The death penalty generates a lot of discussion and evokes emotions in many societies for a number of reasons. There are often concerns whether there is a way to determine someone’s guilt with absolute certainty, as was the case with the recent execution of Troy Davis. Davis’s case prompted responses not only around the United States, but also within the Muslim community. Tariq Ramadan, a prominent Muslim scholar, wrote a response titled “On the Death Penalty” where he argues that cases like Davis’s are the reason that the death penalty should be stopped and, specifically in the Islamic context, that there should be a moratorium on the use of the death penalty for certain crimes like adultery and murder. Continue reading →