Several Malaysian states are planning Valentine’s Day crackdown

Valentine's Day - HARAM dalam Islam

Several Malaysian states are planning a crackdown on “immoral acts” during Valentine’s Day as part of a campaign to encourage a sin-free lifestyle, an Islamic party leader Wednesday.

Authorities in the northern states of Kedah, Penang and Kelantan as well as central Selangor state will carry out “immorality checks” on February 14, said Nasrudin Hasan Tantawi, head of the Islamic party PAS’s youth wing.

PAS is part of the opposition alliance that won control of the four states in 2008 elections. Its conservative stance has caused friction with its two partners including the liberal Chinese-based Democratic Action Party.

“We have identified spots in these states which are used by lovers and we are deploying local religious department officials as well as party members to stop such sinful acts like casual sex which violates Islam,” Nasrudin told AFP.

He said authorities will take action against those caught in the dragnet, under Islamic laws that run in parallel with the civil justice system in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

“There have been campaigns promoting ‘no panties’ on Valentines Day and even free hotel room offers for unmarried couples. We must stop such practices here as these are sinful activities,” he added.

Nasrudin said PAS youth was also launching a campaign to promote a sin-free lifestyle during the period.

“We are not trying to stop love, but want to ensure that whatever Muslims in Malaysia do is moral and in keeping with our faith.”

PAS is known for its hardline stance on morality and in Kelantan, which the party rules in its own right, it has banned gambling, restricted the sale of alcohol and requires men and women to queue in separate lines at shops.

Source: AFP

Malaysia Law minister:"underage marriages practice is permitted under Islam." !

Malaysia's law minister on Wednesday shot down calls to ban underage marriage, despite an uproar over the recent wedding of a 14-year-old Muslim school girl.

Siti Maryam Mahmod wed 23-year-old teacher Abdul Manan Othman last weekend in a mass wedding at a major mosque, after being given permission in an Islamic syariah court.

Malaysian Muslims below the age of 16 are allowed to marry as long as they obtain the permission of the religious courts. Sharia law runs in parallel with civil law in the multi-ethnic country.

Nazri Abdul Aziz, a minister in the premier's department in charge of legal affairs, said the government has no plan to review laws allowing for underage marriages because the practice is permitted under Islam.

"If the religion allows it, then we can't legislate against it," he told a press conference.

"Islam allows it as long as the girl is considered to have reached her pubescent stage, once she has her menstruation," he added.....more here.

Muamalah Council, plans to implement the dinar system in Kelantan ?

The official launch of Dinar and Dirham in the state of Kelantan will be held in its capital, Kota Bharu, on 12 August 2010. The upcoming event in Kelantan is history in making as it marks the beginning of both, the rise of Islam and demise of Capitalism for the two can’t co-exist: when the light comes darkness disappears.

- Muamalah council

Muamalah Council, plans to implement the dinar system in Malaysia's northern state of Kelantan. If information on its website is to be believed, the council has the blessing of the state's Islamist government, Parti Islam Se Malaysia (Pas), to kick start the dinar in three moves.

First, the state will pay a quarter of its public servants' salaries using the dinar. Second, all state companies will accept dinar payments. Lastly, some 600 commercial enterprises will also embrace this currency.

Inspired by selective religious sources and backed by historical precedents within the annals of Islamic history, the gold dinar system is touted by certain fiercely proud Muslims as the Islamic answer to thwart capitalism's woes.

The idea was first mooted by Malaysia's former prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, in the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis. He argued that the coins would never hang their possessor out to dry in the same way that paper money had. As precious metals with intrinsic value, gold and silver are more resistant to market fluctuations and devaluation compared to the US dollar – an argument he took to the Organisation of the Islamic Conference as a tool to battle western hegemony.

Today, Islamic gold dinar advocates would cite the recent credit crunch as proof. Indeed, the rocketing price of gold – possibly transcending a record high of $2,000 an ounce – can only strengthen their pitch.

While Mahathir's grand plan for Malaysia to implement the dinar system by 2003 may have been unceremoniously scrapped by his successor, Abdullah Badawi, the idea has since gained currency beyond Malaysia's shores.....more

Radical American-Yemeni Islamic cleric Imam Anwar al-Awlaki puts cartoonist Molly Norris on execution hit list for caricaturing Prophet Muhammed.

Radical American-Yemeni Islamic cleric Imam Anwar al-Awlaki has singled out 'Everybody Draw Mohammed' cartoonist Molly Norris as a 'prime target', by putting him on the execution hit list.

According to the New York Daily News, in "Inspire," an English language Al Qaeda terrorist magazine, Awlaki damns Norris and eight others for "blasphemous caricatures" of Prophet Muhammed.

Awlaki, who also had been cited as inspiring the Fort Hood, Tex., massacre and the plot by two New Jersey men to kill U.S. soldiers, singled out Norris as a "prime target," saying her "proper abode is Hellfire."

The other cartoonists, authors and journalists in Awlaki''s crosshairs are Swedish, Dutch and British citizens.

"The medicine prescribed by the Messenger of Allah is the execution of those involved," Awlaki wrote in the magazine.

"A soul that is so debased, as to enjoy the ridicule of the Messenger of Allah, the mercy to mankind; a soul that is so ungrateful towards its lord that it defames the Prophet of the religion Allah has chosen for his creation does not deserve life, does not deserve to breathe the air created by Allah and enjoy a life provided for by Allah. Their proper abode is Hellfire," he added.

FBI officials have notified Norris and warned her they consider it a "very serious threat."

Norris initially grabbed headlines in April when she published a satirical cartoon on her Web site that declared May 20th "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" as a way to mock Viacom and Comedy Central''s decision to censor an episode of "South Park" that showed the Prophet Mohammed dressed in a bear suit.

Soon after, the topic exploded on the Web with the start of a Facebook support group for Norris.

In response, Pakistan blocked access to the social networking site as a fiery pro-and-con debate raged worldwide.

Norris eventually backed away from her cartoon and cause.

"I regret that I made my cartoon the way I made it," she said then.

(Source)

Malaysia Muslims protest Muhammad cartoon :"Take some lessons from 9/11!!!"

Over 500 Muslims gathered at the Swedish embassy today to voice their protest against three Swedish dailies for allegedly "insulting Prophet Muhammad".

They gathered at the embassy after Friday prayers led by Islamist party PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan and National Malay Students Federation (GPMS) president Jais Abdul Karim.

Both leaders submitted a two-page memorandum of protest to the embassy official.

The protesters burned a Swedish flag outside the Swedish embassy, chanting "Long live Islam" and "Down with Sweden" and carrying posters that read "Take some lessons from 9/11!!!" and "We fight for our prophet."

They also burned a picture of Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who made the drawing of Muhammad's head on a dog's body in 2007 that was reprinted in papers recently.

"We demand that the Swedish government take strong action against the newspapers and against the artist," said Sabki Yusof, one of the protest leaders from the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party. "It's unacceptable what they did to our prophet."

Swedish ambassador Helena Sangeland called for more dialogue with Muslims for better mutual understanding but said no action would be taken against the papers. She said she was "very disappointed" that the Swedish flag was burned.

"The Swedish government will not comment nor take any action against media. Freedom of expression is enshrined in our constitution. It is not negotiable," she told The Associated Press. "I don't think Malaysia-Sweden bilateral relations will be affected in any way."

The controversy started when a Swedish regional daily published cartoonist Lars Vilks' satirical cartoon in 2007, which prompted protests by Muslims in the country while Egypt, Iran and Pakistan made formal complaints.

An al-Qaeda front organisation had offered US100,000 to anyone who murdered Vilks, with an extra 50,000 if his throat was slit.

SIS wins battle to lift ban on book

The High Court here today quashed a ban by the Home Ministry on the book, "Muslim Women and the Challenge of Islamic Extremism", in a judicial review sought by the non-governmental organisation, Sisters in Islam (SIS).

Justice Mohamad Ariff Md Yusof held that the circulation of the book was not prejudicial to public order as only seven of the 215 pages of the book were said to have offended the Malaysian Islamic Development (Jakim) guidelines.

He said the Home Minister had acted illegally and irrationally in banning the book on July 31, 2008, after it was in circulation for two years.

SIS, in its application for a judicial review filed on Dec 15, 2008, named the then Home Minister, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, as the respondent, claiming that the ban on the book was outside the ambit of the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 and contravened Articles 8(2), 10(1)(a) and 11(4) of the Federal Constitution.

The book is a collection of essays by activists and international intellectuals which was edited by sociologist Prof Norani Othman of the Malaysian and International Studies Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

The book was banned on grounds that it was inclined towards confusing the Muslim community, particularly women, and an attempt to interpret statements about Islam causing "prejudicial to public order".

SIS was represented by counsels Malik Imtiaz Sarwar and K.Shanmuga while senior federal counsel Noor Hishamuddin Ismail, for the Home Minister.

-- Bernama

Kartika's Caning Delayed until after Ramadan

Malaysian authorities Monday postponed caning a Muslim woman for drinking beer in a hotel bar, in a case which has drawn international attention to the spreading use of Islamic laws in this traditionally moderate, predominantly Muslim country.

Islamic authorities granted Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno a one-month reprieve to mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The 32-year-old mother of two was earlier taken in a van from her Sungai Siput hometown to the Kajang Women's Prison for the punishment but she was brought back within 30 minutes after the Prison Department said there was a breakdown in communication and the sentence could not be carried out.

Pahang's Religious Affairs, Dakwah, Unity and NGOs Exco chairman Datuk Mohd Sahfri Abdul Aziz said the state religious department enforcement officers had issued a warrant of arrest for her to be sent to the Kajang Prison for the whipping.

“At the same time, they received a letter from the Attorney-General’s Chambers advising them to release Kartika temporarily as it was not advisable for her to undergo the punishment during the fasting month,” he said in Kuantan.

“The sentence remains. She will be caned after the fasting month. She has been released but only temporarily,” he added.

Kartika had earlier refused to leave the van that took her home as she wanted to know if it was a temporary reprieve.

“I will not come out without a black-and-white document explaining the status of what has happened. I am surprised and speechless,” Kartika told reporters.

And her father said the change of mind would ridicule Islam, which bans Muslims from consuming alcohol.

“The warrant cannot be executed," Sharafuddin Zainal Ariffin, head of enforcement for Pahang's Islamic Affairs Department, told reporters after Kartika Sari returned to her house.

Both Kartika, a Malaysian who has two children and who had worked as a nurse in Singapore, and her father had called for the sentence to be carried out quickly and in public.

“We had already accepted the punishment,” Shukarnor Mutalib, told reporters.

The severity of the sentence meted out to Kartika – she would have been the first Malaysian woman to be caned – caught many Malaysians by surprise. The 32-year-old mother of two was sentenced to six lashes with a rattan cane after being caught drinking beer at a hotel in Pahang state in 2007.

Kartika's sentence has triggered a debate about whether caning was too harsh and humiliating a punishment for a multiracial country such as Malaysia. Political analysts, meanwhile, said the sentence points to the growing role of Islam in the country's political battles as the ruling National Front and an Islamist opposition party are compete to present themselves as protectors of the faith.

Meanwhile, Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, who was sentenced by the Kuantan Syariah Court to receive caning for drinking beer at a public place, today lodged a police report on the "confusion" over her sentencing.

She made the report at the Kuala Kangsar district police headquarters at 12.30pm to state that she had not run away from the sentence.

The confusion arose while she was being taken to Kajang Prison in Selangor today to be remanded for a week before receiving the sentence, but was released 30 minutes later by officers from the Pahang Religious Affairs Department (Jaip).

Malaysian Muslim model will be first to be caned for drinking beer !

"The rattan cane to be used on Kartika would be lighter than the one used on men, and its purpose was to 'educate' rather than punish."

A moderate caning in modern, moderate Malaysia. An "educational" one ?


"Muslim model becomes first woman in Malaysia to be caned after being caught drinking a beer,"

A Muslim model will become the first woman to be caned in Malaysia after pleading guilty to drinking beer.

Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, 32, was sentenced to six lashes by an Islamic court after she was caught with alcohol in a raid on a hotel nightclub in eastern Pahang state last year.

The married mother of two will be caned next week following her decision not to appeal her sentence.

Prosecutor Saiful Idham Sahimi said: 'It is a good punishment because under Islamic law a person who drinks commits a serious offence.'

He added that a rattan cane 'lighter than the one for men' would be used, and that its purpose was to 'educate' rather than punish.

Muslims, who make up two-thirds of Malaysia's 28million population, are governed by sharia law. Although most alcohol offenders are fined, they can also be caned.

Women's rights groups attacked the penalty as being 'too harsh'.

Yesterday the court set a one-week period starting next Monday for the sentence to be carried out in a woman's prison, Saiful said. Prison authorities will decide when to cane her during that period.

He said Kartika will remain in prison during that time and will be released 'as soon as possible' after the caning is carried out.

Caning, administered on the buttocks, breaks the skin and leaves permanent scars. Kartika said earlier that she wanted authorities to cane her as soon as possible so she can resume her life with her husband and children.

Most alcohol offenders are fined, but the crime also carries a three-year prison term and caning.

Non-Muslims are governed by civil courts, which also impose caning for offenses such as rape and corruption. Men over 50, women and children are exempt under civil law.

A Muslim man and woman were also arrested during a series of raids in Cherating, a beach town in Pahang state, on the night when Kartika was arrested.

Both were also sentenced to caning, but have appealed.

Malaysian clubs and lounges typically serve alcohol and are not legally required to check if customers are Muslims before serving them.

The case has outraged some Malaysian women. “Did she harm anyone with her drinking?” asked a writer named Mariam Mokhtar in a letter to the New Straits Times newspaper. “Her crime is between her and her God. Let her receive her punishment when she eventually meets her Maker ... The worse crime is that we, and our society, allow and condone such terrible things to continue under the guise of ‘protecting the religion’.”

Ragunath Kesavan, the president of the Malaysian Bar Council, said: “This would be the first time caning has been meted out by the Islamic courts. We are all shocked and strongly oppose caning male or women offenders.”

Mohan Singh a Muslim ?!

Malaysia's high court has ruled that a Sikh man converted to Islam before his death, over the objections of his family who are demanding the return of his body, his lawyer said Monday.

The Sikh family lost a court battle Monday in Muslim-majority Malaysia for the right to cremate one of their relatives after officials said the man had converted to Islam years before his death.

The High Court said that deceased art director Mohan Singh was a Muslim, and dismissed an application for judicial review by his family after ruling that the court had no jurisdiction over the case. It also ordered that the body be released to the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) for burial.

Judge Rosnani Saub said that since she made a finding that Mohan’s Sijil Akuan Masuk Islam in the 1959 Penang Enactment proved he had converted to Islam in 1992, the Selangor Syariah Court should, therefore, have the jurisdiction to determine whether he was still a Muslim or otherwise, at the time of his death.

“This is provided for under Section 61 (3)(b)(xi) of the Selangor State Enactment and by virtue of Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution, this court has no jurisdiction over the matter,” she said when reading her written judgment on the case here today.

She said the Sijil Akuan Masuk Islam was enough proof that Mohan converted to Islam in 1992, with the conversion taking place in Penang; pursuant to Section 113 (2) of the Selangor State Enactment, he was to be treated as Muslim in this state and subjected to the provisions of the Selangor State Enactment.

The fact that Mohan’s lifestyle and conduct was inconsistent of a Muslim convert did not change his status as a Muslim according to the law, added Rosnani.

Rosnani said the application of judicial review was dismissed with costs to the health ministry, director-general, Sungai Buloh Hospital director, Selangor government, Malaysian government and MAIS.

She added that the High Court interim order dated June 1, this year, disallowing the hospital to release the body to any party until disposal of the civil proceedings, was also dissolved.

Mohan’s family applied for the judicial review to quash a decision by the ministry’s director-general and hospital director to stop them from claiming his body from the hospital, as well as requesting a confirmation from MAIS, whether the deceased died a Muslim or otherwise.

Mohan, whose Muslim name was Mohammad Hazzery Shah Mohan Abdullah, died at an apartment in Damansara Damai on June 25, this year, as a result of heart attack, according to a post-mortem at the hospital.
|
The Syariah High Court had on June 4 ruled that Mohan was a Muslim when he died and should be buried according to Muslim rites.

At the proceeding, Mohan’s family was represented by counsel Rajesh Kumar. MAIS was represented by Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar while Mohd Radhi Abbas appeared for the other respondents.

Meanwhile, MAIS public relations officer Rohana Hassan told reporters that the agency would claim the body for burial in the evening at the Muslim cemetery in Sungai Buloh.

However, she said MAIS would allow Mohan’s family to pay their last respects to the deceased before burial.

"The family is very disappointed with the ruling as they wanted to get his body and cremate him under Sikh rites, but it was expected and we are now rushing to appeal," family lawyer Rajesh Kumar told AFP.

Muslim burial today

"We are hoping that the family will be allowed to appeal but the Muslim authorities now have custody of the body and they are expected to rush a Muslim burial by today, which will make the situation worse," he said.

Kumar said that presiding high court judge Rosnaini Saub had refused to grant a stay order on the ruling, which would have allowed the body to be kept at a hospital morgue pending the appeal.

"This makes it very hard because if we win on appeal, it would be difficult to exhume the body from a Muslim graveyard as that would upset Muslims."

Muslim Feminists Confront a World of Obstacles

By Nadira Artyk
WeNews correspondent

Participants at the International Congress on Islamic Feminism emphasized different obstacles to their work for women's rights, including a rise in political Islam and fundamentalism, along with U.S. foreign policies.

BARCELONA, Spain (WOMENSENEWS)--At one point during the third gathering of the International Congress on Islamic Feminism, Arifa Mazhar grew tired of talking about religion.

"Instead of debating Islam, we should be debating culture and its impact," she burst out at a microphone during a discussion after one of the sessions. "Culture is so conservative in some tribal areas. Women can't move around; they can't work. There are a lot of social taboos and tribal traditions that oppress women and they have little to do with Islam."

And the principles of local courts and councils are so deeply entrenched that women accept them because they don't know their rights, she added.

Mazhar is the manager of gender issues for the Sungi Development Foundation, a nongovernmental group that has been working in the northwestern province of Pakistan for 15 years.

But for all her focus on culture, she knows the importance of working within an Islamic framework.

Mazhar and colleagues develop rural women's employment prospects through initiatives such as micro-credit and helping them organize collectives to talk over public health and social issues such as water supplies.

In the past few years, she says that when she and her colleagues spoke about women's rights from the human rights perspective, they were increasingly accused of participating in a Western agenda.

With the rise in religious extremism and growing antagonism among ordinary Muslims against the West--largely a response to U.S. interventionist policies abroad--secular, Western-style feminists in countries such as Pakistan are increasingly seen as U.S. agents and regarded with suspicion and distrust.

"Don't tell us how it's done in the West, we have our own culture and religion" is the common response.

"After 15 years of work we have realized that we should incorporate the egalitarian messages of the Quran into our grassroots work," Mazhar said.
Congress Gatherings Since 2005

The International Congress on Islamic Feminism was started by the Islamic Council of Catalonia (Spain) in 2005. Its founder and director is a man called Abdennur Prado, who is also the secretary of the Islamic Council of Spain. The congress is sponsored by British Council, the government of Spain, the European Institute of the Mediterranean region and the Catalonian Islamic Council.

At its third gathering in Barcelona in late October, participants confirmed what other meetings--along with other activists and scholars--have been saying about the primacy of an Islamic framework for their efforts.

The meeting also brought out appeals from some activists for a reversal of U.S. military interventions in the Middle East.

Musdah Mulia, a progressive Islamic scholar from Indonesia, received the U.S. State Department's International Women of Courage Award in 2007 at a ceremony presided over by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "When Mrs. Rice asked me what she can do to help my country, I answered, 'Just stop violence as a way of dealing with Muslim countries,'" Mulia said in an interview.

Asma Barlas, a Pakistani-born scholar on Islamic feminism, was among the most vocal about the need for a more progressive and non-patriarchal interpretation of Islam's holy book. "The Quran has been privatized by a handful of men, mostly Arabs, who decide how we should relate to God," she said while addressing the congress. Sharia religious law and fatwas are decided and issued by grand muftis or ayatollas of the Middle East countries, and all of them are men.
Historic Role for Female Scholars

Female Islamic scholars are a rare find these days, especially in Muslim societies, but it was not always so. In his independent research, scholar Mohammad Akram Nadwi has discovered 8,000 female scholars who transmitted and interpreted the hadith--the deeds and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad--and even made Islamic law as jurists throughout history.

"Muslim feminists face a dual mandate," said Barlas, "to challenge the substandard status of women living under Islamic laws and to challenge the belief spread outside of the Muslim world that Islam and Muslims are not competent to compete fully in the global movement for democracy, social justice and equality."

Souad Eddouada, a Moroccan gender scholar, echoed concerns about cultural conservatism as she discussed the difficulties of implementing Morocco's progressive 2004 family law, which was hard-fought by several national women's rights groups.

The law, influenced by progressive Quranic interpretations of gender equality and domestic harmony, instituted several significant changes. These included raising the marriage age of women to 18 and abolishing the notion of a marital obligation of obedience toward husbands, known as "ta'a" and imposed by a traditionalist view of the Sharia. Joint decision-making between spouses is encouraged in the reformed law.

"There is a lot of resistance, especially in rural areas," said Souad. "The law and its language is not relevant to every woman in the country. It is more suited to educated, urban women."

Eddouada also downplayed another sign of progress--the fact that 50 Moroccan women are taught each year to be mosque preachers--as mainly symbolic. She says the women express conservative ideas and are very much controlled by the male clergy.

Hindered by Social Resistance

Other scholars agreed that comparable progress in North African and Persian Gulf countries is hindered by social resistance, showing that grassroots work is needed to assist progressive laws and policies.

Norani Othman is a board member of Sisters in Islam, a leading Muslim women's rights group in Malaysia, where a rise in political Islam and religious fundamentalism swayed the government in 1988 to elevate Sharia religious courts and give them equal status with civil courts to handle family matters. Most Malaysian states now have Sharia-infused marital laws.

Sisters in Islam has been trying hard to reform one particular issue--polygamy--which is allowed with restrictions to Muslims in Malaysia.

"But we have come to the wall with this issue," said Othman.

She says Islamist political forces that focus on increasing religion's role in shaping the nation-state use a campaign for full legal polygamy to expand their constituencies by attracting men who want to have more than one wife.

In response, Sisters in Islam decided it needed empirical evidence showing the negative effects of polygamy to reverse public opinion. The group is now conducting a survey and says some respondents are willing to speak publicly.

"We have eager respondents, especially among children of the first wives, who say the second marriage of their father has affected them on several levels, especially emotionally," says Othman.

Fatou Sow, a women's rights advocate from Senegal, says any important debate on outlawing polygamy is stymied by the political influence of extreme religious groups and strong local traditions.

"Local culture still gives a much higher status to married women, so women continue to agree to become second wives," she says.

Margot Badran, a U.S. scholar of Islamic history and feminism, says Muslim activists are under attack from a range of conservatives, be they religious leaders, self-appointed community spokesmen, followers of political Islam or conservative Islamist women who promote patriarchal interpretations of Islam through Quran study groups.

Othman agrees. "Most of us are small, under-funded groups trying to fight against the tide, against the traditional Islamic interpretations."

Nadira Artyk is a Brooklyn-based women's rights advocate, journalist and media consultant. She was born and raised in Uzbekistan, Central Asia.

Bid to refer dispute on use of word "Allah" to Federal court

Seven State Islamic Religious Councils and MACMA allowed by court to intervene and be named as respondents in judicial review proceedings initiated by archbishop of Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian Gurdwaras Council want to submit a representation to the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) to not make issue into a confrontation.

Justice Lau then fixed Feb 27 next year for mention of the case to enable the parties to file any affidavits required in the judicial review.

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 21, 2008): Several State Islamic Religous Councils now want to refer the dispute over the usage of the word "Allah" in the Catholic weekly, Herald, to the Federal Court for determination on the constitutionality of law.

As such, eight intervenors have requested the High Court here to issue a stay of the judicial review proceedings initiated by the archbishop of Kuala Lumpur to challenge the Home Ministry's decision prohibiting the use of the word "Allah" in Herald.

They are from the State Islamic Religious Councils of Terengganu, the Federal Territory, Penang, Selangor, Kedah, Johor and Malacca, and the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association (MACMA).

Counsel Mubashir Mansor, representing the Terengganu, Penang and Malacca State Religious Councils, informed the court that the intervenors intended to file the application to the Federal Court to define the constitutionality of certain laws relating to the case.

Mubashir said under Section 64 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, the court was required to grant a stay of the proceedings to enable the parties to bring up the matter for determination by the Federal Court.

Counsel Haniff Khatri Abdulla, representing the State Religious Councils of Selangor, Kedah, Johor and the MACMA, and counsel Sulaiman Abdullah, representing the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (MAWIP), supported the application.

Justice Lau Bee Lan then ordered Mubashir to make a written submission pursuant to his stay application before she made her ruling on whether to grant the stay or not.

The seven State Islamic Religious Councils and MACMA were given the green light by Lau today to intervene and be named as respondents in the judicial review proceedings.

The court gave the order after hearing submissions today from parties to intervene in the judicial review.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian Gurdwaras Council (MGC), through its counsel Jagjit Singh, informed the court that MGC wanted to submit a representation to the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) in not making this issue a confrontation.

Jagjit said the issue (the use of the word "Allah") had arisen in Perak 10 years ago (in 1988), but the then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had advised the parties involved in the case not to pursue the matter.

He urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to consider adopting the same approach.

Jagjit then requested the court to adjourn the hearing of MGC's intervening application.

Justice Lau then fixed Feb 27 next year for mention of the case to enable the parties to file any affidavits required in the judicial review.

The judicial review was sought by the archbishop of Kuala Lumpur to challenge the Home Ministry's decision to prohibit the use of the word "Allah" in Herald-Catholic Weekly.

Archbishop Datuk Murphy Pakiam, as publisher of The Herald, named the Home Ministry and Government of Malaysia as respondents in his action and obtained leave to seek the judicial review from the High Court on May 5.

The Selangor Islamic Religious Council's application was supported by an affidavit affirmed by its secretary, Datuk Mohammed Khusrin Munawi, while that of the Kedah Islamic Religious Council also by its secretary, Datuk Kharudin Zain.

They said that as statutory bodies set up to ensure the interests of Muslims in Selangor and Kedah specifically and in Malaysia generally, they were interested parties in the proceedings because Herald was also distributed in Selangor and Kedah.

Counsel Porres P. Royan represented the archbishop while senior federal counsel Nizam Zakaria represented the Home Ministry and the Government.

-- Bernama

(Source)

Race And Islam - Farish A. Noor

Aliran website hacked after Farish’s article " Race and Islam " appears.

According to anilnetto.com:

This time the hacker obliterated the website and left a message using swear words on the site administrator.

Cartoonist Zunar alerted Aliran to the hacking this afternoon.

The website was hacked a couple of days after Aliran posted an article on “Race and Islam” by its member, Farish Noor.

In his piece, Farish criticised those who used Islam to manipulate racial sentiments against the appointment of a Chinese Malaysian as acting general manager of Selangor state-owned PKNS.

Soon after the article appeared on the website, a reader posted a strong comment, personally attacking Farish and his academic credentials, along with a dare to the webmaster to publish it. The comment was approved by the Aliran webmaster yesterday after crude language was edited out.

Read Farish A. Nor : "Race And Islam"

Some Excerpts:

" It is odd, to say the least, that after more than fourteen centuries there remain some people who claim to be Muslims but who still have not internalised the universal values of Islam. Odder still that there remain those who on the one hand can embrace Islam’s universal claim of brotherhood (and sisterhood), but still cannot get around to understanding the simple idea that Islam and racism do not mix."

" Furthermore when it comes to governance and politics, it remains painfully clear that some Muslims still place blood and race above competency and merit till today; and that despite their profession of faith they remain embedded in the stagnant mode of racialised thinking that operates on the basis that some races are better than others."

" Malaysia’s politics has been defined by racial concerns and the communitarian demands of the various religious and ethnic groups of the country since its independence in 1957. Over the past three decades, however, the tone and tenor of the country’s conservative, right-wing ethno-nationalist politics was further coloured by the Islamisation race in the country with the Malaysian government attempting to further inculcate Islamic values into the norms of governance in Malaysia as well."

" Ironically however, Malaysia’s Islamisation programme seems to be more concerned with book-banning, fatwas on social behaviour (including the recent revelation that there may be a fatwa on Yoga soon, wait for it), and moral policing instead. Where, the Islamic scholar may ask, were the universal values of Islam in the midst of all this social engineering? Did the leaders of Malaysia not realise, or forget, the simple idea that Islam is an egalitarian faith that is colour-blind; and that the concept of ‘race’ is an alien idea in Islam? "

" The dilemma that Malaysia is facing now is the same dilemma faced by many other Muslim societies where the defence and promotion of Islam often goes hand-in-hand with the defence and promotion of the communitarian interests of Muslims. In Malaysia’s case, where Muslims are overwhelmingly Malay, then this also translates as the defence of Malay interests – to the extent of propagating the ethno-nationalist idea of Malay cultural dominance as well. Now what on earth is Islamic about this? "

" In any case, for Muslims to even think in racialised communitarian terms is a misnomer of sorts as such modes of communitarian, sectarian thinking has no real place in Islamic orthodoxy and ethics. To quote Tuan Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, spiritual leader of the Malaysian Islamic Party PAS: ‘tell me, what race was Adam?’. ‘Nuff said I think."

100 days after the political tsunami

PAS National Youth deputy chief Azman Shapawi Abdul Rani said the wing was drawing up an agenda to implement Islamic laws in the five opposition-held states.

Now, Selangor PAS Youth movement has submitted a memorandum to the Selangor Mentri Besar’s office to protest against plans to have Malaysia rock queen Ella and dangdut singer Mas Idayu perform at the Sultan of Selangor Cup on July 6.

"Selangor PAS Youth protests performances by Ella, Mas Idayu" - The Star.

"State PAS youth chief Sallehen Mokhyi said the movement felt that performances by the two singers were inappropriate at the event that would be attended by many youngsters."

"He said PAS fully supported sports-related activities as they were important in building good moral values but felt that the two performers would have an opposite effect on the minds of the youngsters who attended the event."

"He said the movement had no objections to musical performances if the performers were replaced with other singers who were more “acceptable”."

“Ella and Mas Idayu’s dressing and performances do not follow the values of the Islamic and Malay cultures and we (the youth movement) cannot turn a blind eye to the effect it will have on the spectators,” he told reporters Monday at the state secretariat building here.

"Ella and Mas Idayu are to perform during a one-hour musical performance to kick-start the event together with David Arumugam of Alleycats."

"Sallehin said the youth movement would be forced to hold a peaceful gathering to protest the performance by the two singers if the state government did not stop their performance."

"He said he hoped that Khalid would act accordingly and not cause dissatisfaction among the Pakatan Rakyat coalition members in the newly-formed state government."

Meanwhile, Malaysia's highest court has allowed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to challenge his 1998 dismissal as a deputy prime minister, a surprise decision that his lawyer described Tuesday as "very significant."

The Federal Court's three judges decided unanimously Monday that Anwar would be allowed to appeal earlier court verdicts dismissing his contention that then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad fired him unlawfully, according to his lawyer, Karpal Singh.

Malaysian Islamist leader wants a return to mutilation ?

PAS National Youth deputy chief Azman Shapawi Abdul Rani said yesterday that the wing was drawing up an agenda to implement Islamic laws in the five opposition-held states.

The hardline Parti Islam se-Malaysia, which made strong gains in March elections, has enacted laws in five states to punish rapists and adulterers with stoning to death.

“LET HE WHO IS WITHOUT SIN, CAST THE FIRST STONE”

Thieves would have hands and arms cut off.

100 days gone, of the political tsunami spawned by Election 2008 on March 8.

PAS Syariah laws, not again!- Wong Chun Wai

"The Islamist party refrained from talking about syariah laws in the elections and many Malaysians, especially non-Muslims, voted for them because they were regarded as a better choice than the BN. But some little Mullahs in PAS have forgotten that many of their candidates won because of non-Muslim votes"

"PAS Youth moots Islamic law in Pakatan states" - Malaysiakini.

"PAS Youth is keen on implementing hardline Islamic laws that ban gambling, limiting sale of liquor and introducing dress code for office workers in all Pakatan-ruled states."

Syariah court allows convert to return to Buddhism

Every person has the right to profess and practise his religion and, subject to Clause (4), to propagate it.

That’s what Article 11(1) guarantees all of us.

Including Tan Ean Hung.

In January 2006, in an interview by theSun, I was asked : There have been some calls for non-Muslims to seek redress through the syariah courts since Kaliammal’s case. Is this one way to resolve the issue?

My reply :

This call read in conjunction with the submission by the senior federal counsel in Moorthy’s case that even if the widow was left without a remedy, the civil court must refrain from entering upon the dispute as it lacked jurisdiction, is firstly, in my view, untenable in law and secondly and more importantly, a very dangerous suggestion which must be resisted at all costs.

It is legally untenable for non-Muslims to seek redress through the syariah courts because the 9th Schedule of the Federal Constitution confines the jurisdiction of the syariah courts to ‘only over persons professing the religion of Islam’. This jurisdiction cannot be enlarged by submission.

It is also very dangerous because non-Muslim litigants confronted with issues as in the Moorthy case may, out of frustration with the self-inflicted impotence of the civil courts, go to the syariah court for relief. The syariah court may give the relief sought in some cases, and may refuse in others. It is unlikely that jurisdiction is going to be challenged. Any orders obtained in the syariah court, if challenged in the civil court, will probably meet the same fate as in Moorthy’s.

In time, it will be argued that by the doctrine of custom and usage, as Prof De Smith puts it ‘the ultimate grundnorm’ has shifted.

[Editor's note: 'Grundnorm' is a German word that means 'fundamental norm', and is used to denote the fundamental order that forms a legal system's underlying basis].

The push to make this an Islamic state may [then] have been achieved.

My views remain unchanged.

- Haris Ibrahim.

A Malaysian court has accepted the request of a woman convert to Islam to return to Buddhism, her original religion. The sentence is the first of its kind in recent months, which has seen progressive closure on the part of judges regarding cases of citizens who want to leave Islam, the nation’s majority religion. The case was reported by Ahmad Munawir Abdul Aziz, lawyer for the Council of Islamic Affairs for Penang state.

According to the lawyer, the tribunal granted permission to Siti Fatimah Abdullah to re-embrace Buddhism, which she had left in 1998 in order to marry a Muslim of Iranian origins.

A rising number of disputes about religious conversions has sparked anxiety among minorities — predominantly Buddhist, Christian and Hindu — because in the past courts virtually always ruled against people seeking to leave Islam.

"I am very happy," Tan, a 39-year-old ethnic Chinese cake seller, said. "I want to go to the temple to pray and give thanks."

Malaysia's dual court system with civil courts for non-Muslims and syariah courts for Muslims. In interfaith disputes involving Islam, the syariah courts typically get the last word, which has upset non-Muslims who fear they cannot get justice in such courts.

Court disputes that ended in favour of Muslims have caused minorities to worry that their rights have become subordinate to those of ethnic Malay Muslims, who make up nearly 60 per cent of Malaysia's 27 million people.

Political observers say religious grievances contributed to the governing coalition's poor performance in the March general election, in which the coalition lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament.

Khalid Abdul Samad, the PAS MP who sparked a controversy earlier this year when he entered a Catholic church in Shah Alam, offered a very different view, however.

“As I understand the issue, how I believe it should be, the question of faith or religion is not enforceable by the religion. You cannot force a person to be Muslim or non-Muslim by faith.

“The laws that have been created or enforced are more aimed at preventing people who have actually lost faith in Islam and declaring murtad. It's a law which prevents a person from declaring murtad whether he's left the faith or otherwise,” opined Khalid, who cautioned that his views were his own and not yet reflective of his party's stance.

“I do not believe it (apostasy) is something that can be prevented by law. Firstly, it is a question of faith. Secondly, it doesn't give a good meaning of Islam. Thirdly, it keeps people who are seen to be Muslims, declared to be Muslims but are not in the fold of Islam. For these 3 reasons, that's why I don't see the value of the law,” he continued.

Khalid clarified that the great Islamic apostasy debate that is still going on today is because of historical origins. In the days of the caliphs, politics and religion were intrinsic. Professing one's allegiance to Islam was synonymous with professing one's loyalty to the caliphs, and by default, leaving the religion was perceived as treason against the ruler.

Today's political and religious climate, however, has changed tremendously. For Khalid, faith is a very private, individual affair.

“Let Islam flourish in an unbridled manner. ... When Islam is reduced to set rituals, there is no meaning anymore ... Muslims lose out; they can't see the relevance of religion in worldly life. This leads to disenchantment and a loss of faith and putting up with laws that are helping ... to create mediocre Muslims.

“I myself, when I hear this, I am saddened by it but it is a question of faith. The solution to this lies in a sincere effort by Umno and the BN to release Islam from its current imprisoned status. ...

“Personally, as far as the lady (Siti Fatimah Tan Abdullah née Tan Ean Hung) is concerned, whether she is Muslim or not, the fact remains she did not practise Islam and has reverted to Buddhism. The best course would have been to advise her about the teachings of Islam, but if she insists (that she doesn't want to be one) then allow her to leave. To convince her not by force but by example in the hope that one day she'll join (Islam) again,” he said.

Controversy after Buddhist buried as Muslim, again ?!!

By now the whole malaysia and even the world knew that we have lost our battle to the so-called Syariah Court. This court are mend for Muslim and we being the chinese why should be have our case in Syariah court. Without our presence, the S***id court declared the my FIL is a MUSLIM. D**m you, where are all the democratic sound by the government. do you think you are fair to us as a Malaysian? Do you know that even a dead person have their right as a human to decide what or how he want himself to be buried when he died?

When the group of B****ard win the case, they rushed into the Rumah mayat and in the newspaper they claim that We have pushed them. When we told them that we are getting the court injuction in the high court, they do not willing to hear anything but to proceed with the preparation in accordance with the Islam. We have to shout and scream to stop them from doing it. We are given 10 minutes to get the Pengarah hospital to stop the process but the pengarah told us NO. Then they proceed down to the Rumah mayat again. I have scream and scream to asked them to delayed the process as in the court order does not state what time they need to complete the process. Why are they so rush? Are they scare if we win the court injuction? Are they scare that they do not have proof? No body knew why are they so scare. My bloody, heartless and so called holy man BIL have kept his head down like * so tou wu kuai * and dare not face us when we scream at him to come and talk to us. He is a b****rd. A real damn bloody no heart for his parent.

- From the blog :"My Family"

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the power-sharing concept of Malaysia's government had brought pro-gress to the nation because its leadership of various races and faiths believed in working together (LOL)for the good of all Malaysians.

"Because politics is the major factor that determines the pattern of development and future of the country, our consensus is wide-ranging. All aspects of the country's development receive the attention of the cabinet that represents different races and faiths,"(LOL) Abdullah said at a press conference on Thursday.




He said he made this point as an example of interfaith co-operation during the question-and-answer session on "Faith and Modernisation" at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) here, where he was one of the speakers.

"We have succeeded because of our concept of sharing power and making decisions through consensus. We can proudly say that we have succeeded for 50 years. But, this does not mean that there are no problems to be addressed.

Mr Prime Minister, read this :

An ethnic Chinese man was buried as a Muslim following a court ruling, triggering angry protests yesterday from his family, who said he was a Buddhist and had never converted to Islam.

It is the latest in an increasing number of interfaith conflicts that have raised tensions in multiethnic Malaysia. About 60 percent of Malaysians are Muslim Malays and most disputes that have landed in court ended against non-Muslims, who feel their religious rights are under threat.

An Islamic Shariah High Court in the central Negeri Sembilan state ruled on Thursday that Gan Eng Gor, 74, also identified as Amir Gan Abdullah, was a Muslim and should be buried under Islamic rites. The burial took place late on Thursday in Negeri Sembilan.

The man's body was seized by police on a complaint by his eldest son, Abdul Rahman Gan, a Muslim convert. He claimed his father had changed his religion from Buddhism to Islam last July.

His other family members disputed the claim and the case was sent to the Shariah High Court.

Judge Mohamad Nadzri Abdul Rahman said he ruled in favor of the eldest son because Amir's wife and seven other children, who had disputed the conversion, were not in court on Thursday to present their arguments.

Gan Hock Sin, another son of the dead man, said the family did not go to the Shariah court because they felt it was unfair to hold the case there.

"It's not fair for us. I don't know how they say he converted. My father couldn't even talk [before his death],'' Gan said.

"Unfortunately we feel the way they do [these conversions] is not fair for non-Muslim people. The government should be more transparent," he said.

He said the police had seized the body when the family was carrying out Buddhist rites in a Chinese funeral parlor.

The family had asked the state's civil High Court to hear the case, but a judge ruled he had no jurisdiction in the matter as the Shariah court had already made a decision, said a court official, who declined to be named.

Malaysia has a dual court system for civil matters with secular courts for non-Muslims and Shariah courts for Muslims. In interfaith disputes, involving Muslims, the Shariah court usually gets the last word, making a decision in favor of non-Muslims less likely.

The latest case follows one earlier this month in which Islamic authorities claimed a woman's body, arguing she had converted to Islam.
(Taipei Times)

Iran: death by stoning ' a grotesque and unacceptable penalty'

‘In Iran, stoning a person to death is not against the
law. Using the wrong stone is.’

- Amnesty International


‘The size of the stone used in stoning shall not be too
large to kill the convict by one or two throws and at the
same time shall not be too small to be called a stone.’

- Article 104 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code

Iran's penal code lays down the size of stones crowds should use to bludgeon adulterers to death, Amnesty International has discovered.

This regulation is "specifically designed to increase the suffering of the victims," according to an Amnesty report.

Article 104 of the Iranian penal code states the stones used should "not be large enough to kill the person by one or two strikes, nor should they be so small that they could not be defined as stones".

Typically, the victim takes 20 minutes to die. Under Article 102, men must be buried up to their waist for stoning, while women are buried up to their chest.

Although Iran imposed a moratorium on such executions in 2002, two people were stoned to death in 2006 and one last year.

Nine women and two men are under sentence of death by stoning. More women suffer this punishment because evidence from a man carries twice as much weight as a woman's in Iran's courts.

Kate Allen, the director of Amnesty UK, said: "Execution by stoning is a grotesque penalty which the Iranian authorities should abolish immediately."

Eleven people in Iran - nine of them women - are waiting to be stoned to death on charges of adultery. Many have been sentenced after grossly unfair trials. Amnesty International has called on the country's authorities to immediately abolish this grotesque punishment, which is specifically designed to increase the suffering of its victims.


Amnesty International is calling for urgent changes to Iranian law to ensure that no one can be sentenced to death for adultery, whether by stoning or any other means.

"We welcome recent moves towards reform and reports that the Majles (Iran's parliament) is discussing an amended Penal Code that would permit the suspension of at least some stoning sentences," said Malcolm Smart, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East Programme.

"But the authorities must go much further, and take the steps needed to ensure that the new Penal Code neither permits stoning to death nor provides for execution by other means for adultery."

Despite official claims that stonings have been halted - including a moratorium issued by the Head of the Judiciary in 2002 - several have taken place, with the latest only last year. Ja'far Kiani, a man, was stoned to death for adultery on 5 July 2007 in the village of Aghche-kand, near Takestan in Qazvin province. There are fears that Mokarrameh Ebrahimi, with whom he had two children, may suffer the same fate. She is in Choubin prison, Qazvin province, apparently with one of their children. A woman and a man are also known to have been stoned to death in Mashhad in May 2006.

The majority of those sentenced to death by stoning are women. Women are not treated equally with men under the law and by courts, and they are also particularly vulnerable to unfair trials because their higher illiteracy rate makes them more likely to sign confessions to crimes they did not commit.

Despite this bleak reality, human rights defenders in Iran believe that international publicity can help bring an end to stoning. Courageous efforts are being made by their Stop Stoning Forever campaign, whose efforts have helped save five people from stoning (and led to another sentence being stayed) since it began in October 2006.

These efforts have come at a price, with campaigners facing harassment and intimidation by the authorities. Thirty-three women, including members of the Stop Stoning Forever campaign, were arrested while protesting in March 2007 about the trial of five women's rights activists in Tehran.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases. The report issued on 15 January, End executions by stoning, sets out the organisation’s concerns, including for the 11 people currently known to be under sentence of death and awaiting execution by stoning.

"We urge the Iranian authorities to heed our calls, and those of the Iranians who are striving relentlessly to obtain an end to this horrendous practice," said Malcolm Smart.

Stop Stoning Forever Campaign - The objective of this campaign is to change the Islamic Penal Code of Iran such that stoning will never again be issued as a sentence or practiced as a punishment.

Where “soft Islam” is on the march

When your Lord said to the angels: “I have to place a vice-regent on earth,” they said: “Will you place one there who will create disorder and shed blood, while we intone Your litanies and sanctify Your name?” And God said: “I know what you do not know.”

Can rule by the people be reconciled with the sovereignty of Allah?

Read

Islam and democracy: "The practice—and the theory" here.

Indonesia has some worrying radicals but it seems to be following Turkey, with Islamists moderating as they get closer to power

IS INDONESIA, the most populous Muslim-majority country, undergoing creeping Islamisation? It is not hard to assemble enough recent evidence to give Western Islamophobes goosebumps. In late December a mob attacked and burned a prayer house in West Java belonging to Ahmadiyah, a sect deemed heretical by some mainstream Islamic scholars. Earlier in the month the country's Christian leaders complained that Muslim radicals, helped by local officials, had carried out a string of attacks on churches. Ten Muslim militants were jailed for attacks on Christians on Sulawesi island, including the beheading of three schoolgirls. In late November the religious-affairs ministry barred a liberal Egyptian scholar, Nasr Hamid Abu Zayd (who calls the Koran a “cultural product”), from public speaking in Indonesia.

Behind many recent incidents is a vigilante group, the Islam Defenders' Front (FPI), which in September assaulted bars, cafés and hotels in Bogor, near Jakarta, accusing them of violating Ramadan. Another rising radical force is the Indonesian chapter of Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which wants a caliphate to rule the whole Muslim world. Last August it gathered perhaps 90,000 supporters in a Jakarta stadium. Its leaders condemned democracy on the basis that sovereignty lies in God's hands, not the people's. A not dissimilar attack on pluralism was made in a hardline fatwa issued in 2005 by the Indonesian Ulemas Council (MUI). This same semi-official body recently demanded the banning of the liberal Egyptian scholar.

In 2006 a poll found that one in ten Indonesians supported terrorist attacks like the 2002 Bali bombings if intended to “protect the faith”. Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the terror group behind the Bali attacks, is still running several dozen pesantren (boarding schools), putting who knows what into impressionable teenage heads. The Bali bombers are due to be executed in the next few weeks, possibly triggering a backlash by radicals.

This all sounds worrying. But Indonesia is a huge, varied and complex place, and the radicals—even though some have a semi-official platform—are a small and not very influential minority. Contrary evidence abounds: liberals as well as radicals are making inroads. They have won a big battle over a “pornography” law that Islamists proposed in 2006. It would have banned bikinis and short skirts, for non-Muslim women too, and prohibited the Hindu minority's traditional dances. But a public outcry forced lawmakers to strike out all the controversial bits—and it still has not passed in parliament. Two new anti-terrorist police squads have made much progress in arresting and breaking up JI's leadership. There have been no attacks on foreign targets for two years.

As Indonesia democratised after the fall of the (secular) Suharto regime in 1998, local authorities gained autonomy and became directly elected. Many seized the opportunity to pass sharia-based laws, stoking fears of Islamisation. However, Greg Fealy, an Australian expert on Indonesian Islam, says these laws, though successful in winning votes for the local politicians pushing them, have usually had little practical impact. He recently revisited one such district, Tasikmalaya, where he found “there were more schoolgirls wearing the headscarf but just as much gambling, prostitution and drinking as before.”

The formerly separatist region of Aceh was allowed, under a peace pact with the rebels, to introduce strict sharia. The move was popular at first, says Sidney Jones of the International Crisis Group, a think-tank, but there was widespread revulsion when the authorities started publicly whipping miscreants. As a result the religious police were drastically reined in. Overall, Indonesians seem to prefer the idea of living under “God's law” to the practice of it. Indonesian Islam has always been distinct from the Middle Eastern kind, infusing influences from Hinduism and other religions. This will make it hard for fundamentalists to get far, says Muhammad Hikam, a political consultant.

Whereas a relatively small number of fiery militants and fundamentalists get most attention, Mr Hikam says that liberal Islamic scholars have successfully broken the link between religious piety and political Islam. Indonesians seeking a more overt expression of their faith, as many do nowadays, can still believe in separation of mosque and state. As the 2009 presidential and parliamentary elections approach, secular parties have been attracting voters by creating Islamic—but not Islamist—wings. The in-phrase, says Mr Fealy, is Islam Lunak, “soft Islam”. Pollsters are telling politicians that it helps to add a mild religious tinge to speeches about social justice and anti-corruption. But radical stuff, like preaching an Islamic state, is a turn-off.

Indonesia's two biggest Muslim organisations are Nahdlatul Ulama (NU)—whose long-time leader, Abdurrahman Wahid was president of Indonesia in 1999-2001—and Muhammadiyah, which together claim around 70m members. They indeed used to call for an Islamic state. Nowadays Masdar Farid Mas'udi, a senior NU figure, says all they mean by an “Islamic” state is a just and prosperous one. In some ways the two bodies have come to resemble Europe's mainstream Christian churches: “Catholic” NU stresses traditional rites and the authority of religious leaders, whereas “Protestant” Muhammadiyah stresses the primacy of scripture. As with Catholics and Protestants it is family tradition, rather than theology, that usually determines which group one belongs to. Both now accept Indonesia's secular founding creed, pancasila, which preaches religious tolerance (though you are supposed to believe in God).
Moderate success

Several of the country's political parties began life as the political wings of religious movements such as NU and Muhammidiyah. But the parties and their parent bodies have drifted apart, even as all have mellowed. In recent elections a more religiously conservative group, Prosperous Justice (PKS), has gained votes—but polls now show its support slumping. One reason is that it backed the pornography law and has suffered in the backlash against it.

Another, admits Zulkieflimansyah, a senior PKS parliamentarian, is that it has joined the (secular) coalition of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Its popularity has suffered because of tough policies such as cutting fuel subsidies. Mr Zulkieflimansyah sees his party as undergoing a desirable process of moderation as it “encounters reality”. PKS—like longer-established Muslim parties before it—is now having to ditch the fire and brimstone to transcend minority appeal. Rising younger figures in the party, like him, are more comfortable with this than its older generation, who studied in the Middle East. In general, the country's larger Muslim parties are echoing Turkey's ruling AK party—ditching Islamism while still appealing to the pious. Smaller ones still holding to a hard line may fare badly in 2009: Mr Fealy reckons that in 200 regional elections in the past two-and-a-half years not a single “sectarian” Muslim candidate has won.

Indonesia is, overall, edging away from radical Islamism. But the trend is not irreversible, and the authorities must avoid fostering fundamentalists by pandering to them. The MUI (the council of mullahs) and the FPI (the vigilantes) provide a lesson: both were created, for temporary reasons of expediency, by the Suharto regime but both have lingered to haunt its democratic successors. Mr Yudhoyono now seems to be trying to channel the MUI's radical enthusiasm into issuing fatwas against “deviant” Islamic sects like Ahmadiyah. But this only encourages the FPI to take up its cudgels.

Other, more important ways to make sure Indonesia stays on the path to democratic pluralism are to keep the economy growing and to boost sluggish efforts at reforming graft-ridden public institutions. High unemployment provides recruits for communal violence like that in Sulawesi—whether or not religion is the spark that ignites the tinder. Poverty, combined with disgust at corrupt officialdom, push some people towards the Utopian promises of groups such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir. In Indonesia, unlike most Muslim countries, the ideological struggle between various forms of Islam is being fought largely by democratic means. The violent and the intolerant are still at the margins and, while the country's steady progress persists, look likely to stay there.

(Taken from : economist.com)


Read also : New strain on Malaysia's ethnic ties. (BBC)

Thank God, I am an Atheist !

The High Court (Appeals and Special Powers Division) here on Friday granted temporary injunction to a snooker centre manager to prevent the Federal Territory Islamic Council (MAIWP) from claiming the remains of his wife who died on Sunday.

Justice Lau Bee Lan made the decision after hearing an ex-parte application by lawyer Karpal Singh who representd the plaintiff, Ngiam Tee Kong, 52, in his chamber.

Lau also allowed Ngiam's application to prevent the Director of Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM), its agents or staff from handing over the remains of his wife, Mong Sau Lan, 53, to MAIWP.

In the writ of summons filed on Jan 2, Ngiam said Mong died on Dec 30 and her remains were being kept at the HUKM morgue.

Ngiam said they were married in 1979 at the Civil Registration Office, Petaling Jaya, and before her death, his wife was practising Christianity.

He said he had made a claim for his wife's remains at HUKM but was informed (by HUKM) that the handing over of his wife's remains to him was only for the purpose of performing rituals according to the Christian faith and thereafter the body must be returned to MAIWP for a Muslim burial.

Ngiam said he refused to comply with the request and demanded that his wife's remains be handed over to him as the legal husband but the defendant disagreed to do so.

He said that on Dec 31, he had received a letter declaring that his wife had converted to Islam authorised by the Director of the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Department and according to the letter, his wife had converted to Islam at a house at the Sri Melaka Flats, Cheras, at 10.45 am on Dec 24, last year and this had been registered at the department on Dec 31 of the same year.

Ngiam claimed that the declaration of conversion to Islam was not in accordance with the law.

Meanwhile, The Malaysian government has reiterated that non-Muslims cannot use the word "Allah," sparking concern Friday among Christians who use it to refer to God in their Malay-language Bible and other publications.

Abdullah Zin, the de facto minister for Islamic affairs, told reporters Thursday that the Cabinet is of the view that "Allah" refers to the Muslim God and can only be used by Muslims, who comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia's population.

"The use of the word 'Allah' by non-Muslims may arouse sensitivity and create confusion among Muslims in the country," Abdullah said.

His statement is the latest twist in a long-drawn controversy involving The Herald, a weekly organ of Malaysia's Catholic Church. It was told by the Internal Security Ministry last month that its Malay-language section would be banned unless it stops using "Allah" as a synonym for God.


In the name of Allah, God of everyone

Bramantyo Prijosusilo, Ngawi, East Java
Jakarta Post.

I used to say to my Western friends, "In Indonesia Christians worship Allah!"

They would often be surprised, as if they had never imagined Christians could worship Allah.

In the West, I have found the word Allah is used to refer to the Islamic God. This God is further mistaken to be a different God than the God worshiped by Christians.

Of course educated people know this is not the case, but the average Western news consumer could be forgiven if they were to make such a mistake.

Historically, Christianity arrived in Indonesia after Islam, so in terms of language, Indonesian Christianity borrows heavily from Islam. In Indonesia, Christians refer to God as Allah, and the biblical Temple of Jerusalem is called Baitallah. Jesus is called Al Masih and the disciples are called Rasul-Rasul. The "daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer is translated as rezeki by Roman Catholics here.

Islamic words in Indonesian Christianity are sometimes used with a slightly different meaning than in Islamic traditions. In Indonesia, without Islam, Christianity would not be what it is today. There were never any problems with this until recently, when a Christian publication in Malaysia was told it could only get its permit renewed if it stopped referring to God as Allah.

I always thought the sharing of theological vocabulary between Christianity and Islam in Indonesia was beautiful. It was something I could be proud of because in my mind, it proved there was some substance to our myth of religious tolerance.

This is why I viewed the news of what happened in Malaysia with concern. I believe the Malaysian authorities are making a grave mistake. As Muslims we know that the Koran states again and again that Allah is the God of Adam and all his descendants and also of the Universe and everything in it.

Islam is a blessing for the universe and not only a blessing for Muslims. Allah is God of all Creation and the idea of a "copyright" over Allah's name is ridiculous.

As a Muslim, I am proud Islam has influenced Christianity here and I think the use of Islamic concepts and words in Christianity is testimony to the Message of Truth. I think Islamic concepts such as ikhlas, tauhid and barakah, for example, are extremely useful when elaborating on spiritual experiences and can be used outside of the Islamic tradition by people of any religious or non-religious denomination.

This is the same as members of the public, including Muslims, using concepts such as Yin-Yang, Tao, Yoga and Zen, or taking phrases out of Buddhist texts such as bhineka tunggal ika (unity in diversity), which is our national motto. If religious groups begin to claim "copyright" over spiritual concepts such as Allah, ikhlas, sembahyang and so on, we will be arguing until after the Day of Judgment.

Should we conduct a world-wide cultural appraisal to determine whether Islam has been robbed of any spiritual or theological concepts? Or should we rejoice and praise Allah when we find an Islamic concept, like hygiene for example, being practiced all over the world, from atheist hospitals in China to the chambers of the Vatican?

Islamic values are universal values and because of that you can find Islamic values in every single culture. Truth, honesty, chivalry, justice, living thoughtfully, being thankful, respecting parents and elders, gentleness in relationships, equality, respect for nature -- just about every value that rings true in life is an Islamic value. At the same time, these values are often held dear in other cultures.

Is the struggle to manifest justice any less sacred if it is undergone by non-Muslims? Are Muslims the only people who look after orphans and other weak members of society? Or have Western countries nursed and cared for their poor better than us?

This type of pedantic behavior reflects a small-mindedness that shouldn't be allowed to influence mainstream interpretations of the teachings of Islam. It comes from the same world view that believes it is possible and desirable to literally replicate Muslim society around the Prophet Muhammad even though of course it is not.

We can't just wear a robe and turban and grow our beards and become like the Prophet. A white cotton robe worn in the Prophet's time is not the same as a white cotton robe worn today. In the older robe you can see the organic cultivation of cotton and the hand spinning and weaving behind it.

In a contemporary cotton robe you have agricultural chemicals, industrial relations, banking, transportation and all the vices of the modern world. So although donning a white robe would make me appear to be dressed like the Prophet, we would share no other resemblances.

In Malaysia, the dangerous idea that Christians should not use the name Allah has been created. A lot of trouble may be stirred up from what appears to be such a small statement. Rather than worry about how other people refer to God, the clever men and women of Malaysia should look at more important problems in their society, including their treatment of migrant workers, race relations and their failures in achieving democracy.

The God of Christians is the same as the God of Muslims and is the same as the God of the Jews. A righteous person before God is a righteous person whether he is Muslim, Christian, Jewish or none of the above. The Almighty is Almighty forever, whatever name one uses for Him. But the idea of imposing a "copyright" over one of His names surely should be viewed as an absurdity.

(The writer is a farmer and artist. He can be reached at bramn4bi@yahoo.com.)