A challenge for traditional Islam in the ‘new Malaysia’

Faisal said many of what traditional Islamists seemed to propagate did not accord with the idea of a more open and democratic country.

(FMT) – Controversial author Faisal Tehrani has urged the Pakatan Harapan government to look at whether traditional Islamists will have a place in the new Malaysia.

Speaking at a forum at Universiti Malaya, Faisal said many of what traditional Islamists seemed to propagate did not accord with the idea of a more open and democratic country.

“They don’t believe in equality in politics, they believe that the ulama know better, they believe that it’s better for men to lead, and that it’s better for Muslims to be ministers,” he said.

He reminded PH that religious minorities had voted for the coalition in hopes that their rights would be protected in the face of a Barisan Nasional government seen to be leaning towards more hardline Islamic ideas.

Faisal said he believed that Malaysia’s treatment of religious minorities in future would be determined by decisions to be made by a special committee being set up to decide on the future direction of Jakim, the Malaysian Islamic Development Department.

“Traditional Islamists believe that laws or fatwa based on religious sources are divine and should therefore not be questioned,” he said.

However, religious commandments should not be turned into law and, if they were, the decision should be based on the consensus of the masses.

In recent years, Malaysian policymakers have been embroiled in controversy over shariah law in relation to civil law and which should take precedence, particularly in family matters involving non-Muslim partners in marriage.

Religious leaders have also called for the shariah courts to be placed on par with civil courts, while PAS politicians have championed for greater criminal powers for shariah courts, including hudud punishments for criminal offences.

Faisal Tehrani is the pen name of Faizal Musa, a fellow at the Institute of the Malay World and Civilisation at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Seven of his books have been banned by the Malaysian government as being a “threat to national security”, with four novels banned for containing elements of Shia Islam, a school of thought labelled as “deviant”. The appeals court overturned the ban in January.