SIS MAY OPEN FLOODGATES IN CHALLENGING FATWA

Dr M says the Quran should be the only guide for Muslims.

Roslan Bistamam, Free Malaysia Today

Last July, the Selangor government issued a gazette informing the public that a fatwa had been issued declaring Sisters in Islam (SIS) and any other organisation that propagates liberalism and pluralism as deviating from Islamic teachings.

Marina Mahathir said in a press conference today that a SIS member found out about the fatwa by chance 10 days ago while surfing Jakim’s e-fatwa website.

This morning, Zaid Ibrahim and Zainah Anwar filed a judicial review to contest the fatwa in the Kuala Lumpur High Court.

Further to that, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad said today that the Qur’an should be the only guide for Muslims. “If we go by the teachings of all teachers of Islam, none of us would qualify as Muslims,” Mahathir said, and added that the religious text should take precedence over interpretations by religious scholars.

Although Dr Mahathir did not say so, we can assume that the ex-prime minister was responding to the fatwa against SIS.

With this challenge in the Kuala Lumpur High Court, what is actually a matter concerning religion has now become a legal matter. Can the secular High Court hear this case or make a ruling on it or will it declare that seeing this is a religious matter it should be taken to the Sharia court instead?

In short, can the secular court interfere in matters concerning Islam?

The question that needs to be asked is who determines what is right and wrong when it comes to Islam? Who can be regarded as a religious scholar or ulama? And is the opinion of these ulama final?

Malaysia is neither an Islamic nor a secular state. It is actually something in between and the boundary is blur. However, Malaysia operates more as an Islamic than a secular state. And this is what Malaysians should be worried about.

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