Q. I am writing on behalf of my friend, a young British Muslim man. Last summer he was shot in his shoulder by British police on suspicion of making a dirty bomb. There were no charges pressed against him. After he held a press conference to declare his innocence the police accused him of various offenses, the worst being an accusation that he downloaded and watched child pornography on his computer. This was clearly a smear campaign and no charges have ever been pressed. The problem is that my friend has become very depressed. He is struggling with lost confidence, sleeplessness, flashbacks and guilt for his mother’s distress. He feels that maybe he made a mistake in holding the press conference. But he also feels he has a responsibility to clear his name among his community, his mosque, his neighbors, his family, but how do you prove a negative? I wonder if there are any words of help you could address to him and to his community?
A. Mustafa
A. I happened to be in England when this unfortunate case took place, and I followed it closely up to the police allegations claiming that the man had downloaded child pornography. The amazing thing was that these allegations came only after the man had held his press conference, speaking up against the police tactics. You would have expected the police to have made the allegation right at the beginning, because it would have added some justification to what they did. They could have started by saying that the man was a very dubious character. They searched his flat for a week tearing up beds and other articles of furniture. Needless to say, his computer would have been one of the first things they would thoroughly search. How come they did not discover the child pornography in the first place?
Islam has a very straightforward way in dealing with such cases. I can only outline the main points, as limitation of space makes a full discussion impractical. The first point is that Islam puts the burden of proof on the accuser. It may be said that in this case the police can easily provide sufficient evidence to give credence to their allegations. They had full access to the man’s computer for a long time, and they could have put on it whatever they liked. However, a fair and independent investigation into the matter may prove how and when the pornographic files came to be on the man’s computer. On the other hand, the police force has the resources to come up with a watertight case, proving their allegations. In such a case, Islam requires its judges to look into the overall circumstances of the case, so as to determine what interest the accuser or the witnesses have in the case. Should such a case come up before an Islamic court, the judge would treat the police force as the accuser and individual police officers as witnesses. Since the police were in a difficult position, having raided the man’s flat and shot him on the basis of flimsy evidence and then made their pornography accusation after the man had tried to clear his name, the judge will require the police to provide further evidence. The computer and its contents would not be accepted as proof.
It is highly significant that the British police did not press any charges against the man for the alleged possession of child pornography, which remains an offense under British law. Had the police thought that their case would stand any chance of success, they would not have hesitated to press charges, as this would make them appear to be doing their job properly.
An important point in Islamic law is that we must not entertain allegations made against any member of the Muslim community unless proper evidence is given at the same time. God makes clear that the first reaction the Muslim community should have when any of its members is accused of an act of immorality should be one of disbelief: “When you heard it, why did not the believers, men and women, think the best of themselves, and say: ‘This is a blatant falsehood.’” (24: 12) We note how the Muslim community is required to immediately close ranks, considering the accusation against any one of their numbers leveled against all of them. If no sufficient proof is provided, the Muslim community must reject the accusation as “blatant falsehood.”
Yet another point of Islamic justice is the very serious view it takes of issues of morality, requiring stringent evidence to prove any accusation of fornication and adultery. The proof needed is four witnesses who testify under oath to have seen the act being committed. If four witnesses come forward with such an accusation, they are cross-examined in order to establish the truth of their testimony. If the accusation is supported by less than four witnesses, those making it are deemed guilty of false accusation, and they are punished for it.
In order to appreciate the beauty of this concept, we need only to look at what happens in all communities that take a lenient view of such accusations. Cheap press all over the world is filled with gossip about people, particularly celebrities, making all sorts of innuendoes and outright accusations. Some people even think that this is good publicity. Islam shuns all this, considering it as encouraging indecency and immorality. Therefore, it warns strongly against it. Within the context of unproven accusations of immorality, God says in the Qur’an: “Those who love that gross indecency should spread among the believers shall be visited with grievous suffering both in this world and in the life to come. God knows, but you do not know.” (24: 19)
In the case we are considering, the Muslim community in the area where this man lives should rally to his support. They should reject outright the accusations made against him, and they should help him to clear his name in every way possible. If there are good lawyers within the community, they should look into his case and consider whether they should help him in bringing a lawsuit against the police for their accusation. This may be financially very expensive. Therefore, these lawyers should consider that supporting the man’s case is an act of supporting the entire Muslim community that has been subjected to a wide variety of pressures. A fund may be raised by the community to help. This will make the British police more careful before they level false accusations that they cannot support in a British court of law.
