ipcsscr 2014international postgraduate conference onsocial science research 2014 - Home

ipcsscr 2014international postgraduate conference onsocial science research 2014 - Home:



'via Blog this'

Hudud in a non-Islamic state - A Humble Submission | The Star Online

Hudud in a non-Islamic state - A Humble Submission | The Star Online:

MUCH has been written about hudud. Many have pointed out that to implement hudud, or at least hudud as proposed by PAS to be carried out in Kelantan on Muslims, would be unconstitutional.

So far, we have not really seen a convincing rebuttal from PAS or others who want hudud to be implemented in Kelantan on how these legal and constitutional hurdles may be overcome. Even if Parliament passes the two Private Members Bills proposed by PAS, there is every likelihood that it will be struck down by the courts.

This article will not revisit the same legal and constitutional angles. Instead, it is an attempt to present a view on implementing hudud, as proposed by PAS, in our present, non-lslamic state.

Hudud is one part of Islamic criminal law. Islamic criminal law, meanwhile, is just one part of the Syariah, the entire legal system in an Islamic state.

In Islamic criminal law, there are generally three types of crimes. The most serious crimes are known as hudud - crimes "against God" or "against limits ordained by God". In an Islamic state, the sovereign is tasked to punish these crimes if individuals have transgressed them. The punishments for these crimes are fixed and the judge cannot reduce or change them if the offender is found guilty.

Because of their seriousness, these crimes are limited in number. Most scholars agree that hudud crimes are theft, highway robbery, drinking alcohol, illegal sexual intercourse (zina) and false accusation of zina. Scholars are split on the crime of apostasy; some say it is a hudud crime while others disagree.

Apart from hudud crimes, other types of crimes under the Syariah are ta'zir, qisasand diyat. Ta'zir crimes are crimes against the state and they are discretionary; the state has the discretionary powers to punish these crimes. Qisas are crimes punishable on the principle of "an eye for an eye". Diyat are crimes that may be punishable like qisas but instead, the victim may accept compensation or "blood money" instead.

The burden of proof to establish a hudud crime is extremely high. It is far heavier than the burden of proof that we have in our current system of "beyond reasonable doubt". To find a person guilty of a hudud crime, there must no doubt at all as to the guilt of the person. If there is any doubt, the judge must not find the person guilty of a hudud crime and instead commute it down to ta'zir crime, for which the punishment is discretionary.

Hudud is one part of a whole system. Islam envisages a comprehensive system of values for society. Not just laws, but in terms of obligations to God, obligations to each other and obligations to the Islamic state. In such an environment, hudud is just one aspect, the extreme end that provides for punishments for the most serious of offences.

In such a system, hudud would be able to achieve its objectives, which include justice and deterrence of crimes. But what PAS is proposing instead is to lift one part of the whole and import it in our current, non-Islamic state and say that it will achieve justice.

To take one aspect of Islamic law and to import it into the current system would not do justice to hudud and the Syariah as a whole. Hudud should be implemented only in a state where all the institutions of the state are in line with the Syariah.

That is why we can immediately point to the problems that would occur if PAS' hudud plans for Kelantan are implemented. Issues with Muslims in Kelantan being subjected to two sets of criminal laws. Issues where Muslims in Kelantan would be subjected to heavier penalties compared with non-Muslims in the state. Issues of crimes committed jointly by Muslims and non-Muslims. Issues of double jeopardy. Issues of compelling non-Muslims to attend the Syariah Court for trials of hudud when the Syariah Court has absolutely no jurisdiction over non-Muslims. Hudud, when implemented in an Islamic state, is not just for Muslims but is applicable to all. Instead of achieving justice, PAS' plan would instead create inequality and breed injustice.

Islamic scholar Mohammad Hashim Kemali argues that any arbitrary and selective division of the general of Syariah is bound to harm the spirit and structure of the Syariah and would be tantamount to oppression, the opposite aim of what hudud should achieve. An Islamic political order should first be established, before hudud can be implemented.

He cites the example one of the rightly guided Caliphs, Umar al-Khattab, who suspended the hudud crime of theft during a year of famine. The rationale for this was that it would be unjust to enforce hudud in such circumstances, as people were more likely to commit theft when food was scarce.  Many other Islamic scholars, including the respected and celebrated Tariq Ramadan, have also argued for a moratorium on hudud when the conditions are not suitable for such laws.

As mentioned by Hanipa Maidin, the PAS MP for Sepang, in his recent article, hudud is "…only capable of dispensing true and effective justice when it is implemented in a perfect Islamic environment where good governance and sound policy prevail. On the contrary, in the absence of good governance, hudud, despite its aim of bringing genuine law and order, may be counter-productive especially if such laws are implemented by a failed state."

We are not yet a failed state. But there are many aspects in which the institutions of the state have failed. We have a crisis of confidence in our public bodies. We have not achieved social justice. Those who are in need of assistance and protection have not been adequately assisted and protected. We are still grappling with issues when it comes to having a dual system in the area of family law. We have not upheld constitutional guarantees. The list of woes is long and growing, and it needs our undivided attention.

'via Blog this'

Australasian Conference on Islam - Centre for Islamic Sciences and Civilisation - Charles Sturt University

Australasian Conference on Islam - Centre for Islamic Sciences and Civilisation - Charles Sturt University:

Inaugural Australasian Conference on Islam

“Muslim Identity Formation in Religiously Diverse Societies”

Date: 24–26 November 2013

Conference hosts: Centre for Islamic Studies & Civilisation, Charles Sturt University and the Islamic Sciences & Research Academy of Australia (ISRA)

Place: Sydney, Australia (venue TBA)

Abstract submission date: 28 February 2013

Organising chairperson: Dr Derya Iner diner@csu.edu.au

 

Background 

Muslims and Muslim societies are rapidly changing in the modern world. The revival and resurgence of Islam wherever Muslims live – including Muslim minorities in Australia, the West and Asia-Pacific – shows that Muslims are more and more turning to their faith with a hope to meet their spiritual needs and address their social and political problems. In doing so, Islam forms or transforms the identities of individual Muslims as well as the identities of the societies in which they live. At the same time, Muslims’ response to religious, cultural and social circumstances around them influence the way their identities are shaped within increasingly religiously diverse societies. Although religious diversity is more pronounced in the Western and Asia-Pacific context, such diversity even exists in predominantly Muslim societies. Key drivers in identity formation include Islam, nature and level of Islamic education, generational transition, the nature and extent of religious diversity and rapidly changing social and political landscape. How all these factors impinge on the identity formation of Muslims and Muslim societies will be explored in this conference.

'via Blog this'

Kalimah Allah: Penjelasan Dr. Haron Din

Taylor & Francis Online

Religious education and intercultural understanding: examining the role of religiosity for upper secondary students’ attitudes towards RE

DOI:

10.1080/01416200.2012.717015

Anders Sjöborg^a*

pages 36-54

Version of record first published: 17 Sep 2012

Taylor & Francis Online

BBC News - US anti-Islam filmmaker Nakoula Basseley Nakoula jailed

BBC News - US anti-Islam filmmaker Nakoula Basseley Nakoula jailed:

US anti-Islam filmmaker Nakoula Basseley Nakoula jailed

Nakoula was arrested after going into hiding amid death threats over the film

Continue reading the main story

Anti-Islam film protests

• Q&A: Anti-Islam film
• Film protests in pictures
• Viewpoints
• Protests explained

A US man behind an anti-Muslim film that led to mass protests in the Middle East has been sentenced to a year in jail for probation violations.

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was sentenced by a judge in California after admitting four violations which stem from a 2010 conviction for fraud.

None of the charges was connected with the content of the controversial film, Innocence of Muslims.

Dozens of people died in the Middle East in protests over the film.

US District Judge Christina Snyder said Nakoula, 55, must spend 12 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release.

Prosecutors had been seeking a two-year sentence.

Internet ban

After the 2010 conviction, Nakoula had served most of a 21-month jail sentence for using more than a dozen aliases and opening about 60 bank accounts to conduct a cheque fraud scheme, prosecutors said.

The Los Angeles Times said that it was while he was in prison that he read the Koran, looking for ways to criticise Islam.

On his release he was barred from using computers or the internet for five years without approval from his probation officer.

Nakoula, who was arrested in September, also goes by the name of Sam Bacile, Nicola Bacily and Mark Basseley Yousseff and is believed to be an Egyptian-American Coptic Christian.

US authorities have said they believe Nakoula was the person behind the controversial film, but have not said whether he was the person who posted it on the internet.

Muslims around the world took to the streets in protest, outraged by the film's portrayal of the Prophet Muhammad.

'via Blog this'

Rohingya Concerns Extend Beyond Myanmar - Southeast Asia Real Time - WSJ

Rohingya Concerns Extend Beyond Myanmar - Southeast Asia Real Time - WSJ:

A recent protest by 2,000 Rohingya Muslims in Kuala Lumpur illustrates how the stateless ethnic group’s plight has become a regional problem rather than just a bilateral issue between Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Tensions between the Rohingyas and the Buddhists in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State erupted in recent weeks after a local woman was raped and murdered on May 28th, allegedly by three Rohingya Muslim men. Subsequent fighting left at least 50 people dead and more than 2,000 homes and buildings destroyed. As tensions flared, Bangladeshi officials refused to accept boatloads of Rohingya refugees who tried to flee the area. Myanmar security forces have appeared to tamp down the violence in recent days, though emotions remain raw and many residents fear further outbreaks of trouble.

Whatever happens, anger over the situation is appearing far away from the central fighting zone. At the protest held Friday in Kuala Lumpur, Rohingyas marched from a mosque after prayers shouting  “Allahu Akhbar” or “God is great” en route to the Myanmar embassy to hand over a protest note. Some held  placards that read “stop the genocide” and “stop the religious violence.” The demonstration lasted for about an hour before the protestors were told to disperse by the police.

Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization Malaysia (MERHROM) President Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani told Southeast Asia Real Time that the protesters were not able to meet with any oficials from the Myanmar embassy because “no one wanted to come out and see us.” Efforts to reach Myanmar officials at the embassy for comment were unsuccessful. Mr. Zafar said the group handed a copy of its protest statement to security guards at the U.S. embassy instead.

According to Mr. Zafar, there are about 30,000 Rohingyas spread throughout Malaysia.

The presence of so many Rohingyas in Malaysia helps underscore how they continue to look for a permanent home across Asia after years of persecution along the Myanmar-Bangladesh border. Myanmar officials regard the Rohingyas in Rakhine State to be illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and denies them citizenship. Bangladesh, meanwhile, says Rohingyas have settled in Myanmar for centuries and argues that it has too few resources to offer refuge to any of the estimated 800,000 Rohingyas living in Myanmar in abject poverty.

Left without passports, many of the Rohingyas have fled Myanmar in rickety boats, hoping to land in Malaysia or other countries where they can find a new life. Many are lost at sea. Some find land, only to be towed out by local authorities and set adrift once more, as happened in Thailand in 2009.

Others have actually made it to other countries such as Malaysia, where they are increasingly pressing for recognition.

Mr. Zafar, who is 42, hails from the township of Buthidaung in Myanmar. After a student uprising in Myanmar in 1988, he fled to Malaysia, where he has lived the past 22 years, marrying a local woman.

“The media in Burma is not giving the correct report,” said Mr. Zafar, using Myanmar’s colonial name of Burma. Although the government says the situation is okay now, “I am receiving news daily that the violence is continuing.”

Myanmar officials have said they are working hard to control the situation but have also warned that if the violence continues, it could set back reforms aimed at creating more political and economic freedoms in the country over the past year.

Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs likewise has expressed concern over the sectarian violence, saying in a statement that it welcomed a Myanmar government effort to establish an investigation committee to probe the conflict. “Malaysia is also ready to extend humanitarian assistance deemed necessary by the government of Myanmar for the people affected by this conflict,” it added.

Of course, there’s another concern for Southeast Asian governments: The possibility that more boats filled with Rohingya refugees could start flowing their way if the conflict intensifies and Bangladeshi authorities refuse to take them in.

'via Blog this'

Author accused of insulting Islam

Author accused of insulting Islam:

KUALA LUMPUR: Liberal activist Irshad Manji has found herself in a spot following strong protests against her presence here to promote the Malay version of her controversial book, Allah, Liberty and Love.

Political parties and non-governmental organisations have opposed her visit to Malaysia, claiming that the writer reported to have openly admitted to being a lesbian has insulted Islam with her writings and attitude.

They have demanded that the authorities ban her work and not allow her to set foot in the country again.

Her views on Islam such as her opinion that a non-Muslim need not convert to be married to a Muslim have gained the Ugandan-born Canadian author infamy.

The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk Othman Mustapha will review her book, Allah. Kebebasan dan Cinta,saying that although there were complaints that Irshads work was insulting to Islam, the department needed to go through the book first.

We will be getting copies of the book soon. Once we have gone through and discover reasons that it should be banned, we will propose it to the Home Ministry, he said.

Despite protests, the Malay version of Irshads book was launched before a small group at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall yesterday.

Apart from the book launch, the 44-year-old activists visit to Malaysia also included several speaking engagements but her programmes have been cancelled.

Irshad had earlier tweeted that the Borders bookstore had scrapped her event, citing security concerns while Monash University claimed it was pressured by the Selangor Islamic Affairs department. Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta is published by ZI Publications.

The writers first book, The Trouble with Islam Today: A Muslims Call for Reform in Her Faith has been banned in Malaysia.

PAS Youth chief Nasruddin Hassan has urged the Government to act fast, adding that while the movement supported freedom of expression, creative or literary works should not be used to promote ideas that were against religion and human nature.

We cannot support something that goes against normal human values, let alone religious teachings, he said.

Umno Youth exco member Hishamudin Yahya said the movement also called on the book to be banned, adding that Irshad should not be allowed to come to Malaysia again.

Irshad, who left for New York last night, said in her tweet after the event: Fantastic event in KL! Great energy except for cops who told latecomers that event is banned. Didnt stop us. Congrats to all.

'via Blog this'

Bridging the Religious Divide Between Muslims in Indonesia

Salim Osman - Straits Times Indonesia |

January 12, 2012

An angry mob torched an Islamic boarding school, an adjacent mosque and a row of houses in Sampang, East Java, last Thursday. In February last year, a pesantren, or Islamic boarding school, in Pasuruan, also in East Java, was attacked by a mob for no apparent reason. Four students suffered head injuries.

These incidents were not the first for the two schools. The attacks on these schools, which belong to the minority Shi'ite sect of Islam, raised concern over possible sectarian strife breaking out in Sunni-majority Indonesia, given such conflict in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The attacks placed in a spotlight the Shi'ite minority and its relations with the Sunni majority in Indonesia. Unlike in Malaysia and Singapore, where a Shi'ite minority has always been present, Indonesia's Shi'ites became more prominent only after Iran's Islamic revolution in 1979, when some Sunnis converted to Shi'ism and Indonesian scholars returned from study in Iran. Before the revolution, there were a small number of Shi'ites, mainly Arab descendants who kept a low profile.

But Shi'ism is not a new phenomenon as many Shi'ite elements are found in classical Indonesian literature and even in cultural traditions. One such tradition is commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, Prophet Muhammad's grandson. However, the Shi'ite faith is not embedded in Indonesia's religious beliefs.

The conversion of Sunni activists has raised the Shi'ite community's profile, carving out a space as a well-defined religious group, establishing schools, mosques and civil society organizations, and publishing Shi'ite literature in Bahasa Indonesia.

But with this development comes rising tension with the Sunnis. Since the 1980s, various Sunni groups have been asking the government to ban Shi'ism, but the sect cannot be proscribed because it is still part of Islamic orthodoxy. The sect was formed following a political split after the death of Prophet Muhammad, when the minority who wanted his cousin Ali to succeed him became Shi'ites, while the majority who chose Abu Bakar became Sunnis.

The closest that the Indonesian authorities have come to restricting the sect was a 1984 statement by the Council of Ulama (MUI) that Shi'ism was different from Sunni Islam, and that Sunnis must stay clear of its influence. No fatwa has been issued to declare Shi'ism deviant, unlike the MUI ruling on the Ahmadis as heretic because of their belief in a prophet after Prophet Muhammad. The tension created by the opposition to Shi'ism and the Shi'ites' insistence of their right to their faith resulted in last week's attacks.

What then was the trigger? The two boarding schools are located in Java's conservative heartland, where the Muslim populace is normally loyal to its religious leaders. The schools' presence is resented by Sunni clerics who feared competition. Police said their investigation into the Sampang attacks showed how a private dispute between two brothers who were prominent religious figures from opposing sects grew into a sectarian fight.

Second, the perception of a small minority with its boarding schools and other Muslim services posing as a formidable threat to Sunni orthodoxy could be the spark for animosity towards the sect. Agitation by anti-Shi'ite community leaders such as Habib Achmad Zein Alkaf of the Yayasan Albayyinat, who said 'Shias (Shi'ites) are more dangerous than the Ahmadis', feeds into the average Indonesian's ignorance of Shi'ism.

Weak law enforcement also emboldened perpetrators of sectarian violence to commit the crime again. Human rights activists complained that the police were hard-pressed to stop the mob because they were outnumbered and feared the backlash, allowing many culprits to get away scot-free. Those convicted in court were usually given light sentences that hardly served as deterrents.

Sectarian flare-ups are bound to happen again even if the community in Sampang is relocated, and there is no guarantee it would be accepted at the new site. The authorities have shown indifference to the attacks. Top security minister Djoko Suyanto was nonchalant when he shifted the task of finding a solution to Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, who he said was 'best equipped' to deal with religious conflict. Mr Suryadharma himself reacted only four days after the incident, not saying much beyond condemning the violence and reiterating that the existing religious harmony committees could tackle the problem.

Perhaps what Indonesia needs is a form of 'Islamic ecumenical' movement to bridge the gap between the two sects of Islamic orthodoxy. In an initiative towards rapprochement in May last year, the Indonesian Sunni and Shia Council was formed by the Indonesian Mosque Council, a Sunni body, and the Association of Ahlul Bayt, a Shi'ite organisation, to promote dialogue and understanding between them. Although a commendable move, it will take time for the council to improve harmony between Sunnis and Shi'ites.

Indonesia will have to fall back on its national motto, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, or unity in diversity, to strengthen tolerance and the spirit of coexistence. The motto should not only be acceptance of diverse religions, but also of diversity within one religion.

Reprinted courtesy of Straits Times Indonesia. To subscribe to Straits Times Indonesia and/or the Jakarta Globe call 021 2553 5055.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/bridging-the-religious-divide-between-muslims-in-indonesia/490756

Malaysian Muslims denounce Christian conversion efforts - World - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News

Malaysian Muslims denounce Christian conversion efforts - World - GMA News Online - Latest Philippine News:
SHAH ALAM, Malaysia - About 2,000 slogan-shouting Malaysian Muslims gathered near the capital on Saturday to denounce alleged Christian attempts to convert Muslims, widening a religious rift that could cost Prime Minister Najib Razak minority votes in upcoming polls.

The rally led by non-governmental bodies comes amid an escalating row over accusations of covert conversions among Muslims and a raid on a Methodist church, which has divided Muslims and angered ethnic minorities.

Men, women and families gathered in a stadium in a suburb outside Kuala Lumpur to unite against what they said were attempts to evangelize Muslims, an offence in a country where over half the population follows Islam.

"We have gathered today to save the faith of Muslims due to the threat of apostasy," Yusri Mohamad, chairman of the organising committee, told the crowd.

"Some people say they (non-Muslims) work hard to spread their religion and that there is nothing wrong with apostasy. These are the voices which we want to drown out with our gathering today."

Ethnic Malays, who make up over half of the population, are Muslim by birth and constitutionally forbidden to leave the faith. Non-Muslims are guaranteed freedom of worship.

The protest follows a recent meeting in a church which was raided by Islamic authorities on suspicion of attempts to convert Muslims. The church said it was a charity meeting.

In keeping with Muslim tradition, men wearing skullcaps and women in traditional dress and headscarves sat separately in the stadium on Saturday as clerics delivered fiery speeches and urged followers to remain faithful.

Banners strung across the stadium read "Say no to apostasy, don't challenge the position of Islam" and "Together let's prevent apostasy".

Religious singing groups entertained the crowd, while they chanted "Let's gather to save the faith of Muslims" and "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest).

"This gathering is good so that Muslims can unite because the recent raid on the church has raised fears about apostasy," said Muhammad Basori Hassan, a trader in his 30s, who attended the protest.

The four-hour gathering was peaceful and the turnout was a fraction of the 10,000-strong crowd which took to the streets in July to demand electoral reforms, but analysts said it would have ramifications for Najib in the next general election.

Malaysia's next election is not due until 2013 but many expect Najib to call one early next year before economic growth, projected at 5 percent in 2011, slows amid a possible global downturn.

Khoo Kay Peng, a political analyst, said the protest would only further stoke fears among minorities and would not garner new Malay support for the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.

"For people who are already voting for Barisan Nasional, the gathering is preaching to the converted as there will always be fears by some that outspoken Chinese will erode Malay rights," he said.

"Barisan needs instead to move to the centre and bridge the gap."

Analysts say political parties have traditionally used race and religion to sway support in this multi-ethnic Southeast Asian country.

In recent years, ethic strife between Malays, Chinese and Indian minorities has inflamed racial tensions. But the squabble between Muslims and Christians has taken centerstage amid a rash of church bombings, the seizure of Bible shipments and legal action over the Christian use of the word "Allah". — Reuters
'via Blog this'

In good faith

In good faith

INTER-religious difficulties in the country are being successfully resolved through mediation. According to the chairman of the Committee for the Promotion of Inter-Religious Understanding, Datuk Azman Amin Hassan, who is also the director-general of the Department of National Unity and Integration, out of 320 cases reported to the department, 299 have been solved by mediators trained by the International Islamic University working jointly with the department. Given Malaysia's ethnic and religious plurality, such efforts should be deemed necessary and important because any faith-based differences of opinion can easily be exploited by the ruthless and unscrupulous to foment social unrest. That the inter-faith dialogue comes under the prime minister's portfolio testifies to the emphasis given towards defusing such problems. It is indeed heartening to know that efforts put in place through public policy are actually bearing fruit.

Malaysian politics can all too readily fragment along religious lines and it is common knowledge that religious parochialism can lead zealots astray, and stepping on the toes of the several other communities is only too easy. Unfortunately, while faith itself is meant to bring the best out of humanity, there are aspects of it that when misconstrued can only have negative outcomes. A recent example of inter-ethnic violence poisoned by religious sentiments leading to national disintegration is post-Tito Yugoslavia. Today we speak of the Balkan states of Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia and Serbia. It is a pity that Yugoslavia had to be relegated to history when as a nation it was an economic exemplar of the countries under Soviet influence. Attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt show that even communities that have coexisted for a long time can break out into conflict.

It is, therefore, unrealistic to be dismissive of niggling problems of religion when these divisions may run deep in history. Hard-won economic prosperity alone may not be enough to cement ethnic and religious ties because affluence can bring its own challenges and contestations. Furthermore, piety is not to be cheated with secularism, as the Yugoslav socialist experiment demonstrated. The angst of centuries of religious misunderstanding, passed down the generations, cannot be swept under the carpet. Rather, there is a need to understand the religious grievances voiced by the different communities so as to encourage better understanding between them. An ongoing and continuous inter-faith dialogue builds the bridges that reinforce acceptance, moderation, compromise and mutual help. More of it should be done to lay the cultural foundations of 1Malaysia, which embraces the nation's diverse sensitivities under the banner of Islam as its official religion.

NST Editorial 11/10/2011
Read more: In good faith http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/16goo/Article/#ixzz1aXXAJ4Va

Sultan amat tersinggung

Oleh AZIAN AZIZ

pengarang@utusan.com.my

SHAH ALAM 10 Okt. – Siasatan Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS) ke atas majlis Thanksgiving Dinner yang diadakan di Dewan 3, Kompleks Dream Centre di Seksyen 13, Petaling Jaya pada 3 Ogos lalu mendapati berlaku cubaan untuk memesongkan kepercayaan dan akidah umat Islam

Sehubungan itu Sultan Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah melahirkan rasa amat tersinggung dengan usaha-usaha pihak tertentu yang cuba melemahkan kepercayaan dan akidah orang Islam di negeri ini.

Berikutan adalah kenyataan penuh Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah:-

Beta selaku Ketua Agama Islam Negeri Selangor amat mengambil berat di atas tindakan yang dilakukan oleh Bahagian Penguatkuasan, Jabatan Agama Islam, Selangor (JAIS) yang telah menjalankan pemeriksaan ke atas majlis 'Thanksgiving Dinner' yang diadakan di Dewan 3, Kompleks Dream Centre, Seksyen 13, Petaling Jaya pada 3 Ogos 2011 yang lalu.

Beta amat berharap agar rakyat Negeri Selangor tanpa mengira bangsa dan agama tidak menyalahanggap dan mempertikaikan tindakan JAIS tersebut sebelum mengetahui dengan jelas fakta sebenar mengenai tindakan yang telah diambil oleh pihak JAIS.

Sebagai sebuah Jabatan Kerajaan Negeri yang bertanggungjawab menguatkuasakan undang-undang Islam dalam Negeri ini, JAIS mempunyai tugas yang berat untuk memastikan Agama Islam dalam Negeri Selangor ini sentiasa dipelihara dan dimartabatkan selaras dengan kedudukan Agama Islam sebagai agama Negeri Selangor di bawah Perkara XLVII Undang-Undang Tubuh Kerajaan Selangor, 1959 dan juga agama Persekutuan di bawah Fasal (1) Perkara 3 Perlembagaan Persekutuan.

Pihak JAIS telah menyembahkan kepada Beta laporan penuh mengenai pemeriksaan yang telah dijalankan di kompleks Dream Centre, Seksyen 13, Petaling Jaya tersebut dan juga tindakan susulan yang telah diambil oleh JAIS. Beta sendiri telah meneliti laporan tersebut dengan terperinci dan Beta berpuas hati bahawa tindakan JAIS tersebut adalah betul dan tidak menyalahi mana-mana undang-undang yang berkuat kuasa di Negeri Selangor ini.

Tindakan JAIS tersebut adalah selaras dengan bidang kuasa yang diperuntukkan di bawah Enakmen Tatacara Jenayah Syariah (Negeri Selangor) 2003, Enakmen Jenayah Syariah (Negeri Selangor) 1995 dan Enakmen Ugama Bukan Islam (Kawalan Perkembangan di Kalangan Orang Islam) Negeri Selangor, 1988.

Agama Islam yang diamalkan dalam Negeri Selangor ini adalah sebuah agama yang penuh toleransi. Penganut agama Islam sentiasa dipupuk agar menghormati penganut-penganut agama lain.

Walaupun begitu, mana-mana pihak tidak boleh mengambil kesempatan untuk cuba mengembangkan ajaran agama lain kepada penganut Agama Islam.

Ini adalah selaras dengan Fasal (1) dan (4) Perkara 11 Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan Enakmen Ugama Bukan Islam (Kawalan Perkembangan di Kalangan Orang Islam) Negeri Selangor, 1988 yang tidak membenarkan pengembangan ajaran agama lain kepada penganut Agama Islam.

Perkara XLVII Undang-Undang Tubuh, Kerajaan Selangor 1959, Fasal (1) Perkara 3 dan Fasal (1) Perkara 11 Perlembagaan Persekutuan telah memberikan hak kebebasan beragama kepada penganut agama lain untuk mengamalkan ajaran agama mereka masing-masing dengan aman dan harmoni.

Hak kebebasan tersebut telah pun berjalan dengan penuh harmoni dalam Negeri ini. Beta amat berharap keharmonian tersebut yang telah wujud sekian lama terus dikekalkan.

Peliharalah hak dan agama masing-masing dan jangan sekali-kali cuba mempengaruhi dan memesongkan fahaman dan kepercayaan orang Islam terhadap agama Islam.

Merujuk kepada siasatan pihak JAIS, terdapat keterangan bahawa ada cubaan untuk memesongkan kepercayaan dan aqidah umat Islam.

Tetapi keterangan yang diperolehi tidak mencukupi untuk tindakan undang-undang diambil.

Oleh itu setelah meneliti dengan secara mendalam laporan oleh pihak JAIS dan setelah mendapat nasihat dari pakar-pakar agama dan undang-undang, Beta bersetuju tiada pendakwaan terhadap mana-mana pihak.

Walau bagaimanapun Beta menitahkan JAIS memberikan kaunseling kepada orang Islam yang terlibat dalam majlis tersebut supaya aqidah dan kepercayaan mereka terhadap Agama Islam dapat dipulihkan.

Beta juga menitahkan JAIS supaya menjalankan aktiviti dakwah terhadap orang Islam dengan lebih kerap dan tersusun supaya akidah dan kepercayaan mereka terhadap Agama Islam dapat dipelihara dan dipertingkatkan.

Beta amat berharap selepas daripada ini, apa-apa kegiatan dan aktiviti yang sedang berjalan atau yang akan berjalan bagi tujuan mengembangkan ajaran agama lain kepada penganut Agama Islam dalam Negeri Selangor ini hendaklah dihentikan segera dan tiada kegiatan dan aktiviti yang serupa dijalankan di masa hadapan.

Sesungguhnya Beta selaku Ketua Agama Islam Negeri Selangor ini amat mengambil berat dan berasa amat tersinggung dengan usaha-usaha pihak tertentu yang cuba untuk melemahkan kepercayaan dan aqidah orang Islam dalam Negeri Selangor ini.

Beta menitahkan Majlis Agama Islam Selangor (MAIS) dan JAIS supaya sentiasa mengadakan pemantauan rapi dan mengambil tindakan sewajarnya tanpa perlu teragak-agak lagi selaras dengan bidang kuasa yang diperuntukkan di bawah undang-undang.

Beta juga ingin mengambil kesempatan ini untuk mengucapkan terima kasih kepada semua pihak yang telah mengambil berat berkaitan isu ini dan yang telah memberikan kerjasama dan sokongan yang tidak berbelah bahagi kepada JAIS.

The real fight for Islam

By IMAM FEISAL ABDUL RAUF

Authentic orthodox Islam is inclusive, deep, beautiful and wisdom-based, and it’s about time moderate Muslims reclaimed their religion from the extremists whose narrow and violent version has created a mountain of suspicion, fear and hatred.

IN the last half-century, an extremist version of Islam, untrue to Muslim history and profoundly dangerous to Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world, has done its best to hijack the faith of 1.4 billion people, making it seem parochial, judgmental, narrow, self-righteous and violent.

By extremism, I mean militant intolerance of differing points of view, which leads to denying others the right to different opinions, and potentially to their freedom and humanity.

We need to reclaim Islam as a modern, moderate, compassionate, just, open, and tolerant religion that is protective both of individual freedoms and collective human rights. We need to seek to move a mountain of suspicion, myth, fear and hatred – and provide a new vision for Islam in America and the world.

My tradition

Imam Feisal speaking at the Perdana Global Peace Forum in KL on Dec 16, 2005.

Like the great majority of the world’s Muslims, I am an orthodox Muslim: neither an “Islamist” nor a “radical jihadist.” Orthodox and authentic Islam is an inclusive, deep, beautiful and wisdom-based religion.

From the earliest times, Muslims routinely incorporated pre-Islamic institutions, laws and customs into their practice when they did not violate the Quran or the Prophet’s directives. In Malaysia, for example, this was known as adat Melayu, which had the force of law according to the Syariah.

Drawing on the Quran and the Hadith, Muslim historians, theologians and jurists developed an Islamic history and theology drawn partly from Christian and Jewish texts, commentaries, spiritual practice, theology and jurisprudence. The spires of Christian churches calling the pious with ringing bells metamorphosed into tall minarets from which the muezzinwould call the faithful to prayer.

And the distinctive dome of the Byzantine Orthodox Cathedral Hagia Sophia, built more than 30 years before the birth of the Prophet, was adopted by Muslims as a ubiquitous fixture of later mosques.

The past half-century has fostered the myth that all knowledge other than that contained in the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet are “un-Islamic.” But history shows us that it was an enlightened tradition of seeking out, engaging, embracing and absorbing knowledge and wisdom in all fields of human endeavour that is the true Muslim reality.

I am a Kuwaiti-born, Egyptian-American citizen. I grew up in Great Britain, Malaysia and Egypt, and have lived in the US since 1965, when I was 17. I attended Simpang Lima primary school in Klang, and the Victoria Institution in Kuala Lumpur, before studying at Columbia University in New York and graduate school at Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.

I became a naturalised American citizen in 1979. I am an imam and the son of an eminent Egyptian imam and scholar, who was sent by al-Azhar University to be the imam and director of the Islamic Center in New York, and then of the Islamic Center in Washington DC Before that, he was the first principal of the Muslim College Klang, the first Head of the Islamic Studies Department at the University of Malaya, and the first Rector of the International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur.

We arrived in New York in December 1965 to a new life in the US, and I have served since 1983 at the Al-Farah Mosque in Tribeca, about a dozen blocks from the former World Trade Center.

Like my father, I have been deeply involved in interfaith work for well over a quarter century now with all faith communities, but mainly with Jews, Christians and Buddhists. In the aftermath of 9/11, as imam of a mosque so near Ground Zero, I was in demand as a speaker on extremists and terrorists, on the relationship between the Muslim world and the West, helping non-Muslim Americans understand the nature of the divide.

When I opened the floor to questions, they invariably fell into three categories: first was the “What is Islam?” class of questions, such as, “What is the difference between Sunni, Shia, and Sufi? What is the role of women in Islam? Does Islam believe in separation of church and state?”

The second category was what I called “The 9/11 questions,” such as “Why is bin Laden popular in the Muslim world?” “Why are Muslims so angry at America?” “Why do political liberation movements in the Muslim world use the language of Islam?” “Is suicide bombing allowed in Islam?”

The third category contained just one question, and while I succeeded in answering the questions very well in the first two categories, my efforts to provide answers to the third left me deeply dissatisfied.

Fighting extremism

This question first cropped up when my friend, Rabbi David Rosen, invited me to address the quarterly Board of Governors meeting of the American Jewish Committee on Dec 10, 2001 – 90 days after 9/11. The audience unanimously agreed with me that the status quo between Jews and Muslims was unacceptable.

But they went further; they pushed me on what we could do together to improve this relationship, and specifically, what we could do to turn around US-Muslim world relations.

I talked generally about mutually educating each other about our religions and cultures. At the same time, I knew cultural and religious appreciation could not by itself transform a relationship that had gone very wrong. Three months later, at the end of a lecture I gave at the Greenwich (Connecticut) Presbyterian Church, an elderly lady stood up and asked me, “What can a good Christian woman like me do to help?”

Here again was the same question, and I could not answer it!

And if I could not, who could? This question, hugely important to answer, stayed with me for months. I knew I had to do some serious study and thinking. I soon realised that to resolve the problems that people referred to as “Muslims versus the West,” or the “US-Muslim divide,” we all needed something concrete that could help bridge the growing polarisation between America and the Muslim world, and between Muslim Americans and their non-Muslim neighbours.

I spent more than a year analysing the problems and figuring out what it would take to bridge this divide.

The result was the Cordoba Initiative in November 2002 which I created with the help of my friend John S. Bennett, the former Vice-President of the Aspen Institute in Colorado.

We named it after the 300-year period (8th–11th centuries) of the Cordoba Caliphate (in what is now Spain) during which Jews, Christians and Muslims lived in the most enlightened, pluralistic and tolerant society on earth.

Cordoba began as a multi-faith initiative designed to bridge West-Muslim world relations by breaking the cycle of mistrust, misunderstanding and irrational fear that exists between Islam and the Western world. It became clear, from invitations to international forums, that it had to be multinational. With the support of then Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, we made Kuala Lumpur our Muslim world headquarters, with New York City our Western world headquarters.

One project of this initiative has been the Shariah Index Project to define the meaning of the term “Islamic State” from an Islamic legal point of view, and then to measure such “Islamicity” meaningfully – including that of non-Muslim-majority nations.

This would help determine the proper balance in the Muslim world (and elsewhere) between institutions of political power and authority, on the one hand, and institutions of religious power and authority, on the other – the Muslim equivalent of the religion-state relationship.

In the US, church-state separation is practically a religious precept; not so in the Muslim world. The work of this group is a powerful antidote to the perversion of Islam that is currently shaping so much of the political-religious discourse in the Muslim world. It is even more relevant now in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring and the concern that many Westerners have about the role of Islamic religious parties, such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

Cordoba House was another of the Initiative’s projects, designed as a community centre and a multi-faith space at 51 Park Place, in the same lower Manhattan neighbourhood of Tribeca, about 10 blocks south of my mosque on West Broadway.

My longer-term interfaith vision, which I had wanted to realise for 20 years, was to establish an Islamic community centre modelled on the Y’s – the YMCA, YWCA, YMHA, YWHA – originally religious institutions serving their own people that have become genuine, whole community institutions in American cities.

The remarkable 92nd Street Y, for instance, on New York’s Upper East Side, now reaches a diverse range of people with a rich variety of programmes, lectures, and concerts, though it was originally intended only for Jews.

I intended Cordoba House to be a “Muslim 92nd Street Y,” with an interfaith board, interfaith worship space, a dedicated Islamic prayer space (a mosque) in a building that would architecturally be thoroughly American – not a transplant from 13th century Cairo.

But Cordoba House, now known indelibly, if inaccurately, worldwide as the Ground Zero Mosque, became a flashpoint in 2010 for all of the unhealed wounds of 9/11, and for opportunistic Islamophobes throughout the US and the world. That this effort aroused such controversy and vitriol demonstrates the size of the task that confronts us if we truly wish to erase our misunderstandings and misconceptions. But it also became a kind of Rorschach test for Americans and people all over the world.

Our office received thousands of letters, e-mails and phone calls of support from all 50 states and around the world, from Indonesia to Israel. Michael Bloomberg, the Jewish Mayor of New York, held a press conference to proclaim the city’s tradition of religious tolerance. New Yorkers held candlelight vigils on our behalf. President Barack Obama defended our constitutional right to build Cordoba House where we wished. These expressions confirmed my deep conviction that the great majority of Americans did not want to be at war with Muslims or the Muslim world.

In his 2011 State of the Union address, Obama uttered a sentence unthinkable for an American president a decade ago: “And as extremists try to inspire acts of violence within our borders, we are responding with the strength of our communities, with respect for the rule of law, and with the conviction that American Muslims are part of our American family.”

The entire Congress – Democrats and Republicans alike – rose in a spontaneous standing ovation.

As I took in Obama’s words and Congress’ applause on my television screen, tears welled up. It was not only the President’s words; it was the immediate, spontaneous bi-partisan response of the Congress – and it took place after the controversy over Cordoba House had exposed many raw emotions on all sides.

I felt a rush of emotion, convinced that I was watching the key turning point for American Muslims, and potentially for the entire complex of relations between the United States and the Muslim world.

Truly, as the proverb has it, the night is darkest just before the dawn. US-Muslim relations had bottomed out: the only direction to go from here was up – which is one reason I am so genuinely hopeful about the future.

The future

My fondest hope is for my Muslim brothers and sisters throughout the world to reclaim their fundamentally moderate and merciful religion from the extremist Muslims, and from the extremist non-Muslims who have made a profession out of distorting our religion. And that non-Muslims will understand the values and real traditions of our faith.

The real battleground is not between America and the Muslim world, or between Muslims and Jews, or Christians, or Hindus or atheists; the real conflict is between the moderates of all faith traditions, including moderate atheists, against all the extremists of all faith traditions, and that includes extremist atheists.

Agnostics and atheists can be as ethical or as immoral as any proclaimed Muslim. And it is with a deep sense of gratitude and pride to my Malaysian heritage that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has championed this idea by launching the Global Movement of Moderates to rally all moderates of all religions against all extremists of all religions.

His speech on this at the United Nations last year, and at Oxford University in May, was widely regarded by US and European leaders, who are hoping that the new movements in the Arab world will look to nations like Malaysia as an example of how to build a successful and prosperous Islamic country that is democratic, religiously and ethnically pluralistic and moderate; a nation that confirms the overwhelming majority of the world’s 1.4 billion Muslims’ profound disagreement with the fundamentalist, narrow, parochial interpretations of Islam that have gained force in recent decades.

We are a nation (umma) that sees Orthodox Islam as far more beautiful, wise, truthful, open, and merciful: a tradition and a faith worth rescuing from the extremists.

■ This article is an extract from the introduction in Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s forthcoming new book, Moving The Mountain: Beyond Ground Zero To A New Vision Of Islam In America, which will be released by Free Press in May 2012.

http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2011/9/11/lifefocus/9363106&sec=lifefocus

National Security Council told ex-Perlis mufti a threat - Malaysiakini

The National Security Council was today briefed on the dangers that former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin and several other religious figures posed for their links with Wahabism and terrorism.

A source disclosed today that the matter was discussed in a closed briefing attended by state muftis and representatives of Islamic religious departments from all over Malaysia.

Forty young 'Umno ulama' were also alleged to be on a 'watch list' of possible terror suspects, in the council briefing held this morning.

“The Saudi government was alleged to have been behind their activities,” the source told Malaysiakini.

As at press time, however, the claim has remained unsubstantiated as all attempts to reach the council, which comes under the Prime Minister's Department, failed.

According to the source, the governments of Kuwait and Bahrain were also accused of being behind the movement at the meeting which started at about 9.30am.

Among those said to have addressed the council were southern Thailand religious leader Ismail Lutfi and popular religious preacher Muhammad Uthman El-Muhammady.

more at: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/170978

Irony of the Iranian Women's Burqa Ban | Religion Dispatches

• The ban on Iranian women’s athletic attire by FIFA, the body that governs international soccer, gave rise to a heartbreaking scene—women streamed onto the field weeping and mourning the loss of their careers as this was an Olympic-qualifying match. No longer internationally competitive, the team will not be funded by the state and will die an unfortunate death—in a field characterized by racial and cultural diversity. Or is international soccer merely a field for Western cultural assimilation, a sphere that rejects cultural diversity?

  Muslim women’s head-covers again prove to be the ultimate political and cultural test of pluralism. These women, who set out only to compete in sports, are now the symbols of political tension and cultural warfare. Crush the hijabi and you have dealt another resounding slap to Osama—oh, wait, he’s too dead to feel the slap.

  As Every-Muslim-Woman, I’m bored. I am bored to tears of the head-cover or veil being the cynosure of the global gaze. I am embarrassed for the community of nations that, like a broken record or a doddering old fellow, cannot stop droning on and on about “In our day, we never saw such an unseemly piece of fabric on women’s heads/faces/necks/arms/legs; whatever happened to nice girls wearing skirts to work/school/sports?”

  But part of me wants to turn around and tell the global-Western, headscarf-obsessed gaze to simply deal with it, as I told the Muslim community to deal with tennis star Sania Mirza’s short skirts.

  Then I do a double-take, and ask the global-Western, anti-hijabists to recall their political-cultural identities. Weren’t we Westerners supposed to be privatized individuals? Weren’t we supposed to live and let live? Don’t we laugh up our sleeves at authoritarian states and cultures that arrange marriages, control women’s clothes and sex lives, and generally run other people’s lives? Aren’t we the cool heads who bloody well leave each other alone and mind our own business? If you don’t want them taking away your guns or your porn, you’d better not call them out to take away our hijabs.

  There are voices calling for wisdom: leave the hijabis and the burqa-wearers alone; perhaps, in time, they will raise bare-headed daughters. Perhaps they will get tired of being rabble-rousers (because surely, a woman in a burqini is only trying to thumb her nose at us). But, the anti-hijabists respond, what if they don’t? What if they turn into a strong, populous community of veiled women? And what if they walk through the streets, making us look bad?

  One might ask, who’s looking? And the response might be: we are; and we don’t like burqas in the street. They gross us out. So let’s bring out the street cleaners/passport-check and throw them out. But who gets to decide what a hypothetical eyesore is? And what do we do once we’ve decided a particular item of clothing is an eyesore? Surely some process of discussion in the democratic community ought to ensue, and if most people agree, well, then it may be possible to create—oh, I don’t know, a little ghetto, with the conservative religious Muslims in it, you know what I mean?—so that they don’t remain an eyesore.

  But what if other women start taking up hijabs and burqas? Women’s subjugation could be contagious. Well, then, maybe we could ship them all off to the nearest Muslim country—like Turkey, perhaps. Or then Turkey would vote to keep us out of the EU. A political-cultural observer or historian of Western societies might be permitted to be fearful of the future of liberty and individual freedoms. I just wish they would pick on someone new, merely to spice things up a little, so reading the news wouldn’t be so damned boring. I’m open to suggestions.

  http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/guest_bloggers/4762/irony_of_the_iranian_women's_burqa_ban_/

• • TAGS burqa, fifa, headscarf, olympics, soccer