Deviant Criminal Policy: An Uprising Influenced by Islamic Political Philosophy

Abstract

There is no such thing as Islamic political philosophy; however, multiple political philosophies can be described as Islamic (i.e., attributed to Islam). Some concepts, including Islamic political philosophy, are inherently meaningless and lack theoretical coherence, just as terms like Eastern or Western political philosophy lack a consistent scientific foundation. When addressing topics such as indigenous criminal policy, indigenous criminology, or indigenous philosophy from a non-ideological perspective that focuses on the ontology and essence of scientific and philosophical concepts, these concepts cannot be granted an independent identity. Science, meta-science, and philosophy possess a singular, systematic essence that remains unchanged across time and geography; classifying them based on these variables constitutes a methodological error. However, examining these concepts from different perspectives—including religious, political, or specific theoretical viewpoints—can yield varying interpretations. In the field of criminal policy, if regional interpretations of Islamic political philosophy are taken as the interpretive standard, then criminal policy as a scientific discipline becomes distorted. This leads to the emergence of concepts such as "Islamic criminal policy" or "religious criminal policy," which lack genuine scientific foundations. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this article demonstrates that attempts to prove the existence of an Islamic criminal policy or an independent Islamic political philosophy distinct from universal scientific foundations are epistemologically flawed and futile. Furthermore, the incorporation of specific Islamic doctrines into criminal policy has resulted in the emergence of deviant criminal policies that not only fail to contribute to the scientific advancement of the field but also exacerbate its deviation. Thus, this article concludes that criminal policy should be based on scientific and methodological principles, and efforts to link it to Islamic political philosophy lack theoretical and practical justification.