PAS’ Islamic criminal laws are mediaeval and ill-suited for 21st century Malaysia, said renowned Muslim scholar Prof Mohammad Hashim Kamali.
Hashim, who recently published a study on Islamic law, said PAS blindly lifted from a 12th century code of rules used in the Middle East and imposed them on Muslims in Kelantan and Terengganu.
PAS made no attempt to come up with better ways to sanction Muslims for adultery, gambling and consumption of alcohol, said Hashim, who founded the International Institute for Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS).
In comparison, current punishments for shariah offences in other states not ruled by PAS were more suitable for modern-day Malaysia, said Hashim.
“They (PAS) lifted from a medieval book, the ‘al hakam al sultaniah’,” Hashim told The Malaysian Insight, referring to a book of laws by 11th century Muslim jurist Ali Muhammad Mawardi.
“They used it and translated it without any element of fresh understanding of these punishments for Muslims of today’s generation.”
PAS did not offer a framework for how to implement their punishments, which included amputation for theft and stoning for adultery, Hashim added.
Hashim previously taught Islamic law at the International Islamic University and is named among the top 500 most influential Muslims in the world.
He is an expert on comparative studies between Islamic and modern law. In 1995, the first Dr Mahathir administration commissioned him to write a study on PAS’ hudud and qisas enactment in Kelantan.
In 2002, PAS enacted the same set of laws in Terengganu after it took over the state in the 1999 general election.
PAS has never been able to enforce the enactments as its punishments contradict federal law.
Also, PAS’ hudud includes punishments for offences such as murder and theft which are under the jurisdiction of the federal government.
Although controversial, the Islamist party often touts its hudud and qisas laws as a major achievement and uses them as a political selling point.
The party is now in an alliance with opposition front Barisan Nasional and is campaigning to take over the federal government in next general election.
Hashim offered his assessment of PAS’ laws at the launch of his book, Crime and Punishment in Islamic law, A Fresh Interpretation, which was attended by de facto Islamic affairs minister Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa.
“It is just a mediaeval fiqah (legal) rendition without any further interpretation,” said Hashim of PAS’ laws.
Laws for shariah offences could still be formulated but with punishments that are different from those used in medieval times, he said.
“You can’t say that you won’t punish theft or punish zina. What you can do is fix a different punishment for it. Then you will not violate the shariah.”
Such punishments could include jail sentences or fines, instead of caning and amputation.
“The text must be applied according to the present reality. We are not a medieval society. We are in the 21st century. We must understand it and fix a punishment according to this reality, that is what the shariah demands.” – February 1, 2020.
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Posted 6 years ago by Mat Kilau · Reply
What they care most are 4 wives, marry 9 year old young girl, 72 virgins and 90 million 'donation' from pekan lanun and driving around the poorest state with their brand new kafir made luxury cars.
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