Datuk Noor Farida And G25 Must Go Back To School

Moderation in Islam means wasatiyyah and not being liberal as understood by G25.

G25 members who are trying to teach other Muslims about moderation in Islam must seek advises from Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMM) to understand what is ‘moderation’ in Islam. 

In its latest attack on the Islamic authorities of Malaysia, G25 wants the punishment for ‘khalwat’ to be repeal on the ground of “those are personal sins”; and in response to the statement, Mufti Perak, Tan Sri Dr. Harussani Zakaria adviced G25 to “bertaubat”.

Below are my answers (in blue) to Free Malaysia Today (FMT)’s article (in red) regarding this issue.

PETALING JAYA: A “personal sin” like khalwat (close proximity) is between the couple involved and God and should not be treated like a crime punishable by the state, said the G25 movement of Malay moderates.

Speaking on their behalf was Noor Farida Ariffin, who was quoted by The Rakyat Post as saying, “Those are personal sins. It’s a sin against God. Between that person and God.”

Does Datuk Noor Farida mean to say that khalwat is just “personal sin” and is not punishable by the State according to the Islamic laws? Now, is she trying to liberalise the Islamic laws or she knows nothing about the Islamic laws? Datuk Noor Farida must understand that the Islamic laws cannot be changed. Muslims must live according to the rules of Islam and not the other way around.

Khalwat is against the Islamic laws, so it is punishable by the State in Malaysia because as an Islamic country, Muslims in this country are also governed by the Islamic personal law as written by The Right Honourable Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Md Raus bin Sharif in the Federal Court judgement of the case, ZI Publications Sdn Bhd and Another v Kerajaan Negeri Selangor:

“Federal Constitution allows the Legislature of a State to legislate and enact offences against the precepts of Islam. Taking the Federal Constitution as a whole, it is clear that it was the intention of the framers of our Constitution to allow Muslims in this country to be also governed by Islamic personal law”.

In Malaysia, we have the Syariah Court that deals with the Islamic laws, and it has the jurisdiction upon every Muslim in this country. 

Questioning why it was turned into a crime, she added, “Islam says you could not intrude on personal space.”

Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin, who does not understand Islam and the Islamic laws should not speak about matters that she knows nothing about. Rather than making her own conclusion and judgement about khalwat and other Islamic laws, she should go to JAKIM and ask for help to guide her to the right path of Islam. She really needs help.

She said this at a press conference after a G25 forum on “Islam in a Constitutional Democracy” and noted that Malaysia was the only country in the world that punished those involved in khalwat.

Datuk Noor Farida must do her homework. Countries that observe the Islamic laws in their legal systems, will punish those involved in khalwat, for example Saudi Arabia and Brunei. 

“This is against Islam. You cannot knock at a person’s door at 3am and arrest people.”

Does she mean that actions taken by the Islamic authorities against khalwat (that is against the Islamic law) is against Islam? She is really confused between what are the rights and wrongs in Islam. It is her statements that is actually against Islam.

She also said there was a need to review other syariah laws that trespassed on the Federal Constitution and pointed out that even non-Muslims were being affected by the Islamic law presently.

All the Articles in the Federal Constitution are harmoniously with each other. The Syariah laws does not trespassed the Federal Constitution because the Article 3(1) states that Islam is the religion of the Federation, hence the other Articles in the Federal Constitution must be read harmoniously with Article 3(1).

In fact, the Federal Constitution recognises the Syariah Court as stated in the Article 121(1)(1a) of the Federal Constitution:

121. (1) There shall be two High Courts of co-ordinate jurisdiction and status, namely—

(a) one in the States of Malaya, which shall be known as the High Court in Malaya and shall have its principal registry at such place in the States of Malaya as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may determine; and

(b) one in the States of Sabah and Sarawak, which shall be known as the High Court in Sabah and Sarawak and shall have its principal registry at such place in the States of Sabah and Sarawak as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may determine;

(1a) The courts referred to in Clause (1) shall have no jurisdiction in respect of any matter within the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts.

The Syariah laws only govern the Muslims and does not affect the non-Muslims.

She cited the incidents of dead bodies being snatched for Muslim burials and custody issues when one spouse converts to Islam and explained, “This is the kind of injustices we want to prevent.

Datuk Noor Farida must get her facts rights. This is a malicious distortion of truth used again and again to undermine the Islamic religious authorities even after the Islamic religious authorities had answered the accusations. When the Islamic authorities receive a report, it is their duty to investigate and to take proper actions to solve the problems.

“The way Islam is being implemented under syariah law is resulting in a lot of injustice to Muslims and non-Muslims.

Datuk Noor Farida must learn more about Islam and the implementation of the syariah laws in Malaysia before making more silly statements. Only the Muslims who do not love their religion and do not want Islam as the way of life are against the implementation of the Syariah laws in their countries.

“This is why people are saying that Islam has been hijacked by state authorities,” she said, adding that the way it was being interpreted did not uphold the values of Islam as a religion of justice, mercy and compassion.

People made all kinds of statements and accusations regarding matters which are not agreeable to them; so Datuk Noor Farida must specify who are the people who made the above statements.

She must mix around with more Muslims and attend programs organised by Islamic groups rather than only making friends with the people who subscribe to the liberal ideology in order to see things straight.