July 26, 2012
To Overzealous JAWI: Be Sensible as well as Drop Your Case opposite Nik Raina
by Azrul Mohd Kalib@www.themalaysianinsider.com
Here we go again. The holy month of Ramadan has usually started as well as instead of taking advantage of this event to concentration upon how to be improved Muslims by we do great deeds for oneself as well as for others, we have been already carrying to grapple with overzealous eremite officials who have been some-more focused upon bringing down, shaming as well as persecuting alternative Muslims by a enforcement of what they have determined to be a Islamic approach of reason up in this country.
The headlines which a Federal Territories Islamic Department (JAWI) was successful in a duplicate to move forward a box opposite Berjaya Books staff Nik Raina Nik Aziz over a distribution as well as sale of Irshad Manji's argumentative book "Allah, Liberty as well as Love" was disappointing to contend a least. The case, which was initially scheduled to be mentioned in a 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, soul as well as spirit, in await of this brave immature lady whose box is becoming nonetheless an additional example of a injustice, lack of fairness as well as restraint which exists in a implementation of syariah law in a country.
For those catching up, here have been a contribution of a case:
She was charged in a Kuala Lumpur Syariah High Court for distributing as well as offered a book upon May 23 underneath a Federal Territories Syariah Criminal Offences Act of 1997, which carries a RM3,000 fine or a limit two years' jail or both.
The Home Ministry usual! ly gazet ted a anathema upon a book as well as a translated version "Allah, Kebebasan dan Cinta" upon May 29. The bulletin was usually published as well as publicly available upon Jun 14.
A person has been charged in justice for a alleged offence of distributing as well as offered a book
which, during a time of a supposed offence, was not nonetheless officially banned, as well as was not identified or voiced to Berjaya Books to be banned. Oh, by a way, book banning is additionally underneath a purview of a Home Affairs Ministry not JAWI. Yet, JAWI, for a little reason usually known to it, is hell bent upon going after this immature woman.
If we cannot assimilate why JAWI is going forward with this case, conjunction can I. It usually doesn't make any sense.(I still do not assimilate why a book was criminialized in a initial place. Nobody has been means to explain it to me. Must be a single of those books, which tengok aja, terus jadi lesbian.)
There is a saying: "There is zero some-more frightful than stupidity in action." From multiform reports, based upon their own admission, they had not examination a book as well as had no idea as to a contents. What they were certain of was a author's await for lesbian, gay, bisexual as well as transsexual issues.
So they insincere which whoever published, distributed as well as sole a book contingency be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual themselves. "Are we a lesbian?" Yes, this was a single of a questions demanded to be answered by those who were interrogated by a JAWI goon squad. Not usually was this outrageous, humiliating as well as stupid, it was additionally a form of discrimination as well as institutional persecution.
The staff who was interrogated by JAWI was additionally denied entrance to authorised counsel, a right! upon tr ial underneath a Federal Constitution. 
Examples similar to this move contrition upon how Islam is practised in this nation especially when we keep harping upon a moderation of eremite practice. It demonstrates a disaster of a Islamic eremite authorities to assimilate which they too need to reside by a law.
JAWI's duplicate to a Syariah High Court to move forward their box with a excuse which it needs to answer to bloggers as well as a media would have been diverting (they never cared a hoot about bloggers as well as a media before) if it hadn't been successful.
It is right away becoming clear which it appears which JAWI is confusing to circumvent a hearing of a stay duplicate filed by Berjaya Books which a polite High Court has fixed for July thirty as well as a legal examination hearing for Sep 5.
This box as well as a conduct of a eremite bodies move in to subject either JAWI, or a Kuala Lumpur Syariah Court for which matter, respects a polite courts or a separation of jurisdictions. In box any one needs to brush up upon their Federal Constitution, a syariah justice is subordinate to a polite court.
We contingency subject as well as reason a eremite bodies as well as authorities to a same customary which we would similar to to reason a polite institutions. The audacity which JAWI has demonstrated implies which a mindset continues to persist amongst a eremite authorities which they do not mangle a law since they have been a law. That they have been not under obligation to any one as well as have been a law unto themselves.
JAWI's persistence as well as audacity in wanting to find someone to go after in a box of this book is confusing to onlookers, as well as dismaying to us Muslims Even some-more so when it was clearly clear which JAWI was actually looking for a Malay Muslim to persecute.
Businesses in this nation have been watching this box very closely. Make no mistake; this box has
tremendous implications to a opposite industries which occupy Muslim employees. This was not even a shop offered eremite prohibited (e.g. deviant books, pictures of haloed whiskered personalities, prayer beads, teapots) or offered substances which have been criminialized or haram to Muslims (e.g. cigarettes, alcohol). This is a bookshop.
If a bookshop can have a staff as well as a commercial operation tyrannized by eremite officials for presumably offered a criminialized book, how about alternative businesses? Whether we have been working in an airplane as a moody attendant, behind a counter during 7-Eleven, blending drinks during a restaurant, during a front desk of a hotel, or upon a production line of a factory, have been we all during risk of persecution simply since we have been Muslims? Are we sending a message to businesses which Muslim employees have been a liability?
In a Berjaya Books case, a eremite authorities couldn't go after a commercial operation (owned by non-Muslims) so they went after a subsequent best thing, a physical education instructor of a bookshop opening who is a Muslim when they raided it. Whether we would similar to to confess it or not, such capricious actions, as demonstrated by this case, will result in depriving Muslims of a event to work as well as be employed.
There is a stability naivet amongst a Muslim race in a nation which since these have been a eremite authorities, what they do contingency be right as well as just. That they can't do anything wrong. That is not always true. Injustice exists in many shapes as well as form. This Nik Raina box is a single of them.
This is partial of an on-going review ab! out how Islam is viewed to be practised in Malaysia, how we would wish ourselves to be viewed as Muslims, as well as how Islam as a approach of reason up should be about fairness, justice, care as well as humanity. Islam is not a truncheon to shillelagh others in to submission.
Such capricious duplicate of syariah laws not usually creates a mockery of a laws themselves though additionally reduces a credibility of a eremite bodies. JAWI, we give Islam as well as Muslims a bad name when we behave in such a manner.
We have a avocation as Muslims as well as as stakeholders of this nation to mount up as well as put a stop to this nonsense. What does this contend about us as Malaysians as well as Muslims if we concede such injustices to continue?
* The views expressed here have been a personal perspective of a columnist.
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