Criminal Protection of Digital Privacy in Islamic Jurisprudence and Criminal Laws of Islamic Countries

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD student in Theology (Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law), Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan Branch, Iran, Hamedan

2 Associate Professor, Department of Theology (Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law), Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Hamedan Branch, Iran, Hamedan

3 Assistant Professor, Department of Theology (Jurisprudence and Fundamentals of Islamic Law), Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Hamadan Branch, Iran, Hamadan

10.22091/dclic.2026.15470.1155

Abstract

The expansion of communication technologies and the increasing dependence of societies on the digital space has confronted the concept of privacy with new challenges and highlighted the necessity of reconsidering criminal protection mechanisms for personal data in Islamic countries. In such a context, the main question is to what extent Islamic jurisprudence, with emphasis on the common capacities of Islamic schools of thought, is capable of providing criminal protection for digital privacy, and to what extent the criminal laws of Islamic countries have utilized this capacity. The purpose of this research is to analyze the jurisprudential foundations of digital privacy protection, including both Imamiyeh and Sunni jurisprudence, and to compare them with the criminal regulations of Islamic countries. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the data collection method is library-based, relying on document analysis, laws and comparative studies. The findings indicate that Islamic jurisprudence, based on the common rules of all Islamic schools of thought such as the prohibition of espionage, the principle of no harm, sovereignty over property and the prohibition of disclosing secrets which have been emphasized in the jurisprudential sources of all Islamic schools of thought, has extensive capacity for criminal protection of digital privacy. Although some countries have taken steps toward criminalizing digital violations, but the dispersion of regulations and the lack of independent criminalization of some instances still impede effective criminal protection. Consequently, the systematic utilization of the common capacities of Islamic jurisprudence, which is accepted by all Islamic schools of thought, can provide a coherent framework for strengthening the criminal laws of Islamic countries in the field of digital privacy and pave the way for codifying a unified pattern in the Islamic world.

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Criminal Law Doctrines of Islamic Countries
Volume 3, Issue 2 - Serial Number 10
Summer 2026
June 2026
Pages 32-56

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