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January 19, 2006
Malaysia: No-One Expects The Islamic Inquisition!
Recently there has been a debate in Malaysia, which is 60% Muslim, about the role of the Syariah, or Islamic Courts. The constitutional issue, which means that a civil court has no power over cases which fall under the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts, has caused a Hindu to be buried as a Muslim, and people being prevented from leaving Islam.
On December 22, 2005, the Islamic Family Law Bill was pushed through parliament by the government. This effectively decreased the rights of women in divorce situations. Its unpopularity led the government to temporarily suspend it last week, pending further consultation.
The powers of the Islamic bodies in the nation have caused Hindu groups to form a pressure group, the Hindu Rights Action Force, to protest against the "Islamification" of Malaysia. On Wednesday, the government ordered a newly formed "Islamic Council Volunteer Squad", a Muslim team recruited to spy on Muslims to ensure they conformed to Islamic behaviour, to be disbanded.
A power struggle appears to be taking place between supporters of civil law which should affect all citizens, and advocates of Islamic law, which should affect only Muslims, but has punished apostates for not being "Islamic".
The latest development in this public confrontation between democratic and theocratic government comes in news brought today by Canada's canoe news.
A Malaysian senator has been found guilty in an Islamic court for not divorcing his wife without a Syariah Court's permission and divorcing her outside a Syariah Court.
52-year old Senator Kamaruddin Ambok, of the ruling party (Umno, United Malays National Organisation) admitted on Thursday that he had committed an offence against his former wife Mahani Hussain, aged 50. The divorce (Talaq) had been announced not in front of an audience, or even to the woman's face. He had divorced her by text message on a cell phone, with a reminder by voicemail.
The Senator was hardly chivalrous, but it is a strange situation where a member of the government is being accused by an Islamic Court for divorcing his wife without first gaining the court's permission.
Prosecution lawyer Mohammed Yusof Sulaiman told the Syariah court: "Cases such as this are happening often these days as reported by media. The court must ensure that Islamic laws are adhered to, and give a proper punishment to deter him and others from committing such an offence again."
The lawyer said the senator's ex-wife was left alone for two months until the written confirmation of divorce was filed in December 2001.
The judge, Zainor Rashid Hassin, told Kamaruddin that when he went through his marriage he engaged in several Islamic rituals, as demanded by law. "Now, why can't you divorce someone properly as well?" he asked. He sentenced the senator to a fine of the equivalent of $145 US.
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at January 19, 2006 11:23 PM
Comments
It is easier to run prostituition den, a gambling den, to be corrupt, smuggling and lots of vice in Malaysia, But to run a Hindu temple which had been built from time immemorial is extremely difficult in Malaysia. Because they(the government) cannot make money out of it! The government wants to make Malaysia into a unholy place; that is why they are demolishing Hindu Temples in Malaysia. May the curse of GOD befall on them!
Posted by: Truth alone triumphs ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.westernresistance.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at June 8, 2006 10:03 PM
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