Hudud is Najib-Hadi Political Game: It is not mentioned in the Quran

by Nurbaiti Hamdan and Hemananthani Sivanandam

http://www.thestar.com.my

“I would like to clarify to our friends in Barisan Nasional (BN) that there was a misunderstanding. I would like to state that it is not for the implementation of hudud. It’s just to give Shariah Courts enhanced punishments. From six-strokes caning to a few more depending on the offences,” G25 quoted Najib. I wish to add that hudud law should be used to try Najib Razak for stealing 1MDB money. ==Din Merican

Muslims have no religious obligation to support hudud law as it was not mentioned in the Quran, says a law professor from Emory University in the United States.

Professor Abdullahi A. An-Na’im (pic above), a Constitutional law expert, said the term hudud is a “misnomer” and the Quran did not mention it in relation to any crime. “So describing these crimes as hudud crimes is the way of jurists, it is not in the Quran, it is not in the Sunnah.

“That is why I say that there is no relation,” Prof Abdullahi told a press conference organised by Islamic Renaissance Front at a hotel here. Prof Abdullahi, a Sudanese-born who resides in the United States, is internationally recognised as a scholar of Islam and advocate of human rights.

He teaches constitutional law, human rights and international law and is the author of ‘Islam and the Secular State’ which has been translated into many languages.

Prof Abdullahi said more than 40 member countries of the United Nations with predominantly Muslim majority population do not implement hudud in their legal system.

Najib Razak and PAS are disciples of Sayyid Qutb 

“Where is the hudud among all these Muslims? Why is it a priority in this country (Malaysia) when it has not been a priority in the vast Muslim majority countries?” he said.

Giving the example of sariqah (crime of theft), Prof Abdullahi said the punishment for theft under hudud law is “extremely severe and totally irreversible”. Should hudud be implemented, he said, the state must ensure that several aspects must be fulfilled.

“One is that you have to make sure that no person would have the need to steal and that everybody’s needs are satisfied by the state.Second, you need every possible safeguard against miscarriage of justice and false convictions,” he said.

Prof Abdullahi said the definition of sariqah under Syariah is “extremely ambigous and in fact indefensible” as it would allow a public official to steal millions of dollars from the public treasury without being convicted because it is public property.

“Whereas to steal a minute amount from a private person in a locked, safe place, that becomes a sariqah.So there are fundamental contradictions in the jurisprudence of the so-called fiqh (understanding) of hudud. All of that has to be brought out and debated and then people can vote,” he added.

G-25 to All Malaysians–Reject PAS’ Private Member’s Bill

http://www.thestar.com.my, June 1, 2016

All Malaysians should reject PAS’ Private Member’s Bill to maintain racial and religious harmony, said members of the group of eminent Malays, known as G25.

In a statement Wednesday, G25 said it categorically oppose PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s Bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1995, as well as the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code II (1993) Bill 2015 that was passed by the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly.

The group said although Article 3 of the Federal Constitution declares that Islam is the religion of the Federation, constitutionally, Malaysia “is a secular state” intended by our forefathers and the framers of the Federal Constitution.

“Further, our nation is a multi-religious, multi-racial and multi-cultural. As such, hudud is inappropriate and unacceptable to the vast majority of Malaysian society. Moreover, a law such as the Kelantan hudud Bill of 2015 is unconstitutional by reason of Article 8 (which states equality before the law) of the Federal Constitution.  As such, Muslims in Kelantan will be subjected to two sets of laws; the hudud and the Penal Code,” said the group.

Should she be punished under Hudud for her sexual orientation?

The group urged the Kelantan state government instead to focus on improving the lives of its people, rather than “being obsessed with hudud”.

“Surely the state government of Kelantan needs no reminding that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the pious caliphs who succeeded him emphasised the people’s welfare instead of a punitive approach to governing,” said G25.

The group said the Government has a “fiducial and moral duty” towards Malaysians to build a happy and prosperous country.

The group added that the country’s leaders should focus their attention on the responsibilities in governing the nation, instead of “playing dangerous politics with hudud”.

Members of G25 also said they were not convinced by Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak’s assertion that Abdul Hadi’s Private Member’s Bill was not about implementing hudud.

Last Friday, Najib said there was a “misunderstanding” over the nature of the Bill, adding that the proposed Bill was on reforming the canning punishment meted out by the Syariah Court.  Members of G25 noted that the Bill permits the State Legislatures to empower the Syariah court to impose any form of hudud punishment other than the death penalty.

The group further explained that the Kelantan Syariah Criminal Code II prescribes “hudud punishments” for offences such as adultery, theft, robbery, sodomy, consumption of liquor and apostasy.

“However, the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1995 does not permit the Syariah Court to impose hudud punishments, and, hence, this Federal law has been an impediment to the state of Kelantan in making the Kelantan hudud Bill 2015 a valid state enactment.

“Therefore, there is the need for the state of Kelantan to seek Parliament to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1995. And, so, here comes Hadi’s Bill,” said G25.

The group also expressed fear that if Hadi’s Bill were to be passed by Parliament, it would open the floodgates for other states to introduce hudud and the “more severe forms of punishments. The Bill, therefore, has long-term and far-reaching implications,” said G25.