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| Professor Dr Abdullahi A. An-Naim from Emory University based in Georgia, the US, says a secular country will protect freedom of belief, including among Muslims. |
Muslims is not obliged to support hudud as the Islamic
criminal code is not mentioned in the Quran, a Sudan-born law professor said
today amid debate over a proposed Bill in Parliament that has divided
Malaysians along religious lines.
Professor Dr Abdullahi A. An-Naim from Emory University
based in Georgia, the US, who professed to be a Muslim said a secular country
would protect freedom of belief, including among Muslims.
“The term 'hudud' itself is a misnomer,” An-Naim told a
press conference organised by pro-moderation group G25 here.
“The Quran doesn't mention the term 'hudud'. It's not in the
Sunnah,” he added, referring to the verbal record of Prophet Muhammad’s
teachings and practices.
An-Naim labelled the purported obligation for Muslims to
support hudud law as “personal speculation” and said: “Give me a Quranic text
that gives this obligation”.
PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang recently tabled a
private member’s Bill in Parliament to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal
Jurisdiction) Act 1965.
The private member’s Bill seeks to empower Shariah courts to
enforce punishments ― except for the death penalty ― provided in Shariah laws
for Islamic offences listed under state jurisdiction in the Federal
Constitution.
However Hadi’s Bill provided no details on the nature of the
punishments.
Shariah court punishments are currently limited to jail terms
not exceeding three years, or whipping of not more than six strokes, or fines
of not more than RM5,000.
Local daily Berita Harian reported recently Shariah adviser
to the Attorney-General’s Chambers Tan Sri Sheikh Ghazali Abdul Rahman as
claiming that it is compulsory for Muslims to support the proposed amendments
to the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act.
An-Naim said today that a secular state was not a Western
objective but about protecting freedom of belief given the “wide variety” of Muslims.
The scholar of Islam and human rights pointed out that the
Shiites in Sudan are forced to live under Wahhabism, an austere branch of Sunni
Islam, which they consider heresy, while Iran enforces the Shiite doctrine that
must be followed by Sunni Muslims.
“Separating the state from religion is necessary for Muslims
to believe with conviction and honesty,” said An-Naim.
Local hudud proponents claim that Malaysia is an “Islamic”
country. Malaysia, which practises Sunni Islam, labels other denominations like
Shiism as deviant.
An-Naim said the term “Islamic state” does not appear in the
Quran and was not practised in the history of Islamic civilisation until the
20th century, noting that the idea of a separate state for Muslims only emerged
in the 1930s for a state in colonial India to break away as Pakistan.
An-Naim, who wrote a book on Islam and the secular state,
said the government should enforce a single law on all citizens equally.
He described the dual legal system in Malaysia, in which
Muslims can be punished for “personal sins” like “khalwat” (close proximity),
as confusing.
“A crime should not be made a crime just because it’s a sin
to some people,” he said.
Source -Malay mail Online-
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