The leader of the Roman Catholic Church here points out that there is no institution for non-Muslims to address grievances and seek redress pertaining to interfaith matters.

Non-Muslims would have limited avenue to turn to in cases of inter-religious disputes if the proposed inter-faith commission (IFC) is rejected, said the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Archbishop Murphy Pakiam said there is no institution for non-Muslims to address grievances and seek redress as the civil courts and Syariah courts often pass cases off to one another in order to avoid making contentious decisions on inter-religious issues.

"We get pushed from one (civil) court to another, until, eventually, it ends up in a Syariah court, and then it starts all over again. Where can non-Muslims go to if not the IFC?" he said when met at the sidelines of the international Peace In Palestine conference that concluded on Wednesday in Putrajaya.

On the protests by Muslim organisations against the IFC on grounds that it was meddling in Islamic affairs, Pakiam questioned whether these groups reflected the diversity of views in Muslim thought.

"There is a wide variety of thought in Islam, whereas such groups may only represent one particular way of thinking within Islam," he said.

Unchallengeable laws

However, the past president of the Allied Coordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs Mustapha Ma reiterated his earlier statement that Islam encouraged inter-religious dialogue, but was vehemently against the intervention of any party into the teachings and practices of Islam.

"We are all for inter-religious dialogue. But there are some things that are a matter of intra-faith. These are things that even Muslims cannot question, what more non-Muslims who want to challenge (Islamic laws)," he said when met at the same venue.

Mustapha also expressed objections at the relevance of international legal standards and conventions referred to in the draft bill of the IFC, such as the Universal Declarations of Human Rights, to the right of Muslims in the country to regulate their own affairs under Islamic religious laws.

"In the bill that has been proposed, religion must follow standards as set by international norms, suchas those found in declarations and conventions that have not been ratified by Malaysia," he said.

"(According to the bill) whatever practice that contravenes with international norms, including Islamic religious practices, have to be eliminated," he added.

He said this is against Islamic teachings, according to which man-made laws should be subject to God's laws and not the other way around.

Muslim sensitivity

Copies of the bill, the plenary statement and the relevant appendices have been sent to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, his deputy Najib Abdul Razak, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, Ministers in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Maximus Ongkili (national unity) and Dr Abdullah Md Zin (Islamic affairs).

The plenary statement was drafted after two days of discussion of the draft bill by over 200 participants late last month. The national conference, however, was boycotted by representatives of mainstream Muslim groups.

The proposal was co-ordinated by the Bar Council human rights sub-committee after holding a workshop on the initiative in 2003.

The prime minister had twice indicated that the proposed interfaith commission may not be realised as it seemed offensive to Muslim sensitivity.

He also said it could be a setback to religious unity and harmony if it is implemented.