analysis
In terms of whether or not Malaysia is an Islamic state because it fulfils the criteria given in the Ministry of Information's Malaysia adalah sebuah negara Islam (criteria that are based largely on Al-Mawardi's Al-ahkam as-sultaniyya ), it is instructive to check against his text especially regarding the status of ahl al-dhimma or non-Muslims since the ministry's booklet uses the word dhimmi to describe orang kafir or unbelievers.I find the paradigm of cross-checking contemporary issues textually against a source from a few centuries ago problematic, because the chasms of time, evolution and context are summarily collapsed in such a literal trajectory of interpretation or comparison. However, since this was the route chosen by the booklet that explains Malaysia as an Islamic state (and it is a dynamic common to the use of traditional sources in Islam), it would be best to maintain this logic in my analysis.
Al-Mawardi does indeed write that the second type of ministry - executive ministry - is open to members of ahl al-dhimma . But he makes it clear that the dhimmi should be watched closely, and cautions that if a dhimmi minister arrogates to himself a higher rank, he should be stopped. But it is Al-Mawardi's views on non-Muslims in an Islamic state that are troubling.
First of all, some clarification: Al-Mawardi's text appears at first glance to be contradictory or at least paradoxical. He offers two alternative interpretations for every policy including those that concern matters of jizya (the poll tax to be levied on ahl al-dhimma ) and seldom does he come down in favour of one position or another.
It is clear, however, that the two different interpretations of what the policy should be and what it means existed in the juridical literature he was reporting. This equivocation may be due to the fact that over the centuries various interpretations had been given and policies executed. That there is no consistency may also be because the initial treaties with the conquered territories had a somewhat ad hoc character, with each military leader signing a treaty depending on the prevailing circumstances.
Remuneration
According to Al-Mawardi, the term jizya is derived from jaza which means recompense, and non-Muslim subjects who live in the abode of Islam are required to pay it either as dues or as punishment for their unbelief. The jizya is to be exacted of them either as an action of humiliation ( sagharan ) or as remuneration to the Muslim community, a guarantee that security would be provided to the subject people.
In citing the Quranic authority for jizya , Al-Mawardi quotes Surah 9:29, a verse which has caused considerable consternation in the past, especially among dhimmi : "Fight against such of those who have been given the Scripture as believe not in God or the Last Day, and forbid not that which God has forbidden by His messenger, and follow not the religion of truth, until they pay the tribute readily, being brought low ( an yadin wa-hum saghirun )."
In the phrase that points to those who 'believe not in God or the Last Day', he argues that while the ahl al-kitab , Christians and Jews, do acknowledge that God is one, their faith in God may be rejected or denied on the basis of two interpretations: that they do not believe in God's Scripture, the Quran, or that they do not believe in Muhammad, God's Messenger; for acknowledging the veracity of God's messengers is paramount to believing in them. As to the enigmatic words at the end of the verse, " an yadin " Al-Mawardi again provides two possibilities for interpretation.
The first is to pay the jizya 'out of sufficiency and ability'; the other is that ahl al-dhimma will become subservient and humbled by the conviction that Muslims have dominance and power over them. Finally, the phrase ' wa-hum saghirun ' is interpreted to mean either that they will be servile and submissive, or that the laws of Islam are applicable to them.
Al-Mawardi makes it incumbent upon the ruler to exact the jizya from Jews and Christians so that they will be entitled to dwell in dar al-islam . Furthermore, by paying, or agreeing to pay the jizya , no harm will come to them and protection will be provided for them so that they may be secure and well-guarded.
In this, al-Mawardi seems to be advocating the more conciliatory interpretation as a standard for the caliph to follow. Perhaps he wrote this out of his desire to recapture the ideals of early Islam, since he goes on to quote the hadith (tradition or saying of the Prophet Muhammad) reported by Nafi on the authority of Umar that the last words the Prophet spoke were "Protect me in regard to my covenant ( dhimmati )."
Six items
On the other hand, while al-Mawardi quotes Abu Hanifa's saying "I will not take it (the jizya ) from the Christian Arabs lest they be exposed to humiliation" and alludes to the caliph Umar's acceptance of a double zakah (tithe) from the Arab Christians in lieu of jizya , he goes out of his way to affirm that "the Arabs (i.e. Arab Christians) are liable to pay the jizya as do others."
He also classifies other conditions for the ahl al-dhimma in an Islamic state: What is requisite ( mustahaqqa ) and what is recommended or desirable ( mustahabba ), listing six items under each category. Under the category of what is requisite or mandatory ( mustahaqqa ) are those that require that the ahl al-dhimma :
1) Not denigrate or misquote the Book of Allah, exalted is He, nor alter it;
2) Not attribute lies to the Apostle of God, nor speak of him disparagingly;
3) Not speak of the religion of Islam with slander or calumny;
4) Not commit adultery with a Muslim woman, even in the name of marriage;
5) Not undermine a Muslim's faith or cause harm to his financial affairs or his religion; and
6) Not aid the people of war, nor befriend (yawuddu) the rich among them.
The six recommended ( mustahabba ) conditions are designed specifically to underscore the subservient status of the dhimmi . These conditions recommend that ahl al-dhimma :
1) Identify their appearance by wearing the distinguishing badge, and tightened belt;
2) Not build structures that are higher than the Muslims', but at the same level or lower;
3) Not allow their bell-ringing, the chanting of their scriptures, or their sayings (doctrines) concerning Uzayr or Christ, to reach Muslim ears;
4) Not display in public their wine-drinking, crosses and swine;
5) Conceal the burying of their dead, and not publicly voice their wailing and mourning; and
6) Be prohibited from riding horses, whether thoroughbred or crossbred, but not from riding mules and donkeys.
Second-class citizens
Some of the above will seem familiar to non-Muslim Malaysians as reasons cited over the years by various local authorities for why they cannot obtain burial sites, or the stipulations put upon more recent applications for church building plans in various states throughout Malaysia.
In other words, there are already practices as well as policies and laws, where non-Muslim Malaysians are already being perceived or treated as dhimmi in a privileging of Islam and Muslims by some civil servants in state governments.
If Al-Mawardi's text continues to define the Islamic state as envisaged by Barisan Nasional (the PAS version has not been publicised yet), and if at a later stage more of his positions about non-Muslims are invoked and implemented, this will result in non-Muslim Malaysians becoming officially second-class citizens. Such measures would be in conflict with the notion of egalitarian citizenship rights that are endowed upon all Malaysians and as stipulated in the constitution of Malaysia.
It is perhaps significant that there has been some latitude taken in the selection of criteria in the booklet Malaysia adalah sebuah negara Islam . Such latitude also relates to what is stated as encumbent upon the ruler (the 12 stipulations described earlier).
What has been left out in the booklet is that according to Al-Mawardi, the ruler must "establish the hadd punishments" and that "He must make jihad against those who resist Islam after having been called to it until they submit or accept to live as protected dhimmi community - so that Allah's rights, may He be exalted, 'be made uppermost above all other religions'" and Al-Mawardi then quotes the Quran, Surah 9:33.
However, this elision may well be the right to choose what is suitable for our time and context in the notion of itjihad , or it may be that there will be yet another booklet or another government that will choose to include these stipulations.
In 1856 or 145 years ago, the Sultan-cum-Caliph Abd al-Majid brought to an end the status of dhimmi in the Ottoman Empire. In a proclamation known as Hatt-i-Humayun , he declared all inhabitants of the Ottoman empire equal citizens under law.
The issue of ahl al-dhimma and their status disappeared from the area of public policy in the nation state and was relegated to historical documents for historians to ponder. Now the debate between Muslims and non-Muslims in modern Islamic nations concerning the role and status of minorities appears to have gathered momentum with the rise of political Islam and its advocacy of the reinstitution of the Shariah.
Wide divergence of views
Why an Islamic state? Early in its inception, Islam developed as a religio-political movement in which religion was integral to state and the society. Islam embraces within its legitimate sphere not only those acts and performances that the followers of other religions would codify as 'worship', but also all aspects of individual, communal, national and international activity.
It lays down and prescribes the underlying principles of relationships and regulates all aspects of a Muslim's life in accordance with these principles as the continuous worship of God. This then is an impetus for wanting to establish an Islamic state, one in which the principles and prescriptions of living as a Muslim are enabled. The other impetus is that of political expedience, as the legitimacy of Islam is appropriated by contentious politics.
But there is a wide divergence of views among Muslims themselves about the characteristics of an Islamic state, including whether one is prescribed in the first place. The Quran does not lay down any specific form of state or government. However, it does give clear outlines of a political system and general principles in dealing with other communities.
What is often lost in many claims by scholars or references to tradition and sources not only in Islam but also in Christianity, is the privileging what really defined our Prophets. Any study of the life and legacy of the Prophet Muhammad will quickly evidence how revolutionary he was for his time, living and spreading the ethos of compassion, mercy and justice which defined him and the world religion that he established.
DR PATRICIA MARTINEZ is a Malaysian academic whose PhD specialisation is in Islam. She also has 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 ".
