Southeast Asia: Islamic tussle over Shari'a law

-
     The Muslim communities of Southeast Asia have long been regarded as among the more moderate of the Islamic world. The world’s largest Muslim nation, Indonesia sits alongside the smaller but dynamic Muslim communities of Malaysia and Brunei, as well as the sizeable Muslim minorities in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Together these nations are home to around 250 million Muslims.
     The region has been largely spared from the tormented conflicts of the Arab world. But the temperature is rising in Muslim Southeast Asia, with increasingly bitter debates and, at times, violent conflicts between competing factions of Muslims. One of the key bones of contention relates to an increasing push for the implementation of aspects of Sharia law.
Brunei 
    On May 1, 2014, the Sultan of Brunei enacted Sharia legal codes in his kingdom, one of the wealthiest countries in the world with its vast oil reserves. This step was taken in spite of vocal opposition from both Muslim and non-Muslim sources, with religious minorities, including Christians, expressing particular concerns about the direction that the Sultanate was taking. The implementation of these codes has been slow and is planned to follow several stages, with the enacting of the harsh criminal codes being the final stage.
Aceh
     In neighbouring Indonesia, the province of Aceh has been leading the way in the push for Sharia legal codes throughout the nation. Sharia law has been gradually introduced into the province for over a decade, but it has taken an increasingly strict form recently, with the enacting of the criminal codes in mid-2014. This development took a particularly ugly turn in April when a Christian woman aged 60 was publicly caned under Sharia punishment for having sold alcohol. Some activist groups push for the implementation of Sharia law in other parts of Indonesia but so far Aceh is the only province to have taken that step. There is vigorous opposition to the spread of Sharia from both liberal Muslim and non-Muslim groups. A key opponent is the 50 million strong Muslim traditionalist organisation, the Nahdatul Ulama, which issued a declaration in May spelling out its opposition to the narrow brand of Islam promoted by the proponents of Sharia. This intra-Muslim debate will certainly heat up in years to come.
Malaysia
     Meanwhile, the neighbouring state of Malaysia has in some ways been a pioneer in the region for promoting Sharia law. The Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), which has been the principal party in opposition since Malaysian independence in 1963, has used its control of certain states to introduce elements of Sharia law, though never being able to achieve the same goal at national level because of its inability to win national elections.
     In 1993, PAS introduced Sharia legislation in the Malaysian state of Kelantan where it was in power. This led to a range of measures, including limiting the sale of pork and alcohol, the separation of men and women in supermarket checkouts, the enforcement of conservative dress regulations, and a range of other measures designed to regulate society according to the dictates of Sharia law. However, PAS was never able to introduce the harsh punishment codes that are associated with sharia law in Kelantan because this fell into the jurisdiction of the national government, which promoted Islamic values but stood against a literal implementation of the Islamic legal codes.
Shari'a courts
     However, a great degree of concern has been expressed recently with the introduction to Federal Parliament in May of the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment) Bill, which will be voted on in October. This Bill was presented by Abdul Hadi Awang, who is both a member of Federal Parliament and also national President of PAS. This represents another stage in the process of creeping Sharia that is affecting the entire Southeast Asian region.
     There will be strong opposition to this Bill from both Muslim and non-Muslim groups, because of fear that it will lead to an ever wider application of Sharia law throughout the nation.         Malaysian Bar President Steven Thiru said the proposed bill would confer the power to apply the very harsh Islamic  punishments  (except death) on the large number of Sharia courts spread across the country. Prominent Christian scholar and activist Ng Kam Weng declared that “if passed, the Bill will place the Federal Constitution on a slippery slide leading to a Shariah-dominated Constitution.”
End game
     The end game is not clear regarding the spread of Sharia law in the countries of Southeast Asia. But what is clear is that pro-Sharia groups will continue to advocate for an ever wider application of Sharia law and this will be achieved to a certain degree, in the face of strong opposition from moderate Muslim groups, supported by non-Muslim communities. This represents another piece in the mosaic of intra-Islamic tension and conflict across the Muslim world.

This article first appeared here.

Popular posts from this blog

Australia: Conversations about Islamophobia

-
In Australia, conversations about Islamophobia are expanding as the Muslim minority community grows. As in the UK, the term “Islamophobia” is often used as a device to silence critics of Islam. In the following interview, I was asked a series of questions about Islamophobia by a university student newspaper that is researching the topic for the interest of its readers. 1. What is Islamophobia? Islamophobia is usually understood to refer to a fear of Islam and Muslims that is irrational. 2. Where and when did it originate? The term “Islamophobia” has its origins in a report entitled “Islamophobia: A Challenge for us all”, that was produced by the Runnymede Trust and published in the UK in late 1997. The report was commissioned by the British government and was officially launched in the British Parliament. As for the origins of Islamophobia itself, rather than simply the origins of the term, such fear of Islam dates back many centuries, probably originally to the years fol...
Read more

The Marrakesh Declaration avoids hard questions

-
The Marrakesh Declaration , ignored by the mainstream media, has been acclaimed as a new dawn by some commentators: as promising an era of tolerance and pluralistic harmony in the Muslim-majority regions, where religious minorities have suffered so much for so long. With so much bad news coming from the Muslim world, new voices of hope are bound to receive a warm welcome. Between 25–27 January, around 300 dignitaries gathered in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh under the auspices of King Mohammed VI of Morocco. This event represented the culmination of four years of planning, led by Sheikh Abdallah Bin Bayyah of Abu Dhabi, President of the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies. The conference title was ‘The Rights of Religious Minorities in Predominantly Muslim Majority Communities: Legal Framework and a Call to Action’. As the name suggests, its specific goal was to address the discrimination and persecution experienced by religious minorities living under Islamic major...
Read more

Too Happy Together

-
The Australian city of Melbourne and its new Convention Centre played host last December to the Parliament of the World’s Religions (PWR), arguably the world’s pre-eminent interfaith event. The PWR was birthed in Chicago in 1893 but remained in a state of limbo for a century until being revived in 1993, with subsequent meetings held in 1999, 2004, and, most recently, December 3–9, 2009. The full text of this article was published in "Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity" 23/2 (March/April 2010), pp47-48
Read more