WHEN moral policing in Malaysia makes the headlines, it’s often for the wrong reasons. Take the Federal Territories Islamic Department’s raid on Zouk nightclub, Kuala Lumpur, in 2005, which created an international uproar. Or in 2007, when Amnesty International appealed on behalf of Ayu, a transsexual woman assaulted by Malacca’s Islamic law enforcers. More recently, [...]

Map of Muslim-majority countries. Darker shades indicate higher percentage of Muslims(Map source: Wiki commons) DURING a press conference in 2003, then Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim tried to defend the state’s decision to loosen conditions for polygamy. Perlis had decided that Muslim men did not need to seek their first wife’s consent to [...]

Screenshot of Geli’s Facebook accountTHERE’s a new movement in town and it seems all set to change the political landscape. Gerakan Anti-Liwat is barely a couple of weeks old. But with a Malay acronym like Geli, it’s hard not to be tickled by this latest of citizen initiatives to keep society’s morals on the straight [...]

(Pic by circo de invierno @ Flickr) CONSIDER this. Despite the available evidence of Al Islam‘s unethical undercover report in which the magazine’s Muslim journalist spat out the holy communion to photograph, no action is going to be taken. The Attorney-General’s Chambers decided this despite the police reports and a memorandum lodged by Catholics about [...]

“I hope there will be no more issues arising from the caning sentence which can be imposed by the syariah court on Muslim women to protect the sanctity of Islam.” HOME Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, anticipating the public’s questions about the feasibility and fairness of the caning of three Muslim women for “illicit sex”, [...]

MoucarryKUALA LUMPUR, 5 Mar 2010: Defining an ethnic group in religious terms can lead to oppression and arrogance, an Islamic studies expert said at a public lecture about Islam and Christianity in the Middle East. Speaking at an International Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS) lecture on 3 March, Dr Chawkat Moucarry said such definitions [...]