analysis
The consternation over the significance of the prime minister and ruling coalition proclaiming Malaysia as an Islamic state is not reflected by the mainstream media but in alternate venues, and is a stark example of the disjuncture between perceptions in public transcripts and discourse, and other realities on the ground.Perhaps because the press was not allowed to attend the sessions that the MCA and Gerakan held - forums for the MCCBCHS (Malaysian Consultative Council for Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Sikhism) and party members - they did not report that all the members present from the MCCBCHS as well as a representative from the Federation of the Evangelical Christians of Malaysia, and a few MCA and Gerakan members, expressed either concern or outright rejection of the notion that Malaysia was an Islamic state, or that non-Muslims had nothing to worry about.
The invited speakers at both meetings were the same: Hamid Othman who is the advisor for Islam to the prime minister, Professor Shad Saleem Faruqui who is a constitutional law expert from Universiti Teknologi Mara, and Zainah Anwar, the executive director of Sisters in Islam, an organisation which campaigns for the rights of Muslim women and is very critical of PAS and the conservative ulama .
Booklet to explain Islamic state
However, the beginning of the trajectory of Umno's declaration that Malaysia is an Islamic state did not provoke any discernible reaction. Some say that it was perceived as one more salvo in the game of one-upmanship over Islam between PAS and Umno.
It began with the announcement on Aug 4, 2001 that "a nationwide programme to explain to the people that Malaysia has fulfilled the requirements of an Islamic state will be held as soon as possible" ( NST , Aug 4, 2001).
Abdul Hamid Othman made the announcement after chairing a three-hour muzakarah (discussion or consultation) attended by 70 religious leaders, academics, Islamic scholars and dakwah (mission) activists at the Umno headquarters.
In his briefing to the press, the reasons Hamid Othman gave for why Malaysia is an Islamic state were a precursor to statements by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, de facto Law Minister Rais Yatim, as well as the booklet that was subsequently distributed at various briefings since October.
Concrete explanation
The first edition of the booklet which is by Wan Zahidi Wan Teh, is published by the Ministry of Information and is entitled Malaysia Adalah Sebuah Negara Islam (Malaysia is an Islamic State/Nation). It merits analysis because it is the most concrete explanation or envisioning of the Islamic state that the government has proclaimed. This first edition of the booklet has on its cover the seal of the government of Malaysia, slashes of lightning and an aeroplane.
The preface states (the booklet is in Bahasa Malaysia and my translations are as literal as possible) that in order to ascertain whether or not Malaysia is an Islamic nation, reference must be made to the opinions of ulama about their definitions of an Islamic state.
The first definition given is that the nation has to be under Muslim governance, its defence in the hands of Muslims and that it is the responsibility of every Muslim to defend it. The second definition is that the nation is controlled by Muslims, in which they attain peace within it. The third definition is that the laws of an Islamic ruler are enforced. The fourth definition is that whichever country has become a Muslim nation, even if has been defeated, it maintains its status as an Islamic state by adherence to hukum fiqh (the laws of Muslim jurisprudence) and examples are given such as when Muslims are under communist or colonial rule.
The text then states that based on these definitions by ulama and intellectuals, it is obvious that Malaysia is an Islamic state without any further debate or controversy. The chapters that follow are entitled "To what extent has the government fulfilled its responsibility as an Islamic nation?", "The legitimacy of the government according to Islamic jurisprudence", "The responsibility of the faithful towards their rulers", "The boundaries of loyalty towards rulers", "The obligation and the way to critique rulers" and "Islam and Muslim unity".
Twelve duties
The first chapter on the extent to which the present government has fulfilled its responsibilities as an Islamic state, quotes extensively from the Shafi'i jurist Abu'l-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Habib al-Basri al-Baghdadi Al-Mawardi (died 450 of the Hijra or 1058 CE) and his text Al-ahkam as-sultaniyya . The 12 duties summarised in the booklet as encumberment upon the ruler of the government as his responsibility are:
1) To preserve religion from any adulteration of understanding that can divert faith from true Islamic teachings that are based by the ulama on the Quran and Sunna (practices of the Prophet Muhammad);
2) To appoint a council of ministers to help the country in carrying out the duties of government. Al-Mawardi is quoted in the booklet as stating that ministers can be appointed from the unbelievers who are citizens - but in parentheses the text describes these as zimmi ( dhimmi or non-Muslims who reside in an Islamic state) - to carry out policies made by Islamic rulers. There is also an extensive explanation quoting from various sources, both for and against, about whether women can be appointed to public positions;
3) To provide an army able to defend the nation and religion from incursion, and to secure internal peace;
4) To put into existence a judicial system to resolve conflicts and uphold justice;
5) To establish the five times of daily prayer, the Friday congregational prayer and the end of Ramadan together with the building of mosques and the appointment of imam which is the right of the ruler. Therefore, the booklet states, there should not be an imam in the sultan's mosque apart from those appointed by the government. If the government has appointed an imam then he has the right to be the imam even if there are others more pious, or more learned than him;
6) To carry out the affairs for the Haj pilgrimage;
7) To carry out all the affairs concerning the collection and division of zakat (tithe);
8) To collect taxation from sources that exist in the nation, and in parenthesis is the word 'kharaj' (land tax);
9) To oversee matters associated with the management and development of land;
10) To put into place an administrative system which is efficient so as to carry out the affairs of finance, government property, labour and the armed forces;
11) To suppress crime and punish criminals with suitable punishment whether hadd crimes whose punishment is determined by the Shariah with other conditions such as adultery, theft, drinking alcohol etc or ta'azir crimes to which authority is given to the government to determine the form of punishment; and
12) To carry out the duties of hisbah (ensuring that moral and religious injunctions of the Shariah are carried out). The text of the booklet states that in the context of a modern country this is known as enforcement-delegation and that hisbah is aimed at ensuring that customs, behaviour etc with rulers that are put into place for the well-being of society, can be upheld.
'Hudud' law
The above are described in the booklet as basic compulsory obligations that are not comprehensive. An extensive argument is provided about the wide ambit of the 12 responsibilities, concluding that these responsibilities obviously do not limit the ruler to implementing the hudud .
It is explained that in the context of Malaysia, the responsibilities which are an obligation of an Islamic state have been implemented despite a few weakness and shortcomings that are unavoidable because of a system of government inherited from colonialists.
In cognisance of this fact, the text continues, the government has launched a policy Penerapan Nilai-nilai Islam (Infusion or Application of Islamic Values) into the government of the country. Through this policy, the text states, everything that conflicts with Islam will be brought in line with the requirements of Islam in stages and in a way that is wise - "Melalui dasar ini, segala yang bercanggah dengan Islam akan di sesuaikan dengan kehendak Islam secara berperingkat-peringkat dan dengan cara yang bijaksana."
The text states that this policy is in fact a large and open policy covering all values as well as Islamic law that are the obligation of the government to implement, and that this policy will proceed continually until the aim of upholding an Islamic nation in the national system is fully implemented: "Ia juga adalah satu dasar yang akan dijalankan secara berterusan sehinggalah matlamat untuk menegakkan negara Islam dalam sistem negara terlaksana sepenuhnya".
'Useless scrap of paper'
These latter statements about bringing policy and law into line until the aim of upholding an Islamic nation in the national system is fully implemented were never articulated by Hamid Othman at the briefings organised by MCA and Gerakan but form the core of briefings to other groups, especially of Muslims.
What was continually reiterated and reassured at the MCA and Gerakan gatherings was that nothing had changed in terms of government policy or law nor would there be any change. The analogy by MCA leader Ling Liong Sik, Hamid Othman and others who sought to reassure was that a rose is called by different names in the various languages used in Malaysia but remains a rose nevertheless.
These reassurances notwithstanding, the fact remains that the Malaysian constitution has endured numerous amendments since independence in 1957. This caused Dr Mahathir to write in The Malay Dilemma , "The manner, the frequency and the trivial reasons for altering the constitution reduced this supreme law of the nation to a useless scrap of paper."
As such, many of those at forums on the Islamic state expressed concern about the possibility that at any stage in the future, the constitution could be amended to enhance the claim to an Islamic state, with ramifications for religious freedom.
DR PATRICIA MARTINEZ is a Malaysian academic whose PhD specialisation is in Islam. She also has an MA in the Comparative Study of Religion and another in Christian theology.
The author's original title of the above article was "Malaysia as an Islamic state: an analysis of the Malaysian Ministry of Information's booklet Malaysia adalah Sebuah Negara Islam ".
