The Dialectical Interpretation of Sharia Law on Theft among the Ugandan Business Community

Abstract

The article reports data from the field research concerning with dialectical interpretation of the Sharia law of theft among the Islamic business community in Uganda. The article focuses on the indirect forms of theft such as usury, gambling, refusal to pay debts, rent, forgery and corruption among others. This was baseline study that employed mixed methods to explore the dialectical interpretation of the Islamic law on theft in Uganda. The study was conducted in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda and established that Muslims in Uganda are ignorant of these forms of theft and lack sincerity as well. The study has revealed the forms of injustices in business transactions that are disguised as forms of customer care. Secondly, the Muslim business community also indulges in such dishonesty which undermines Sharia law. The study has finally recommended punitive punishment for the above.