Sharia Law and Digital Forensics in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

These days, digital crime is one of the main challenges for law enforcement and the judicial system. Many of the laws which are used to protect the users of current technologies were derived from legislation and laws that are utilized in the control of crimes that are based in the physical realm. This applies not only in Western countries, but in countries that adopt Sharia law. There is a need to establish specific legislation and accepted best practice to deal with digital crimes that is compatible with Sharia law, which affects more than one billion Muslims. This paper presents a view of the approach to digital crime in Saudi Arabia under Sharia Law, demonstrating how this is founded on principles from the Qur'an and the Sunnah, which are the sayings and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad. We describe how Sharia law differs from Western law, and how evidence for digital forensics procedures can be obtained for use under Sharia law.