Mar 30th 2008 10:11 am Zainah Anwar
Zainah Anwar is the Executive Director of Sisters in Islam, and a prominent feminist and public intellectual in Malaysia. Expanding from Malik Imtiaz, Zainah argues that the Constitution of Malaysia does not explicitly state whether Malaysia is an Islamic or secular state, and that the decision to make Islam the “religion of the Federation” was for ceremonial purposes. Echoing Malik on the secular nature of Malaysia’s laws, Zainah argues that the current scenario — the encroachment of Shariah jurisdiction on matters deemed under secular jurisdiction (Shyamala, Subashini, Lina Joy) — is a result of a change in the political landscape of Malaysia, and frames this as a “silent rewriting of the constitution.”
Zainah sees civil society as the way forward: arguing that public law must be open to public debate. She calls for lawmakers not to “hide behind the sanctity of the divine;” and for civil society to speak out on important, far-reaching religious issues without discrimination, rather than frame them in a Muslim/non-Muslim binary. Zainah argues for a progressive, intellectual understanding of Islam to cope with changing norms and times (Arabic: ijtihad) — to ensure that religion is a “source of peace.”
As a response to a probing question about the legality of enforcing religious law (e.g. raiding night clubs), given the secular nature of Malaysia’s laws, Zainah explains that the state grants regulatory bodies like JAIS power to regulate the lives of Muslims with the Shariah Criminal Offenses Act — and that its jurisdiction has expanded over the years. She highlights the gender biases against women inherent in such enforcement, and argues that public outrage at the excesses of religious authorities (e.g. Zouk!), while rejuvenating, is only the first step towards reformation of religious law in Malaysia.
In closing, Zainah urged the audience to look to the Federal Constitution for guidance on handling the confluence of religion and public law in Malaysia. As she ended, her speech was met with raucous applause — perhaps the most enthusiastic yet of the conference.
Zainah encourages participants — and anyone interested in the issues she discussed — to check out the Sisters in Islam website, or get in touch with her via email: zmha54 AT yahoo.co.uk (replacing “AT” with “@”, of course).
Posted by andrewlza / NMF 2008