Illegal for Muslims to pronounce divorce via social media, says lawyers group

 

Moeis Basri said it has become quite common for Muslim husbands to resort to the use of social media to pronounce their talaq against their wives.

PETALING JAYA: 

A group representing shariah lawyers has warned Muslim husbands against pronouncing their talaq (divorce) against their wives through social media, saying that it’s a breach of Islamic family law.

Persatuan Peguam Syarie Malaysia vice-president Moeis Basri told FMT that it is a punishable offence to pronounce the talaq outside and without permission of the shariah court.

Husbands who do so may face punishment under the Selangor Islamic Family Law Enactment 2003 of a RM1,000 fine or imprisonment for up to six months, or both.

Based on checks by FMT, a similar provision is found in the Islamic family law enactments or ordinances of all states as well as the federal territories.

In Perak, however, the punishment is more severe – a fine not more than RM3,000, or imprisonment for up to two years, or both, upon conviction.

Last Wednesday, former law minister Zaid Ibrahim highlighted the issue of Muslim husbands pronouncing their talaq via video or WhatsApp.

He cited a recent incident where an actress reported that her husband divorced her by making a video pronouncing his talaq. 

Countless times before this, we heard of talaq (being pronounced) on X,

 he said, referring to the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

What will the rest of society think of us Muslim men who dare not divorce their wives on their faces in front of credible witnesses? What will society think of our religion that permits such a cavalier manner of divorcing our wives, the mothers of our children?

 Zaid said.

Shariah court order needed

Moeis said that with the advent of technology, it has become quite common for Muslim husbands to resort to other channels to pronounce their talaq against their wives.

However, if the talaq is pronounced through these means, the couple is still considered married to one another in the eyes of the law, he said.

So either party must then file a report to the shariah court to officially obtain a divorce order,

 he said.

Moeis said that before the court issues an official divorce order, it will need to investigate to ensure no element of coercion is involved. The husband must also be found to be of sound mind when he made the pronouncement.

Once the court is satisfied that all is in order, the divorce is considered to be effective from the date of the pronouncement of the talaq, said Moeis.

A tool for public humiliation

Sisters in Islam (SIS) told FMT that the NGO has seen over 10 cases through its free legal clinic, Telenisa, where women have experienced their husbands pronouncing talaq through social media.

“Many have shared stories of husbands who refuse to meet them in person, cut off all communication, marry another woman, or even refuse to go to the shariah court to file the divorce.

These actions leave the wife not only emotionally shattered but also legally stranded, forced to navigate the complex aftermath on her own,

 it said.

SIS stressed that while talaq is a legal method to dissolve a marriage, it must follow the correct and lawful procedure, which is through the shariah court.

Declaring talaq through social media bypasses this critical step, leading to an undignified divorce. It reduces a profoundly personal and often painful experience to a public spectacle, subjecting the wife to unnecessary humiliation and distress,

 said SIS.

SIS said this practice can also skew perceptions, implying that the wife is at fault and that the husband’s actions are justified, thus perpetuating harmful power dynamics. - FMT