I am writing as a concerned Malaysian Muslim over the recent hudud issue highlighted in the media. The recent focus is obviously a response to the proposal by PAS to legislate Hudud as part of the existing Islamic Penal law in Kelantan. Whilst Muslims who hold dear to the upright of Islamic law support this move, there are others who are more skeptical of this change.
Given that Hudud has yet to be implemented in this country, and, over the years, there has been very little public information available on what Hudud actually is and what it truly entails, it is hardly surprising to see Malaysians’ reaction over this matter can be filled with angst, fear, disgust and rejection. Especially so when the information supposedly on Hudud have been fed by people who know very little about the law itself, but due to their outright rejection to this very idea, promote false and misleading claims to the public.
From what I gather from these people, Hudud in summary is nothing short of “barbaric, inhumane, unjust, uncivilised law that has no place in this modern society”. Their claims are mostly based on terrifying reports of the inhumanity and injustice that was brought upon by Muslim-majority countries practicing Hudud. To what extent this is truly happening in those countries warrant further investigations beyond those provided by the media, and even if those claims are true, they are not what I and the majority of Malaysian Muslims know of Islam and the system that it brings.
How is it fair and Islamic when a rapist can walk away freely but the victim ends up in jail or stoned to death only because she fails to bring in four witnesses? How is it fair and Islamic when those punished are exclusively of women, the poor and oppressed, while the rich and powerful are given the highest protection? How is it fair and Islamic when the accused is punished by death based on unproven and dubious grounds? To be claiming that these are part of Hudud and the Islamic law is not only misleading, it is insulting to Islam and its believers, and defies the very purpose of the system: to restore justice, peace and harmony to the society. Those who study and investigate carefully (through credible sources) may find that Hudud and the whole Islamic legal system, when implemented wholly, truthfully and under the utmost strict conditions, may be the best solution to curb corruption, indecencies, atrocities and crimes in a Muslim-majority society today. (For those seeking Syariah-verified information on Hudud, a good start is to read an article titled ‘Hudud and misconceptions’ by Nawawi Mohamad, The Malaysian Insider, 12 October 2011).
One needs to understand that the implementation of Hudud in Malaysia is not just a matter of applying it literally for the sake of application as to remain faithful to Islam, it also has to be conducted very carefully – that is, with the most proper planning, thorough discourse and within the context of the Muslim society in Malaysia that is unique from the rest of the world. This is vital for Malaysia if it were to be seen as a Muslim-majority country that does not abuse nor misuse the law, which can bring a grave injustice to the people and the message that Islam brings.
The efforts that need to be taken to realise this are by no means small, as it requires time, dedication and commitment from all levels of society – be it the Muslim authorities, law experts and intellectuals, and the public – in order to bring together a full and true understanding of Islamic rules and principles. It is more crucial than ever that Muslims at the individual level learn more about Islam and its system through authentic sources to dispel the paranoia on Hudud currently prevalent in this country. As Muslims we need to show our best conduct or akhlaq in our daily living, as this also indirectly reflects the quality of governance of the Islamic system in this country.
The irresponsible claims made on Hudud create unnecessary fear to the unknowing public, both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. We are to live with information based solely on what these people say, only because that is the most conveniently available to us. We are creating a society based on fear of the unknown and/or misled information, rather than a society that agree or disagree with full and true information in hand. True knowledge is indeed powerful and can bring a significantly positive change to people’s minds, but it can only be achieved when substantial efforts are made one very level of society. Let us show the world we are capable of living as people of deep conscience, understanding and respect in a multi-religious society with Islam being the dominant religion.
Nevertheless, a more fundamental question that we need to ask ourselves is this: Is the resistance to Hudud implementation only because we have not done enough to educate and raise awareness about the law itself, or is it actually a fight to bring Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country, to be without any religious identity? If the latter is true, then any debate on whether or not Hudud should be implemented remains irrelevant in this context.
Hazlin Abdullah
ISMA Activist
