The Hudud Boogeyman is Back

 

What many of the non-Muslims who support Hudud fail to understand is for Hudud to be implemented, the environment must also be right. I am not referring to the climate. I am instead referring to a conducive environment. 

Parwaiz Win 

Khalid Samad, “As far as PAS is concerned, the basis of our struggle and reference is the same and will never change,”. “When we talk about Islam, we will talk about hudud. And obviously we’ll never say we have given it up,”.  “Our struggle is to convince society to accept its implementation. All of Islam including its legal system will be part and parcel of our objective,”. “Our struggle is to open up the society, have all our views presented and convince the public that there would be no harm if Islamic law is implemented,”.

Karpal Singh, “There is no change in our stand whatsoever. These matters have already been put away and for them to bring it up again now is not quite right,”. “I speak on behalf of my party and not in any circumstances will it change its stand,”.

We are now a few weeks past GE 13 and the thorny issue of Hudud has come back to the forefront.

I feel it is not my right to question the validity of Hudud or its effectiveness this day and age. This is god’s law for the Muslims and I have always believed in respecting everyone’s religious beliefs.

I instead have another aspect I would like to explore which I feel a lot of people seem to have overlooked when discussing Hudud. A lot of opposition leaders have made it quite clear that Hudud will only be applied to Muslims; whether such a statement is just to garner the support of non-Muslims for PAS is anyone’s guess.

With this current development, I have read of many fellow non-Muslim opposition supporters who voice their support for Hudud since it is meant only for the Muslims and many feel with Hudud, UMNO leaders will either have their hands chopped off, their privates chopped off and etc. Overall, the general consensus among many non-Muslim opposition supporters is that Hudud will end UMNO’s stranglehold on power and UMNO leaders will have to face Hudud for their alleged wrongdoings. Again, this is debatable and this too is not what I want to bring forward for discussion.

For the sake of discussion, let’s assume Hudud is implemented and specifically for Muslims alone. Let’s not dwell on constitutional hurdles before Hudud can be implemented. Let us instead look at the dynamics for Hudud to be implemented in Malaysia.

At this juncture, I hope everyone will put aside politics and truly try to understand what I am trying to bring forward. This is food for thought and by the end of the article, if I have not made you to think in a rational manner with regards to Hudud then I can confidently say you did not put aside political affiliation when you processed what you have just read.

Imagine now Hudud is implemented In Malaysia and it is only applicable to Muslims; one might say, lovely, it does not affect the lives of non-Muslims. If you believe this then you are so far from the truth; maybe the implementation of Hudud alone will wake you up from day dreaming.

Putting aside the logistics, manpower and etc to implement Hudud, what many of the non-Muslims who support Hudud fail to understand is for Hudud to be implemented, the environment must also be right. I am not referring to the climate. I am instead referring to a conducive environment. You lost me? Ok, let me get you back on track.

Hudud is god’s law and it is fair in principle and in spirit. But Hudud cannot be implemented not just because of logistics but also because for Hudud to be implemented the environment has to be ideal.

Meaning, one cannot just impose Hudud and have clubs, bars, girls in micro minis, magazines with provocative pictures and many more things which will tempt those who can be charged with Hudud in direct contact with such temptations.

Islam is fair; one cannot implement Hudud if temptations are readily available. Are you still following me?

Hence, everything that can coax, tempt and rattle the soul of a man must be removed and he be given an environment where he will not go on a head to head collision with Shariah and Hudud.

Besides providing legal means for discipline, Islam also provides non-legal teachings for the reform of society, which greatly help in curbing crimes. This implies that a state cannot absolve itself of its duties by just enforcing the Hudud; it is also responsible for creating an atmosphere that discourages the incidence of crime in the first place.

With that being said, how is Hudud not going to effect the non-Muslims? One must be truly gullible to think otherwise. The primary foundation before Hudud can be implemented is the absence of motivating factors.

How do we now ensure a fair chance … well, we will need to surely remove the motivating factors. This, my friends is a fact! Whether you like it or not, this is what is needed before Hudud can be implemented. And you still think Hudud for Muslims only will not affect you?

Many might argue that we will practice a Malaysian version of Hudud; well my dear friends, there is only one version of Hudud. There is no such thing as a Malaysian version of Hudud.

Islam is a fair religion and those that will be judged under Hudud will be given a fair chance. This is the spirit of Shariah and Hudud. It is not just a law to wield the axe; it is a law which gives those that will be judged an environment which is void of temptations which can lead to an action that runs contrary to Shariah.

Again I ask you, how is PAS going to create such an environment and yet at the same time not affect the rights of non-Muslims?

One cannot expect to have clubs, China dolls, skimpy dressed girls, bars, prostitutes, casinos and other things everywhere and not expect a person to be tempted. Be fair … Muslim are also humans and they too have weaknesses. Contrary to popular belief, they too have blood flowing in their veins.

Was it not PAS who said they would shut down Genting Casino if they won? Why shut it down? Is this not a case of interfering with the rights of non-Muslims? I believe Nik Aziz even went on to say even other religions do not condone gambling. Is this again not a form of infringement on the rights of non-Muslims?

What TG Nik Aziz has failed to see is that unlike Islam which does not waiver, many religions of this modern age have changed or to the least been liberalized with time. A classic example is how gay people are now able to get married.

TG Nik Aziz’s point of view is that of a Muslim and his failure to grasp that he should not equate the Islamic principles with that of other religions is what will effect non-Muslims if Hudud were to be implemented in Malaysia.

This does not mean TG Nik Aziz is wrong and the implementation of Hudud is wrong; it just means, non-Muslims will be affected.

Finally, allow me to make one thing clear; this is not about if Hudud is good or bad. This is to bring some kind of awareness to what it takes for Hudud to be implemented. So … my dear non-Muslims who seem to welcome Hudud with open arms but at the same time with eyes closed …. You still want Hudud?