• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • RSS
  • Archives
  • Subscribe
The Nut Graph

The Nut Graph

Making Sense of Politics & Pop Culture

  • Projects
    • MP Watch
    • Found in Conversation
  • Current Issues
    • 6 Words
    • Commentary
    • Features
    • Found in Quotation
    • News
  • Columns
  • Interviews
    • Exclusives
    • Found in Malaysia
  • Multimedia
    • Audio
    • Pictures
    • Videos
  • Corrections
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Vault
    • Found in Translation

Perils of questioning Islam

[get_post_meta single=1 key="byline"] | March 3, 2010 4 Comments

“If Muslims themselves do not respect the decision by the syariah court and offer contradicting views on the matter, how do we make non-Muslims respect our laws[?]”

SELANGOR mufti Datuk Mohd Tamyes Abdul Wahid, on why Muslims shouldn’t question the caning of Muslim women. (Source: Don’t question syariah caning sentence on women, New Straits Times, 21 Feb 2010)

“Dewan Pemuda PAS Pusat dengan ini menegaskan tindakan JAG (Joint Action Group for Gender Equality), SIS (Sisters in Islam), dan konco-konco mereka ini adalah tindakan biadap menceroboh bidangkuasa jenayah syariah negeri-negeri yang telah kita warisi sejak zaman silam dalam kanun undang-undang negeri-negeri Melayu.”

PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi, on women’s groups that had questioned a previous caning sentence on beer-drinking model Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno. PAS Youth took issue with demands that the Syariah Criminal Offences Act (SCOA) be abolished. (Source: Hukuman sebat: Kartika bukan yang pertama, PAS Youth website, 8 Sept 2009)

“Any person who orally or in writing or by visible representation or in any other manner –

(a) insults or brings into contempt the religion of Islam;

(b) derides, apes or ridicules the practices or ceremonies relating to the religion of Islam; or

(c) degrades or brings into contempt any law relating to the religion of Islam for the time being in force in the Federal Territories, shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding three thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.”

The SCOA, defended by PAS Youth, criminalises “insulting or bringing into contempt”, etc., the religion of Islam. (Source: Section 7, Syariah Criminal Offences [Federal Territories] Act 1997)

“Any person who gives, propagates or disseminates any opinion concerning Islamic teachings, Islamic law or any issue contrary to any fatwa for the time being in force in the Federal Territories shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding three thousand ringgit or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both.”

The SCOA also forbids opinions that are contrary to an official fatwa. In many Muslim societies, fatwa are non-binding legal opinions that are highly context-specific. There can be conflicting fatwa even on the same subject, and Muslims have more than one choice on a particular religious question.

In Malaysia, however, fatwa from state-appointed mufti are legally binding and carry the force of law. (Source: Section 12, Syariah Criminal Offences [Federal Territories] Act 1997)

“I’m warning them and will take stern action as it involves national security … This proves that they have no respect for other religions because the fatwa was issued for Muslims. Why do they have to be the one to demonstrate?”

Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, warning Malaysians not to question the 2008 fatwa outlawing pengkid or tomboys. (Source: IGP warns NGOs against challenging fatwa, The Nut Graph, 13 Nov 2008)

“Jangan cuba bermain api, jangan cabar umat Islam, kita akan lakukan apa sahaja untuk pertahankan agama suci ini.”

Former de facto minister for religion Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, warning non-Muslims not to question Islam, this time regarding the usage of “Allah” by non-Muslims. (Source: Jangan cabar Islam, Utusan Malaysia, 1 Feb 2009)

“Kita sanggup bangkit mempertahankan hak ini dan Allah sendiri mewajibkan kita berjuang sekiranya kesucian Islam dicemari. Jangan sentuh semangat jihad kami.”

International Islamic University of Malaysia lecturer Prof Datuk Paduka Dr Mahmood Zuhdi Abdul Majid, warning of a jihad if non-Muslims continued questioning rulings in Malaysia regarding non-Muslims’ use of “Allah”. (Source: Jangan persenda guna nama Allah, Utusan Malaysia, 2 Feb 2009)

“I inform the proud Muslim people of the world that the author of the Satanic Verses book, which is against Islam, the prophet [Muhammad] and the [Quran], and all those involved in its publication who are aware of its content are sentenced to death.”

Iran’s spiritual leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in his infamous 1989 fatwa calling for the death of British author Sir Salman Rushdie.

Rushdie responded: “I doubt very much Khomeini or anyone else in Iran has read this book or anything more than selected extracts taken out of context.” He also explained that the novel attempted to investigate conflicts between religious and secular viewpoints. His defence, however, was to no avail, and he soon had to go into hiding.

The fatwa was revived in 2005 by Khomeini’s successor. (Source: 1989: Ayatollah sentences author to death, BBC, 14 Feb 1989) favicon

Read previous Found in Quotation

The Nut Graph needs your support
Please take our five-minute reader survey

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Related Stories

Filed Under: Found in Quotation Tagged With: Allah, fatwa, islam, Mahmood Zuhdi Abdul Majid, pengkid, questioning Islam, Salman Rushdie, Satanic Verses, Shanon Shah

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. kelefeh says

    March 3, 2010 at 12:14 pm

    Isn’t it a hadith by the prophet that differences of opinion in Islam / among the ummah is a mercy?

    Unity does not mean (conforming) to uniformity.

    I have a feeling it is not necessarily Islam per se that they want to “defend”. Islam, as Muslims ought to believe, needs no defending if Allah has promised to preserve it. It’s our own souls that need protection…sometimes (well, actually most of the time) from our own selves.

    la ‘adri, Allah hu ‘alim (I don’t know, Allah knows best).

    ===

    The hadith you quote is actually a saying by Imam Malik – when the Abbasid Caliph Mansur wanted to make his muwatta the standard Islamic code throughout the empire, Malik persuaded him against it, arguing that the diversity across the empire was a good thing. Muhammad Khalid Masud has elaborated on this here: http://www.musawah.org/docs/pubs/wanted/Wanted-MKM-EN.pdf

    Shanon Shah
    Columns and Comments Editor

  2. confused says

    March 3, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    Why do most of the comments touch on violence upon questioning? Even if what you believe is true, isn’t it subjective? So why the call to not question…or doubt or reason with? If we can reason with other thoughts why not Islamic religion?

    Plus, how mature is Islamic scholarship in Malaysia or even the Islamic faith? I do hope that those who think they are defending Islam have studied the Quran for themselves from cover to cover; for it would be a shame if they were defending something they don’t even truly understand.

  3. Azizi Khan says

    March 4, 2010 at 5:43 am

    Questioning is bad for Malaysian Muslims because a lot of un-Islamic practices are tied into the religion to keep a lot of people happy. A prime example is Ketuanan Melayu. This is similar to Saudi, Pakistan, Afganistan who all claim to be strict Islamic countries but their practices are actually contradictory to Islamic practices because they are immersed in tribalism.

    In a lot of these cases so called “religious scholars” feed the public irrational ideas and tell them its Islam and it cannot be questioned. Its the same thing in Malaysia – countless so-called Islamic professional bodies and religious groups seem to have the uncanny ability to abide by Umno’s version of Islam.

    If the average Malaysian (Muslim or otherwise) asks any question – they are told that its Islam and it cannot be questioned.

    The fact of the matter is, no one is questioning Islam. We are questioning the mere mortals who claim to represent God. Does being an Umno member somehow make one closer to God and hence have the ability to execute orders on His behalf ?

    AK

  4. Ida Bakar says

    March 4, 2010 at 7:10 am

    I am in agreement with ‘confused’. There is heated discussion going on on FB at the moment. I am arguing for the separation of religion and state, given the ‘sterling’ job that Syariah Courts are doing at the moment. The outcome remains the same: why do we need to discuss anything like that? Islam is supreme etc etc.

    If Islam is indeed supreme and the fatwas and syariah rulings are the epitome of all that is good in Islam, why can’t we question them? Surely the answers would enlighten our doubting conscience. Or perhaps the answer will only illuminate the farce that is syariah-Malaysian-style.

Primary Sidebar

Search

Twitter

My Tweets

Recent Comments

  • Wave33 on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Adam on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • PSTan on The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Andre Lai on The Nut Graph stops publication

Recent News

  • The Nut Graph stops publication
  • Nasihat tentang sepupu yang mengganggu perasaan
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: The Sunni-Shia split and the answer to Muslim unity
  • Why Malaysia needs the national unity bills
  • Challenging government in the digital age: Lessons from Kidex
  • Najib’s failure
  • Babi, anjing, pondan: Jijik orang Islam Malaysia
  • Kidex and the law – What the government’s not telling you
  • Beyond Dyana Sofya
  • Uncommon Sense with Wong Chin Huat: Does Malaysia need hate speech laws?

Tags

Abdullah Ahmad Badawi Anwar Ibrahim Barisan Nasional BN Bukit Selambau by-election dap Deborah Loh Ding Jo-Ann Election Commission elections Found in Malaysia Found in Quotation Gan Pei Ling government high court Hishammuddin Hussein ISA islam Jacqueline Ann Surin Khairy Jamaluddin KW Mak Lim Guan Eng Malaysia MCA Menteri Besar MP Watch Muhyiddin Yassin muslim Najib Razak Pakatan Rakyat Parliament Parti Keadilan Rakyat pas Penang Perak PKR police politics prime minister Selangor Shanon Shah Umno Wong Chin Huat Zedeck Siew

Footer

  • About The Nut Graph
  • Who Are We?
  • Our Contributors
  • Past Contributors
  • Guest Contributors
  • Editorial Policy
  • Comments & Columns
  • Copyright Policy
  • Web Accessibility Policy
  • Privacy Policy
The Nut Graph

© 2022 The Nut Graph

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.