I REFER to the letter by Sisters in Islam titled “Racial Supremacy of any kind is not Islamic” in The Malaysian Insight.

As Muslims, it is worth reminding Sisters In Islam that we should abide by the teachings of Islam wholeheartedly and we should not use Islam simply to justify man-made conventions with components detrimental to Islam. 

Allah SWT commanded in the Quran:

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ

“O you, who have believed, enter into Islam completely [and perfectly] and do not follow the footsteps of Satan. Indeed, he is to you a clear enemy.” (Al-Baqarah:208)

There have been many instances where SIS had rejected the rulings of the Quran, to the point that they’ve been declared by the Selangor Fatwa Committee as “deviant”. 

The time SIS claimed that wearing the hijab for women was not compulsory some two or three Ramadans ago remains fresh in our minds; it was a rejection of sahih hadith and disputed a ruling agreed upon by scholars. The same goes for the issues of polygamy, faraid etc. 

SIS should not cherry pick Quranic verses to support the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in a very literal interpretation devoid of its real context in Malaysia. 

ICERD has been shown to have legal, constitutional and historical impacts that are detrimental to the position of Islam in our context. ICERD supporters should stop debating it in a philosophical way, when data and records are in abundance.

In fact, without ICERD, our Constitution safeguards all races, and we have vernacular schools, temples and churches supported by government funding. This is much better than everywhere else; you can’t even find this in neighbouring countries that have ratified ICERD. Singapore abolished vernacular schools in 1987 and made English the main language of instruction. Malaysia, as a non-signatory of ICERD, continues to allow vernacular schools to safeguard those in fear of losing their cultural identities. 

So, SIS should stop implying that Muslims’ rejection of ICERD reeks of racial supremacy, when we have a track record that we are not so.

The many countries that have ratified ICERD may boost the UN’s image, but if you looked at their real situation, we may have a good laugh. Take China and Israel for example. We all know their performances. 

What is the use of ICERD when our Constitution and Islam have stronger messages in denouncing violence and discrimination?

So SIS, please stop sugar-coating ICERD with verses of the Quran and start practicing Islam as a whole. 

* International Women’s Alliance for Family Institutions and Quality Education president Associate Professor Dr Rafidah Hanim Mokhtar reads The Malaysian Insight. 

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.