Blasphemy law in Malaysia

Last updated

Malaysia curbs blasphemy and any insult to religion or to the religious by rigorous control of what people in that country can say or do. Government-funded schools teach young Muslims the principles of Sunni Islam, and instruct young non-Muslims on morals. The government informs the citizenry on proper behavior and attitudes, and ensures that Muslim civil servants take courses in Sunni Islam. The government ensures that the broadcasting and publishing media do not create disharmony or disobedience. If someone blasphemes or otherwise engages in deviant behavior, Malaysia punishes such transgression with Sharia or through legislation such as the Penal Code.

Contents

Penal Code

Articles 295-298A of the Malaysian Penal Code provide penalties for those who commit offenses against religion. The penalties range from [ clarification needed ] up to three years in prison or a fine of up to US$1,000 (approximately). [1] Prosecutions for blasphemy usually target those who offend Islam, but an insult to any religion can give rise to prosecution. [1] [2]

The judicial system

The Malaysian Federation's judicial system is based upon English law. [3] The system has two types of courts. Secular courts deal with civil and criminal law. Sharia courts deal with matters that involve Islamic law: marriage, inheritance, apostasy, religious conversion, and custody among others. [1] [4] Malaysia's judicial system has a Federal Court, a Court of Appeal, High Courts (secular and Sharia in some states), Sessions Courts, Magistrate's Courts, and Juvenile Courts. The Federal Court reviews decisions referred from the Court of Appeal, and the Federal Court has original jurisdiction in constitutional matters and in disputes between states or between the federal government and a state. [3]

In May 2007, the Federal Court ruled that Muslims are not entitled to freedom of worship, even though such freedom is guaranteed by Malaysia's Constitution. By a two-to-one decision, the Court held that the secular courts have no jurisdiction over any Islamic matter even if non-Muslims are involved. [5] In July 2007, the Federal Court ruled that a Sharia court has jurisdiction over any matter that involves non-Muslims only if a state legislature gives the Sharia court such jurisdiction. [6] The Federal Court's decisions have for context the Constitution's Article 121(A), which states that any issue which falls under the jurisdiction of a Sharia court cannot be overruled by a secular high court. [7] The Court's decisions have also for context the Constitution's Article 3, which states that Islam is the religion of the Federation. [4]

The Government maintains an official list of fifty-six sects of Islam which the government considers "deviant" and a threat to national security. Muslims who deviate from accepted Sunni principles may be detained and subjected to mandatory "rehabilitation" in centers that teach and enforce government-approved Islamic practices. Muslims generally may not convert to another religion, although members of other religions may convert to Islam. [4] [8]

Malaysia requires every citizen (from age twelve) to be issued with a national identity card, the MyKad. This card has a microchip which contains, among other information, the name of the cardholder’s religion. All Malays (an ethnic group comprising more than fifty percent of the population)—of whatever religion—have cards with the word "ISLAM" on the card's face. [4] [7] The identity cards enable "religious police" to identify Muslims who are violating Islamic precepts. [4]

Education

Government-sponsored schools require Muslim children to receive Islamic religious instruction. The schools require non-Muslim children to take morals or ethics courses. [4] Student assemblies frequently commence with recitation of a Muslim prayer. [4] The Government requires all Muslim civil servants to attend government-approved religion classes. [4]

The media

The government strictly controls what is broadcast and published. [9] The Printing Press and Publications Act 1984 prohibits the publication of articles or pictures that could disturb public security, harmony, or morality. The printing, sale, distribution, or possession of any banned book is punishable by up to three years imprisonment and/or a fine of 20,000 ringgits. [10] In 2008, the government banned sixty-two books that touched upon religion. In 2008, customs authorities seized six titles of Christian children's books because the books contain words that—according to Islamic authorities—belong to Islam. The Publications and Al-Quran Texts Control Department contended that "Allah" (God), "Baitullah" (House of God), and "Solat" (prayer) are lawfully used by Muslims only. [4]

Selected cases

In August 2009, a state court sentenced a Muslim woman to six strokes of the cane and a RM 5,000 ($1,400) fine after she was caught drinking beer in a hotel in the Malaysian state of Pahang. [11]

In March 2009, Malaysian religious authorities threatened to sue the Malaysian Bar, which represents 12,000 of the country’s lawyers, for using the word “Allah” on the Bar's website. [12]

In November 2008, the Malaysian National Fatwa Council told Muslims to refrain from doing yoga because is it blasphemous. The condemnation of yoga followed upon the Council's condemnation of females who wear trousers. The Council said that girls who wear trousers are at risk of becoming sexually-active tomboys. [13]

In 2008, religious authorities were seeking Ayah Pin, the leader of a banned, nonviolent religious group known as the Sky Kingdom, and one of his four wives for supporting "deviant" religious practices. On 3 March 2008, a Sharia Court sentenced Kamariah Ali, 57, who converted from Islam to the banned group, to two years imprisonment for apostasy. [4]

On February 12, 2008, the Internal Security Ministry issued a directive to the Catholic Church to stop using the word "Allah" in its weekly publication, The Herald . [4] On 16 February 2009, the Ministry revised its directive to permit the word "Allah" in Christian publications if each publication bore a notice which indicated the publication was not for Muslims. [14] [15]

In January 2008, officials from the Ministry of Internal Security seized Christian children's books from several bookshops. The books contained drawings representing Moses and Noah. The officials deemed the drawings "caricatures of prophets," and said the drawings were offensive to Muslim sensibilities. The Malaysian Council of Churches accused ministry officials of overstepping their authority by confiscating literature that was not meant for Muslims. The Ministry returned the books. [4]

In August 2007, the government of Malaysia suspended for one month the operations of a daily Makkal Osai (in the Tamil language) for violating the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984. On 21  August 2007, the daily had published a caricature of Jesus Christ clutching a cigarette and a can of beer. [2]

On 23 January 2006, the National Fatwa Council, Malaysia's highest Islamic authority, banned Muslims from taking part in the activities associated with Black Metal music. Datuk Mustafa Abdul Rahman, the director-general of the Islamic Development Department, told a press conference on 27 January 2006, that Black Metal often led its followers to worship Satan, rebel, kill, and incite hatred. Nevertheless, the government favored counseling rather than a ban upon the musical genre. [16]

On or about 23 May 2002, a French missionary was arrested on blasphemy charges after distributing a pamphlet about Quranic plagiary. Though he could have been sentenced to two to five years in jail for "acting in a manner which could lead to disharmony between Christians and Muslims," a judge ordered that he be deported. [10]

In 2000, the Sharia High Court in the state of Kelantan sentenced four persons to three years in prison for disregarding a lower court's order to recant their deviant beliefs and "return to the true teachings of Islam." The High Court rejected the argument that Sharia has no jurisdiction over people who have ceased to be Muslims. In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal ruled (in August 2002) that only the Sharia court has jurisdiction to determine whether a person has ceased to be a Muslim. [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

Sharia Islamic law

Sharia is a body of religious law that forms part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the Hadith. In Arabic, the term sharīʿah refers to God's immutable divine law and is contrasted with fiqh, which refers to its human scholarly interpretations. The manner of its application in modern times has been a subject of dispute between Muslim fundamentalists and modernists.

Officially Freedom of religion is enshrined in the Malaysian Constitution. First, Article 11 provides that every person has the right to profess and to practice his or her religion and to propagate it. Second, the Constitution also provides that Islam is the religion of the country but other religions may be practised in peace and harmony.

Freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an Islamic absolute monarchy in which Sunni Islam is the official state religion based on firm Sharia law. Non-Muslims must practice their religion in private and are vulnerable to discrimination and deportation. While no law requires all citizens to be Muslim, non-Muslim foreigners attempting to acquire Saudi Arabian nationality must convert to Islam. Children born to Muslim fathers are by law deemed Muslim, and conversion from Islam to another religion is considered apostasy and punishable by death. Blasphemy against Sunni Islam is also punishable by death, but the more common penalty is a long prison sentence. According to the U.S. Department of State's 2013 Report on International Religious Freedom, there have been 'no confirmed reports of executions for either apostasy or blasphemy' between 1913 and 2013.

Islam in Malaysia Overview of the role of Islam in Malaysia

Islam in Malaysia is represented by the Shafi‘i version of Sunni theology and jurisprudence, while defining Malaysia constitutionally a secular state. Islam was introduced by traders arriving from Arabia, China and the Indian subcontinent. It became firmly established in the 15th century. In the Constitution of Malaysia, Islam is granted as the "religion of the Federation" to symbolize its importance to Malaysian society. However, other religions can be practiced freely. Close to 7% adhere to smaller branches.

Christianity in Malaysia

Christianity is a minority religion in Malaysia. In the 2010–2012 census, 2.951 million people identified themselves as Christians. About two-thirds of Malaysia's Christian population lives in East Malaysia, particularly in the states of Sabah and Sarawak; these two states contain about 45% of the country's Christian population. The major Christian denominations in Malaysia include Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Baptists, Brethren, non-denominational churches, independent Charismatic churches, Lutherans, Methodists, and Presbyterians.

Apostasy in Islam is commonly defined as the abandonment of Islam by a Muslim, in thought, word, or through deed. An apostate from Islam is a "murtad". It includes not only explicit renunciations of the Islamic faith by converting to another religion or abandoning religion altogether, but also blasphemy or heresy, through any action or utterance which implies unbelief, including those who deny a "fundamental tenet or creed" of Islam.

Human rights in Malaysia Status of rights in Malaysia

The protection of basic human rights is enshrined in Constitution of Malaysia. These include liberty of the person and prohibition of slavery and forced labour. At the national level, legislative measures that exist to prevent human rights violations and abuses can be found in acts and laws on issues that either have a human rights component or relate to certain groups of society whose rights may be at risk of being violated. Human rights groups are generally critical of the Malaysian government and the Royal Malaysia Police. Preventive detention laws such as the Internal Security Act and the Emergency Ordinance 1969 allow for detention without trial or charge and as such are a source of concern for human rights organizations like Suara Rakyat Malaysia.

Islam and blasphemy Overview of Islamic views on blasphemy

Blasphemy in Islam is impious utterance or action concerning God, but is broader than in normal English usage, including not only the mocking or vilifying of attributes of Islam but denying any of the fundamental beliefs of the religion. Examples include denying that the Quran was divinely revealed, the prophethood of one of the Islamic prophets, insulting an angel, or maintaining God had a son.

Lina Joy is a Malay convert from Islam to Christianity. Born Azlina Jailani on 28 July 1964 in Malaysia to Muslim parents of Javanese descent, she converted at age 26. The Lina Joy case sparkled a debate about apostasy in Malaysia, and her failed legal attempt to not have her religion listed as "Islam" on her identity card is considered a landmark case in Malaysia.

Religion in Malaysia Religion in the country

Malaysia is a multicultural and multiconfessional country, whose official religion is Islam. As of the 2020 Population and Housing Census, 63.5 percent of the population practices Islam; 18.7 percent Buddhism; 9.1 percent Christianity; 6.1 percent Hinduism; and 2.7 percent other religion or no information. The remainder is accounted for by other faiths, including Animism, Folk religion, Sikhism, Baháʼí Faith and other belief systems. Numbers of self-described atheists in Malaysia are few; the state has come under criticism from human rights organisations for the government's discrimination against atheists, with some cabinet members saying that "the freedom of religion is not the freedom from religion".

The law of Malaysia is mainly based on the common law legal system. This was a direct result of the colonisation of Malaya, Sarawak, and North Borneo by Britain between the early 19th century to the 1960s. The supreme law of the land—the Constitution of Malaysia—sets out the legal framework and rights of Malaysian citizens.

Religion in the Gambia

The Gambia is a Muslim majority country, with Muslims constituting 96.4% of the population, some 3.5% are Christian, and 0.1% practice other religions.

Blasphemy law in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia's laws are an amalgam of rules from Sharia, royal decrees, royal ordinances, other royal codes and bylaws, fatwas from the Council of Senior Scholars and custom and practice.

Afghanistan uses Sharia as its justification for punishing blasphemy. The punishments are among the harshest in the world. Afghanistan uses its law against blasphemy to persecute religious minorities, apostasy, dissenters, academics, and journalists.

The Federal Republic of Nigeria operates two court systems. Both systems can punish blasphemy. The Constitution provides a customary (secular) system and a system that incorporates Sharia. The customary system prohibits blasphemy by section 204 of Nigeria's Criminal Code.

The People's Republic of Bangladesh went from being a secular state in 1971 to having Islam as the state religion in 1988. Despite its state religion, Bangladesh uses a secular penal code which dates from 1860—the time of the British occupation. The penal code discourages blasphemy by a section that forbids "hurting religious sentiments." Other laws permit the government to confiscate and to ban the publication of blasphemous material. Government officials, police, soldiers, and security forces may have discouraged blasphemy by extrajudicial actions including torture. Schools run by the government have Religious Studies in the curriculum.

Titular Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur v. Menteri Dalam Negeri is a court decision by the High Court of Malaya holding that Christians do not have the constitutional right to use the word "Allah" in church newspapers. An appeals court overturned a previous ruling which granted that right. This verdict on appeal was later upheld by the Federal Court of Malaysia.

Since the early Islamic states of the eighth and ninth centuries, Sharia always existed alongside other normative systems.

Capital punishment for non-violent offenses is allowed by law in some countries. Such offenses include adultery, apostasy, blasphemy, corruption, drug trafficking, espionage, fraud, homosexuality and sodomy, perjury, prostitution, sorcery and witchcraft, theft, and treason.

Apostasy in Islam by country Global overview

The situation for apostates from Islam varies markedly between Muslim-minority and Muslim-majority regions. In Muslim-minority countries "any violence against those who abandon Islam is already illegal". But in some Muslim-majority countries, religious violence is "institutionalised", and "hundreds and thousands of closet apostates" live in fear of violence and are compelled to live lives of "extreme duplicity and mental stress."

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Government measures limit spread of anger in Malaysia". UCLA International Institute. 18 May 2006. Archived from the original on 12 July 2010. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  2. 1 2 "Malaysia Suspends Daily Over Jesus Pic". IslamOnline.net. 24 August 2007. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Background Note: Malaysia". U.S. State Department. July 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Malaysia". International Religious Freedom Report 2008. U.S. State Department. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  5. ↑ "No Freedom of Worship for Malay Muslims". InfoSud & Human Rights Tribune. 1 June 2007. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  6. ↑ "No Shari`ah Court for Malaysia Non-Muslims". IslamOnline.net. 26 July 2007. Archived from the original on 20 November 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  7. 1 2 "Malaysia: Muslim Laws And Corrupt Politicians". Anak Malaysia. 11 July 2006. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  8. ↑ "Malaysia - State Imposed Religious Designations - Lina Joy". The Becket Fund. 30 May 2007. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  9. ↑ "Malaysia - 2003 Annual report". Reporters Without Borders. 2 May 2003. Archived from the original on 9 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  10. 1 2 "Asia: Malaysia". persecution.org. May 2003. Archived from the original on 7 April 2004. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  11. ↑ "Malaysia: first woman caned under Sharia law". InfoSud & Human Rights Tribune. 24 August 2009. Archived from the original on 29 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  12. ↑ "Malaysia: Legal Body Faces Lawsuit for Using Word 'Allah'". The Becket Fund. 23 March 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  13. ↑ "Malaysia: Muslims warned to avoid blasphemous yoga". Welt Online. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  14. ↑ "Malaysia: Christians To Be Allowed to Use word "Allah"". The Becket Fund. 26 February 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  15. ↑ "'Allah' cannot be used by non-Muslims: Malaysia". expressindia.com. 5 March 2009. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  16. ↑ "Malaysia Favors Counseling Black Metal Followers". IslamOnline.net. 28 January 2006. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  17. ↑ "Malaysia: International Religious Freedom Report 2003". U.S. State Department. Retrieved 31 August 2009.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.