by Joseph A. Kechichian Senior Writer

Beirut: In the latest annual Pew Research Center survey, titled “The
Divide Over Islam and National Laws in the Muslim World,” pollsters
sought views as to whether the Quran should influence laws in 10
countries with significant Muslim populations, including Lebanon, where
surprising results reflected the country’s unique socio-political
configuration. While the poll found that half or more of
respondents in four countries — Pakistan, the Occupied Palestinian
territories, Jordan and Malaysia — said laws should strictly follow
Sharia, small percentages in Burkina Faso, Turkey and Lebanon wished to
see their legal systems altered.

In fact, only 15 per cent of
Lebanese Muslims preferred that the legal system strictly follow Sharia.
Another 37 per cent of Lebanese Muslims believed that the legal system
should include Sharia precepts but not follow them strictly, while 42
per cent were opposed to any such considerations. A majority of
Lebanese Christians (59 per cent) stated that Sharia should not
influence the country’s laws. But while that was probably expected, the
more interesting data was the significant difference between Lebanese
Sunnis — who are divided between supporters (34 per cent) and
challengers (37 per cent) — and Lebanese Shiites (56 per cent backers).

Yet,
even in those instances where Lebanese Shiites said laws should follow
Islamic principles, most insisted that Sharia should not be applied too
strictly. Sunnis preferred that laws simply “reflect” Islamic values (34
per cent), which highlighted the influences of co-existence with
Lebanese Christians.

Unlike Pakistan or even Jordan, where calls for stringent application
of Sharia were common, 75 per cent of Lebanese Muslims accepted that
laws should not fall under such interpretations, which reflected the
country’s diverse ethnic and religious make-up even if the Lebanese,
both Muslim as well as Christian, are faithful to their respective
religions and seldom shy from displaying religiosity in public.

Equally
important in the Pew survey was the percentage (50 per cent) of young
Lebanese (18-29 year-olds) who said that laws should not be influenced
by Sharia, compared with 36 per cent among those 50 and older.

Elsewhere
in the ten countries surveyed, the majority supported moderate
interpretations, even if dramatic changes were noted in the Palestinian
territories — where backing to stricter rules nearly doubled from 36 per
cent in 2011 to 65 per cent in 2015 — and Nigeria (where it went from
21 to 27 per cent). It stayed the same in Pakistan (78 per cent) in the
two benchmark years of 2011 and 2015.

There were also some
declines as in Jordan, which recorded an 18-point drop between 2012 and
2015, even if those who preferred strict interpretations stood at 54 per
cent.

Nevertheless, the survey underscored once again that an
increasing number of Arabs and Muslims were keenly aware of Sharia legal
precepts and preferred them to be revised. Nigeria and Indonesia, with
very large Muslim populations, opted for values and principles rather
than extremism.

Even overwhelmingly Muslim Turkey, currently led
by an Islamist leader, voted for secularism with only 13 per cent
wishing to see strict Sharia laws applied.

Inasmuch as these
variations reflected higher levels of secondary school education, along
with a country’s history and religious composition, Lebanon stood as a
model of co-existence even if it experienced largely confused
socio-political disputes. While Lebanese Muslims, like their Christian
brethren, are devout believers, what the 2015 Pew survey underscored was
the critical transformation among Sunnis, often mistakenly accused of
supporting extremist elements like Daesh, the so-called Islamic State.
The critical revelation in this latest survey was the growing gap within
the Lebanese Shiite community.