July 26, 2012
Overzealous JAWI: Drop your box against Nik Raina
by Azrul Mohd Kalib@www.themalaysianinsider.com
Here we go again. The holy month of Ramadan has usually proposed as good as instead of taking advantage of this event to concentration upon how to be better Muslims by doing good deeds for oneself as good as for others, we have been already having to fastener with overzealous eremite officials who have been some-more focused upon bringing down, degrading as good as persecuting other Muslims through the coercion of what they have dynamic to be the Islamic approach of reason up in this country.
The news which the Federal Territories Islamic Department (JAWI) was successful in the duplicate to bring brazen the box against Berjaya Books staff Nik Raina Nik Aziz over the placement as good as sale of Irshad Manji's argumentative book "Allah, Liberty as good as Love" was disappointing to say the least. The case, which was primarily scheduled to be referred to in the Syariah High Court upon Sep 19, will right away be upon August 7.
There will be many of us who will be there, in body, essence as good as spirit, in support of this brave woman whose box is apropos nonetheless another e.g. of the injustice, miss of fairness as good as tyranny which exists in the doing of syariah law in this country.
For those catching up, here have been the contribution of the case:
She was charged in the Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court for distributing as good as offered the book upon May 23 under the Federal Territories Syariah Criminal Offences Act of 1997, which carries the RM3,000 fine or the limit dual years' prison or both.
The Home Ministry usually gazetted the ban upon the book as good as the translated versio! n "Allah , Kebebasan dan Cinta" upon May 29. The bulletin was usually published as good as publicly accessible upon June 14.
A chairman has been charged in probity for the purported offence of distributing as good as offered the book
which, during the time of the so-called offence, was not nonetheless officially banned, as good as was not identified or announced to Berjaya Books to be banned. Oh, by the way, book banning is additionally under the purview of the Home Ministry not JAWI. Yet, JAWI, for some reason usually well known to it, is ruin bent upon starting after this young woman.
If we cannot assimilate since JAWI is starting forward with this case, neither can I. It usually doesn't make any sense.(I still do not assimilate since the book was criminialized in the first place. Nobody has been means to explain it to me. Must be the single of those books, which tengok aja, terus jadi lesbian.)
There is the saying: "There is zero some-more horrifying than ignorance in action." From multiform reports, formed upon their own admission, they had not read the book as good as had no idea as to the contents. What they were sure of was the author's support for lesbian, gay, bisexual as good as transsexual issues.
So they assumed which whoever published, distributed as good as sold the book contingency be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual themselves. "Are we the lesbian?" Yes, this was the single of the questions demanded to be answered by those who were interrogated by the JAWI goon squad. Not usually was this outrageous, humiliating as good as stupid, it was additionally the form of taste as good as institutional persecution.
The staff who was interrogated by JAWI was additionally denied access to legal counsel, the right upon trial under the Federal! Constit ution.
Examples similar to this bring shame upon how Islam is practised in this nation generally when we keep harping upon the mediation of eremite practice. It demonstrates the disaster of the Islamic eremite authorities to assimilate which they as well need to abide by the law.
JAWI's duplicate to the Syariah High Court to bring brazen their box with the excuse which it needs to answer to bloggers as good as the media would have been diverting (they never cared the scream about bloggers as good as the media before) if it hadn't been successful.
It is right away apropos clear which it appears which JAWI is trying to by-pass the conference of the stay duplicate filed by Berjaya Books which the civil High Court has fixed for July 30 as good as the judicial examination conference for Sep 5.
This box as good as the conduct of the eremite bodies bring into subject whether JAWI, or the Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court for which matter, respects the civil courts or the separation of jurisdictions. In box anyone needs to brush up upon their Federal Constitution, the syariah probity is subordinate to the civil court.
We contingency subject as good as reason the eremite bodies as good as authorities to the same standard which we would similar to to reason the civil institutions. The audacity which JAWI has demonstrated implies which the mindset continues to endure amongst the eremite authorities which they do not break the law since they have been the law. That they have been not accountable to anyone as good as have been the law unto themselves.
JAWI's persistence as good as audacity in wanting to find someone to go after in the box of this book is perplexing to onlookers, as good as dismaying to us Muslims Even some-more so when it was obviously clear which JAWI was actually l! ooking f or the Malay Muslim to persecute.
Businesses in this nation have been watching this box really closely. Make no mistake; this box has
extensive implications to the opposite industries which employ Muslim employees. This was not even the emporium offered eremite contraband (e.g. deviant books, pictures of haloed whiskered personalities, request beads, teapots) or offered substances which have been banned or haram to Muslims (e.g. cigarettes, alcohol). This is the bookshop.
If the bookshop can have the staff as good as the commercial operation tyrannised by eremite officials for presumably offered the criminialized book, how about other businesses? Whether we have been working in an transport as the flight attendant, during the back of the counter during 7-Eleven, mixing drinks during the restaurant, during the front table of the hotel, or upon the prolongation line of the factory, have been we all during risk of harm simply since we have been Muslims? Are we promulgation the summary to businesses which Muslim employees have been the liability?
In the Berjaya Books case, the eremite authorities couldn't go after the commercial operation (owned by non-Muslims) so they went after the next best thing, the manager of the bookshop outlet they raided. Whether we would similar to to confess it or not, such capricious actions, as demonstrated by this case, will outcome in depriving Muslims of the event to work as good as be employed.
There is the continuing naivet amongst the Muslim race in the nation which since these have been the eremite authorities, what they do contingency be right as good as just. That they can't do anything wrong. That is not always true. Injustice exists in many shapes as good as form. This box is the single of them.
!This is part of an on-going conversation about how Islam is viewed to be practised in Malaysia, how we would want ourselves to be viewed as Muslims, as good as how Islam as the approach of reason up should be about fairness, justice, compassion as good as humanity. Islam is not the truncheon to shillelagh others into submission.
Such capricious duplicate of syariah laws not usually makes the hoax of the laws themselves though additionally reduces the credibility of the eremite bodies. JAWI, we give Islam as good as Muslims the bad name when we handle in such the manner.
We have the duty as Muslims as good as as stakeholders of this nation to mount up as good as put the stop to this nonsense. What does this say about us as Malaysians as good as Muslims if we allow such injustices to continue?
* The views expressed here have been the personal perspective of the columnist.
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