1. The Star Online (http://thestar.com.my)
Proposal to prosecute non-Muslims for khalwat, 3 April 2008
by IZATUN SHARI
KUALA LUMPUR: A seminar on Syariah Law review wants non-Muslims found committing khalwat (close proximity) with Muslims to also be held liable.
This was among the proposals made at the two-day seminar organised by the Islamic Institute of Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) and the Syariah Judiciary Department Malaysia.Syariah Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Mohd Asri Abdullah said the seminar had proposed that non-Muslims committing khalwat with Muslims should also be sentenced accordingly, but in the civil courts.
“We don’t have the jurisdiction to sentence non-Muslims committing khalwat with Muslims,” he told reporters after closing the seminar on behalf of department director-general Datuk Ibrahim Lembut at Ikim here today.
“The Muslims can be sentenced in Syariah courts, and the non-Muslim partners can probably be sentenced in the civil courts, to be fair to both parties.”
He said the proposal, contained in a draft resolution at the seminar, would be forwarded to the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
“It is up to the Attorney-General’s Chambers or the relevant authorities to decide how to create such a law,” he said. However, he declined to elaborate when the proposal would be forwarded to the Government.
Another proposal is to impose heftier penalties – of up to four times the current penalties – on Muslims caught for khalwat, prostitution, consuming alcohol and involvement in gambling activities.Mohd Asri said Ikim and the department were proposing that the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Amendment) 1984 be amended to impose stiffer penalties of RM1,000 fine, or five years’ jail or 12 strokes of the rotan for Syariah Lower Courts and RM20,000 fine, or 10 years’ jail or 24 strokes of rotan for Syariah High Courts.
Current limits are a maximum of three years’ jail, or RM5,000 fine, or up to six lashes or any combination of these, and different states provide different penalties for these offences.
“This has not been reviewed since 1984. It has been more than 20 years,” said Mohd Asri.
There was also a proposal for Syariah judges to enforce whipping for these offences.
Another proposal calls for the establishment of a rehabilitation centre for those convicted of offences related to morals and faith such as prostitution and effeminate men, and enforcement of Section 54 of the Syariah Criminal Offences Act (Act 559) to set up such centres.
The seminar also agreed to a suggestion that a new provision be created for apostates.
2. WWRN (WorldWide Religious News) (http://wwrn.org)
(1) "Report: Non-Muslims Deserve to Be Punished"
("Fox News", 2 April 2008)
London, UK - A report posted on Islam Watch, a site run by Muslims who oppose intolerant teachings and hatred for unbelievers, exposes a prominent Islamic cleric and lawyer who support extreme punishment for non-Muslims — including killing and rape.
A question-and-answer session with Imam Abdul Makin in an East London mosque asks why Allah would tell Muslims to kill and rape innocent non-Muslims, including their wives and daughters, according to Islam Watch.
"Because non-Muslims are never innocent, they are guilty of denying Allah and his prophet," the Imam says, according to the report. "If you don't believe me, here is the legal authority, the top Muslim lawyer of Britain."
The lawyer, Anjem Choudary, backs up the Imam's position, saying that all Muslims are innocent.
"You are innocent if you are a Muslim," Choudary tells the BBC. "Then you are innocent in the eyes of God. If you are not a Muslim, then you are guilty of not believing in God."
Choudary said he would not condemn a Muslim for any action.
"As a Muslim, I must support my Muslim brothers and sisters," Choudary said. "I must have hatred to everything that is not Muslim."
Disclaimer: WWRN does not endorse or adhere to views or opinions expressed in the articles posted. This is purely an information site, to inform interested parties of religious trends.
(2) "Egypt Seizes German Magazine Over Islam Portrayal"
(Reuters, 1 April 2008)
Cairo, Egypt - Egypt ordered the confiscation of a special edition of the German magazine Der Spiegel about Islam on Tuesday that the government says insults the Muslim Prophet Mohammad, Egypt's state news agency MENA said.
Information Minister Anas el-Feki said the decision "comes in the context of defending Islamic values and standing firmly against those who try to insult the prophet, the Islamic faith, and religions generally," MENA reported.
"We are for freedom of the press, but we cannot permit religions to be insulted," MENA quoted Feki as saying.
It said that Feki had ordered copies of the March 25 special edition confiscated because it contained "a number of images and phrases insulting the prophet, peace be upon him."
MENA said that the edition, whose cover it said bore the headline "Allah in the West," included paragraphs quoting a "German orientalist" as saying that Islam called for violence and terrorism.
MENA said that the magazine had also characterized Islam as a Christian sect.
No one at Der Spiegel was immediately available to comment.
Egypt, the most populous Arab country, is sensitive to any perceived insults to Islam that could sow popular discontent in its conservative society. Cairo is also home to the al-Azhar mosque, a major seat of Sunni Islamic learning.
Egypt summoned the Danish ambassador to Cairo in February to protest against the reprinting of cartoons lampooning the Prophet Mohammad in Danish newspapers, and banned issues of four Western newspapers because they contained the reprints.
Protests and riots erupted in many Muslim countries in 2006 when the cartoons, one showing the Prophet wearing a turban resembling a bomb, first appeared in a Danish daily. At least 50 people were killed and three Danish embassies attacked in a number of Muslim countries.
Disclaimer: WWRN does not endorse or adhere to views or opinions expressed in the articles posted. This is purely an information site, to inform interested parties of religious trends.
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