Raja Petra helps to explain Hudud laws

Khairy thought he had put Husam Musa in a spot with Hudud laws at the by-election campaign in Kuala Terengganu.

I must admit, some of my friends, who are well educated, are still blur on this because most of us normally tried not to get involved in this 'sensitive issue' as we have often been told off simply because we are not muslims. So, it is a simple case of being ignorant and left to be brainwashed by BN's propagandist mainstream media. As non-Muslims, since we are afraid of the possible introduction of Hudud laws, the least we can do, is to find out what it is all about before we jump to any conclusion.

I have already selected relevant paragraphs, but still think necessary to highlight further for those with short attention span.

Raja Petra, in his profound wisdom, had explained in his post, 'A fire raging out of control' http://mt.n2day.org/2008/content/view/16894/84/ , how Hudud has been exploited by Barisan Nasional (excerpts):

Let me repeat that. Malaysia already practices the Islamic law of Hudud, but only for Muslims. And we do not call them Hudud laws although in reality they are.

Malaysia has a two-track legal system, with the civil courts operating alongside state-based syariah courts. Muslims are governed by syariah laws in family and personal matters, while ethnic Chinese, Indians and other races come under civil courts.

The campaign to demonise Islamic laws in the hope that PAS will be demonised is not good for the image of Islam. Most non-Muslims already fear Islam. And we can’t blame them for that. What we need is a campaign to explain Islam so that non-Muslims would not have this misconception that Islam is dangerous. But the government is doing the reverse. And then we wonder why Islam is a four-letter word to non-Muslims. Do we really need to wonder?

Barisan Nasional is one of those contributing to the demonising of Islam campaign. On the one hand, Umno, the head honcho of Barisan Nasional, claims to be the largest Islamic party in the world. To demonstrate how Islamic they are they launch the very confusing concept of Islam Hadhari, which many do not really know what it means yet. Then, on the other hand, they demonise Islamic laws in their fervour to demonise PAS.

Drinking liquor is not the only crime under Islam. Eating during the month of Ramadhan, close proximity, extra-marital sex, etc., are also crimes under Islam. But, under Islamic law, all these are considered crimes only for Muslims. Non-Muslims are not subjected to these laws.

Then there are other Syariah laws involving marriage, divorce, living together out of wedlock, conversion, inheritance, failure to attend Friday prayers, zakat, fitrah, apostasy, heresy, etc. There are specific Islamic laws for all these as well and all are implemented in Malaysia. Hudud is just another of the many Syariah laws that Malaysia already practices.

So, as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said, Malaysia is already an Islamic State and already practices Islamic laws. Almost all the Islamic laws are applicable in Malaysia. There is only one Islamic law that is yet to be adopted. And this is the Islamic law of Hudud. And the reason the Islamic law of Hudud has not been adopted is because Malaysia already has common laws to cover these seven crimes under Hudud law. So, since we already have common laws to take care of these seven crimes, the Islamic law of Hudud is not required.

The argument is simple. Islamic laws apply only to Muslims. But the seven crimes under Hudud cannot apply only to Muslims because it is also a crime if perpetuated by non-Muslims. Therefore, the Islamic law of Hudud, which will only apply to Muslims, cannot be adopted. Non-Muslims also need to be punished for these seven crimes. That is why Malaysia needs to use common law and not Hudud law or else the non-Muslims will escape punishment.

Amongst these seven crimes under Hudud are: robbery, theft, false accusation of adultery, rebellion against the state, drinking alcohol, apostasy, and extra-marital sex.Now, notice one thing here. Three of the seven are already being practiced. Under Syariah law, drinking alcohol, apostasy, and extra-marital sex are already crimes for Muslims. Muslims, since the time of Independence and up to today, are being punished under the Syariah law for the crimes of drinking alcohol, apostasy, and extra-marital sex. This means Malaysia already practices the Hudud law. So why is Barisan Nasional hiding this fact from Malaysians, in particular from the non-Muslims?

What they have failed to do is to explain that Hudud is just one of many Islamic laws. And Hudud is a law that deals with seven very specific crimes. But there are many other Islamic laws. And while Malaysia is yet to adopt the Hudud laws, since Independence, we have already adopted all the other Islamic laws and they are being implemented to the fullest.

The strategy is simple. The Malays are split 50:50. So the Chinese votes are needed to ensure that Barisan Nasional retains the Kuala Terengganu parliament seat in the 17 January 2009 by-election. And, to meet this objective, the Chinese must be made to hate PAS. And for them to hate PAS, they must be made to hate Islamic laws -- which PAS is alleged to be propagating.

Hudud issue is a non-issue. So why is Barisan Nasional still playing up the issue? DAP, PKR and PAS have entered into an agreement that any policy decisions require a consensus of the three Pakatan Rakyat partners. It is all or nothing. And the Islamic State and the Islamic law of Hudud is a policy matter. So all three have to agree on this issue or else it will not be done.