Relief and renewal: SIS to forge ahead after legal battle ends

Summary

• Sisters in Islam grateful for Federal Court decision this morning ruling that Selangor religious authorities were wrong to issue a fatwa declaring the organisation as deviant in 2014.

• It says this is confirmation that the organisation has rights protected by the Federal Constitution to continue speaking out.

Sisters in Islam (SIS) expressed gratitude and relief after the Federal Court allowed its appeal to challenge a Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) fatwa declaring the organisation deviant.

Speaking to reporters immediately after today’s court decision, SIS executive director Rozana Isa said the ruling proves they have a legitimate right under the Federal Constitution to voice their views and champion Muslim women’s rights in Malaysia.

“We at SIS are very grateful for the decision delivered by the Federal Court this morning, Alhamdulillah.

“For nearly 12 years, we have gone through this process to seek justice, and finally we have received confirmation that our organisation has rights protected by the Federal Constitution to continue speaking out,” she said in Putrajaya today.

Rozana (above) also stressed that their advocacy is relevant and vital, especially for Muslim women who face daily challenges in their families and modern society.

She further said that following today’s court decision, SIS is also committed to continuing the struggle it began nearly four decades ago to ensure that women’s voices continue to have a place in the country’s religious and social discourse.

What does the respondent say?

Haniff Khatri Abdulla, who represented the Selangor State Fatwa Committee’s team of lawyers, said the court’s decision confirmed that the fatwa is valid but acknowledged that it does not apply to companies, organisations, or associations, but only to individuals professing Islam.

“The fatwa concerned only applies to Muslims and does not apply to companies, organisations, or associations.

“However, Justice Abu Bakar Jais, in his dissenting opinion, argued that although companies or associations are separate entities, they cannot be separated from the fact that they are managed by individuals,” he said.

Nevertheless, Haniff said that the decision reaffirms that the Selangor Fatwa Committee and any other state fatwa committee have legitimate authority to issue fatwas from time to time on any matter required to guide the Muslim community.

“Firstly, that is clear. Secondly, any individual who practises and follows the concepts of pluralism and liberalism is acting contrary to Islamic law, which is forbidden and must return to the right path and repent.

“This applies to everyone outside SIS Forum, any other company, any other organisation, or even to individuals within SIS Forum itself,” he said.

SIS had appealed to obtain an order from the Federal Court to challenge the fatwa issued 11 years ago, labelling it as deviant and misguided.

The fatwa, gazetted by the Selangor state government on July 31, 2014, declared SIS, and any individuals, organisations, and institutions subscribing to the ideologies of liberalism and pluralism, as deviating from Islam.

The judicial review, filed in October 2014, was dismissed by the High Court in August 2020 and upheld by the Court of Appeal in March 2023.

In the judicial review, they named the Selangor State Fatwa Committee, Mais, and the Selangor state government as respondents.

However, after 11 years, the Federal Court this morning ruled that the Selangor religious authorities were wrong to issue a fatwa declaring SIS as deviant and contrary to Islamic teachings.

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