Salam, Muhammad.

First of all, I must confess that you have raised many points in your question and the thread that gathers them above all is understanding the nature of today's world and realizing one fact, which is that Shariah is not applied in the full term in any Muslim country today.

No one can claim that whatever applied in such and such country is Shariah. Yes, it may be some parts of the Islamic penal code, but not the full one. In fact, this way of applying parts of Islam and leaving others is doing the worst job to Islamic Shariah as it represents it as a barbaric system aiming at punishing crowds of people, rather than reforming and educating them.

Therefore, I call upon those who claim that Shariah is applied in their countries to save us this clamor and stop ascribing their transformed versions of what they think to be Shariah to Islam because it is not.

Quran: For Muslims only?

Allow me to say that the Quran is not revealed as guidance from Allah to Muslims only. It is for all humankind, those who believe in it as a Divine book and even those who do not regard it as their book.

Coming from Allah, the Lord of mankind, the guidance comprised within the Quran is not restricted to a group of people or parts of the world. It is available to everyone turning to it for help and safety in this life as well as in the Hereafter.

Serving as a book of divine guidance; the Quran is there for scientists, politicians, writers, linguists, religious leaders, reformists and laymen who profess Islam as their faith and those who do not profess it as their faith. All can come to the Quran and will find what they want in it.

This has actually been experienced long time ago even by the arch-enemies of Islam whose hearts were invaded by the light and beauty of the Quran until one of them voiced out his amazement and said: "By God, this cannot be the production of jinn or men. Its words are sweet, it is full of beauty."

Therefore, the first fact we have to put in place is that Islam considers the Quran as a guidance for everyone.

Is It All About Punishment?

Now, coming to another point that needs highlighting, which is that Islam is not after punishing people. Rather, it tries its best to save them from the punishment.

In doing so, many measures are being adopted starting from the command to a sinner to hide his sin and repent to Allah without disclosing his guilt to others. Simply this has much less harm on the fabric of the society and its general morality. Then, dropping off the punishment in case of slight doubt making the best use of the benefit of doubt in favor of the accused.

Before all, Islam categorically places focus on educating people to save them from falling into the abyss of sin rather than chasing them to be punished. For this to be achieved, Islam makes it clear that ignorance is an enough excuse for forgiveness and a person deserves no punishment if he is unclear about a certain ruling. Yet, he should learn in order to avoid committing the same offence again.

Only in Muslim Countries?

As for the application of the Islamic penal code, to be honest in answering this piece, we have to take into consideration the status quo of Muslims as Islamic law is not in place and speaking of the application of penal code is a very egalitarian and unrealistic talk.

It is well known that Muslims living in countries where they do not represent the majority should adapt themselves to the law of that land and they cannot live as an isolated group.

It depends on the law of the land, in such a case, to grant or deny them the ability and the power of applying their penal system bearing in mind above all that our focusing too much on punishment is in itself contrary to the clear injunctions of Islam that command mercy, teaching people and cherishing their sense of religious commitment, fear of God and care for the society; rather than suggesting that everyone carries a criminal inside him.

Needless to assert that in case a crime is proven and punishment is required, there is still even a place for forgiveness. For forgiveness in such a situation can be one of the ways of reforming the culprit himself.

Is It Barbaric?

Another important point is that in the application of punishment all people are equal. This means that whether you are a man or a woman, a prince or a pauper, it does not make a difference when it comes to the application of the punishment.

The final point that you raised about the far-fetched claim of the Islamic penal code being barbaric, which I think has been a string on which everyone is harping these days to support a pre-set agenda, needs much scrutiny.

In a milieu of justice, respect, giving everyone his or her own rights in full equality and giving people a life of welfare and prosperity, would not it be very odd and unacceptable if someone threatens this amazing fabric with a crime?

In that situation, if the sin is secret, in which case the fabric of the society is intact, no punishment is spoken of at all. It is only when the fabric of the society is really threatened, then the interest of the community takes precedence over the interest of the individual and the individual is brought to justice to be duly punished.

One of the ways of catering for the interests of individuals themselves is deterring them. Since some individuals have got strong desires yearning towards falling into sin and for these a strong reminder can be in place, not to be applied all the way through. Rather, it should be there to stop the crime and play the role of a warning signal.

Finally, when we utter the word "barbaric", let's think of some other ways and just make a comparison like the various torture methods used during the Middle Ages and the modern electric chair or other torturing ways of punishment bearing in mind that these mentioned ones are not a products of Islam at all; yet, a product of places that sometimes call themselves the most civilized nations of the earth.

I hope this answers your question. Please keep in touch.

Salam.

Useful Links:

Prescribed Punishments: The Exception, Not the Rule

Punishments for Wrongdoers… Why?

The ABCs of Islamic Law

The Justice of Divine Judgment

Apostasy, Polygamy, and Adultery

The Meaning of Adultery

Sentencing Adulterers to Death

The Repentance of a Fornicator

Why Are Fornicators Punished?

Has the Quran Changed?