day our social culture shifts towards social prevention. Regarding this paper, I would like to note that at the beginning, you mentioned that Islamic criminal policy is a differentiated policy, with social prevention being its most important aspect.
He added: Differentiation is a specific term used in criminal policy where approaches are entirely distinct, such as in crimes committed by military personnel or clergy, which have different conditions. In criminal policy, differentiation is discussed in cases such as the difference between white-collar crime and blue-collar crime. Otherwise, using this term broadly is not appropriate; if applied this way, we would have differentiated criminal policies for every type of crime.
