Religiosity in Islam as a Protective Mechanism against Criminal Temptation

Abstract

The goal of this paper is b examine the extent to which religiosity,
within the Islamic context, can be viewed BS an effective mechanism
against criminal temptation. To accomplish this, we will a) review the
theories and literatwe concerning the religion-crime relationship, b) discuss
the meaning of the religiosity concept in order to highlight essential
features of religiosity in Islam that make it a valuable force in crime control
within a Muslim society, and c) present a thorough discussion of certain
elements of Islamic ideology that conshin criminal behavior.
Theoretical Antecedence
The relation of religion to other social phenomena has received a
great deal of attention from social scientists. Given the variations of the
ideological and philosophical backgrounds underlying most schools of SQcia1
thought, theme is no single view of the impact of religion. For example,
Ibn Khaldiin ([d. 14061 1981) views religion, through its effect on
social cohesion and cooperation, as a primary factor in the rise and fall
of Societies. Marx (Tucker 1978), in his analysis of capitalism, recognizes
the importance of religion as a control mechanism and considers it
an effective instNment utilized by the bourgeois dass to maintain its
dominance over the proletariat. On the conttary, Weber (1958) views the
entin= capitalist system as a by-product of Protestantism.
But it is perhaps the functional theorists who highlight the impowce
of religion on the creation and maintenance of social order. They consider
religion to be the basis and source of social values and norms by which
people are united and their behavior and activities are regulated murkheim
1951). However, due to the increasingly secular nature of modem ...