Sherry Rehman joins the ranks of Shabhaz Bhatti and the late Salman Taseer in being marked for death for committing "blasphemy" against the blasphemy law. "Pak ex-minister Sherry Rehman fit to be killed, says cleric," from the Press Trust of India, January 10:
Islamabad: Several clerics have issued fatwas against former Pakistani minister Sherry Rehman and declared her an infidel for calling for changes in the blasphemy law, prompting civil society activists to register a complaint with police in the port city of Karachi today.
Media reports said the imam of Sultan Masjid, one of Karachi's biggest mosques, declared Rehman a 'kaafir' (infidel) and 'wajib-ul-qatl' (fit to be killed) while delivering a sermon after the Friday prayers.
The mosque has close ties to the Saudi Arabian government.
Islamic hardliners who organised a massive rally in Karachi today also issued a pamphlet that named Rehman as a person who "has invoked the religious honour of Pakistan's Muslims" for calling for changes in the blasphemy law.
The threats came days after a police guard gunned down Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer for criticising the blasphemy law.
Civil society activists today filed a complaint against the imam of Sultan Masjid at the Darakhsan police station in Karachi.
The complaint was registered on behalf of Rehman, a senior leader of the Pakistan People's Party, Salmaan Taseer's son Shaan Taseer and journalist Ali Chishti.
In the complaint, the civil society activists alleged that the imam of Sultan Masjid had also lauded Mumtaz Qadri, the policeman who assassinated Salmaan Taseer.
Chishti told the media that civil society groups feared for Rehman's life following the murder of the Punjab Governor.
Despite the MCA and Gerakan rushing to condemn PAS for restating its long-standing aspiration to introduce hudud law in Kelantan, Christians leaders say there was nothing with such a plan. In fact, all followers of any religion should be encouraged to strive to strengthen their faith, so long as they did not impinge on the rights of others.
The civil society activists said they were proud to be Muslims but rejected murdering people in the name of Islam.
Their safety depends on shoring up their credentials as good Muslims -- lest they also become lawful for slaughter as apostates -- but even this won't be enough for those in Pakistan who want to silence all criticism of Islamic law.
Hardliners have been gunning for Rehman since she tabled a private bill in parliament to remove the mandatory death sentence for blasphemy.
Reports have said Rehman has been facing pressure from within the PPP to leave Pakistan for her own security.
Security has been enhanced at Rehman's residence in Karachi and she has told the media she will not leave Pakistan.
"
That is the most important thing, to ensure that the rights of other faiths are fully protected. Then what is wrong with hudud in Kelantan or any other state for that matter?" Ramon Navaratnam, past president of Transparency International and a lay Christian leader, told Malaysia Chronicle.
"We should not politicize everything especially religion. It is perfectly natural for a Muslim and a Christian or a Buddhist and a Hindu to strive to strengthen their faith as much as they can and this should be encouraged. It is only wrong when they lose sight of others and start to become extremists in their conduct and practice. So long as the non-Muslims in Malaysia are completely protected, Christians and all other Malaysians should not be narrow-minded and fear for no proper reason."
Ramon's statement is supported by the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Dr Paul Tan Chee Ing.
“I say it's time to allow Muslims in Kelantan, if they so desire, to implement shariah only for them and with that the hudud enactments provided non-Muslims are exempt from its implementation,” said Paul, who is also the titular head of Catholics in the Melaka-Johor diocese.
MCA and Gerakan say NO!
The remarks of the Christian leaders contrast sharply with those from MCA president Chua Soi Lek and Gerakan's Koh Tsu Koon, both of whom raised heated objections, although their reasons for doing so were not clear.
“MCA’s stand is very clear. We will object strongly to hudud. If Umno wants to implement hudud, we will pull MCA out of Barisan Nasional - simple as that. Our stand is very clear. Umno wants to implement hudud, MCA is no party to it, we’ll get out of it," Soi Lek told reporters on Friday.
"We're a country with a Muslim majority but with a significant non-Muslim minority. The basic structure of our constitution preserves this diversity, and that's why our punitive laws are secular and applies to everyone. We can't have different sets of laws for each section of society," Gerakan deputy president Chang Ko Youn said in a statement.
What about Muslim rights then?
However, as Muslims have pointed out, both the Chinese-based politicians may be doing exactly what they are accusing PAS of - impinging on the rights of others.
"Have MCA and Gerakan thought about the feelings of the Muslims. Hudud is for Muslims only. Many of us want to be tried under hudud because we want to be good followers. Why should MCA and Gerakan stop us? Look at Syariah law, it is already in practice in the country and it has not affected non-Muslims, so why the abnormal fear of hudud," PAS MP for Shah Alam Khalid Samad told Malaysia Chronicle.
Khalid also blasted Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin for saying that Umno supported hudud but the country was not ready to implement it.
"We are not ready as a nation for hudud, that is true. But that is also due to Umno collaborating with MCA and Gerakan and their other component parties to smear hudud, to make the non-Muslims and even some Muslims frightened of it. If Umno and BN had not politicised hudud, it would be much easier to educate the general public about it. If your look at the religious leaders, they have no problems because they understand religion. It is the politicians who are creating havoc," said Khalid.
Kelantan
Hudud is arm of the Muslim law that pertains to 6 criminal prosecutions, and is feared because it prescribes punishment that includes stoning to death, the amputation of limbs and whipping. The 6 hudud crimes are theft, highway robbery, illegal sexual intercourse, false accusations of zina or adultlery, drinking alcohol and apostasy.
Within Pakatan, Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim who is also PKR de-facto chief, is supportive of hudud and sees no reason why Kelantan should not implement it as long as the rights of the non-Muslims are fully protected. DAP is however against the idea.
This situation in Pakatan is nothing new and the three partners have said it many times. If PAS wants to introduce hudud law or an Islamic state, it must have sufficient majority either in the state or federal government to do so. Neither PKR nor DAP will be bound to support it on such a motion. In Kelantan, which has less than 10 per cent non-Malays in its population, PAS has sufficient majority.
However, Mentri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat is unable to do because the federal government under ex-premier Mahathir Mohamad had previously issued a letter barring it from putting through the hudud plan. Nik Aziz has challenged current prime minister, Najib Razak, to rescind the letter, but so far, there has been no respons
Malaysiakini yesterday reported that Nik Aziz hopes to see a 2/3 majority secured in Parliament so that hudud can be implemented throughout the country.
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If MCA and Gerakan do not wish to be regarded as mere gasbags, they must leave BN now as they have promised to, if coalition boss Umno implemented a Syariah Penal Code consisting of Islamic hudud laws under the BN ruled states.
According to PAS vice president Mahfuz Omar, hudud laws were gazetted in Terengganu by the BN when it took over the state government following the 2004 general election.
The PAS state government under the then Mentri Besar Hadi Awang had only reached the stage where hudud was passed at the state assembly before his administration was booted out.
"If MCA and Gerakan do not deliver what they preach, clearly both parties are just lying to the Chinese community who are their main voters. No wonder, their support is slipping becaue they telling one lie after another," Mahfuz told Malaysia Chronicle.
This is a fact, check it out
The Terengganu Syariah Penal Code was enacted by PAS and was passed by the state assembly. It was gazetted into law by the BN and has been continuously used in Terengganu, even now.
Mahfuz, who is also the MP for Pokok Sena, warned MCA and Gerakan not to wriggle out from their public statements. He pointed out that when the Bill was debated in the assembly, Umno representatives had also voted in its favor.
"For the proposal to pass, it had to be supported by the members of the Terengganu state assembly including the assemblymen from Umno. In fact, if members from UMNO didn't support it, the proposal would not have passed," said Mahfuz.
"So what are Chua Soi Lek and Koh Tsu Koon waiting for. MCA and Gerakan must leave BN to show their commitment to their own challenge, and not just play political games."
Last week, MCA president Soi Lek rushed to attack the PAS push for Islamic hudud law.
“MCA’s stand is very clear. We will object strongly to hudud. If Umno wants to implement hudud, we will pull MCA out of Barisan Nasional - simple as that. Our stand is very clear. Umno wants to implement hudud, MCA is no party to it, we’ll get out of it," Soi Lek told reporters.
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More troubling, Malaysiakini’s Susan Loone quoted Nik Aziz as saying that at a “recent meeting between Pakatan Rakyat leaders in Selangor, the DAP, that fiercely opposed the law, had accepted Kelantan’s proposal to enact it within the state”.
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Read more THE RACIALISATION AND MUSLIM BIGOTRY OF MCA POLITICS.CHUA SOI LEK SAYS MUHYIDDIN HAS NO GUTS TO REPEAL THE HUDUD LAW IN TERENGGANU Malaysia’s Deadly Sinners of Islam. http://malaysiakita786.blogspot.com/2011/03/blog-post_04.html Datuk Seri Najib Razak vowed today the federal government will staunchly block any attempts to enforce Islamic law, or hudud, effectively ending a budding debate on … Read more
I sent the following sms to several DAP leaders this morning :Mkini yday reported that DAP has acceded to hudud being implemented in Kelantan. True or false?
Replies came back fast and furious.
Charles Santiago : False
THE RACIALISATION AND MUSLIM BIGOTRY OF MCA POLITICS.CHUA SOI LEK SAYS MUHYIDDIN HAS NO GUTS TO REPEAL THE HUDUD LAW IN TERENGGANU
STUPID SOI LEK DOESN’T GET HUDUD STAND, SAYS MUHYIDDIN Chua Soi Lek says Muhyiddin has no guts to repeal the hudud law passed by the PAS government MCA and Gerakan Presidents and their national leaders should ask for an emergency meeting of the Barisan Nasional Supreme Council to take the policy decision that the … Read more
Hannah Yeoh : Not True.
Ronnie Liu : Not true. hudud remains as a dream for PAS and we must respect that as a fact, but it is not a shared dream of my party for our society is a multireligious one.
Tony Pua : To be polite, completely inaccurate.
Lim Guan Eng : False
Karpal Singh : Not true
Guan Eng called me a little while ago to say that he spoke at the 60th anniversary PAS meet in Kepala Batas last night, where, before a large audience, he reiterated DAP’s stand of opposing the implementation of hudud.
“There is no provision for the implementation of hudud in Pakatan’s common policy or the Buku Jingga. I repeated before the crowd what I have said previously. If hudud is implemented, I and the rest of the DAP leadership will resign our party posts”, Guan Eng said.
Guan Eng’s word is good enough for me.
DAP remains the proverbial ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ in defending our secular nation.
Yesterday, I was at the FreedomFilmFest that continues today at Wisma Bentley at the Curve. You should make the effort to catch what’s left of this event if you can.
Watched Norhayati Kaprawi’s “Aku Siapa?” that had footage of a ceramah by Nik Aziz.
I had never seen this before, and I was shocked.
I’ve located that video footage on youtube.
Watch and see for yourself. The shocker
click and watch http://malaysiakita786.blogspot.com/2010/12/tannirwallas-of-malaysian-civil.html.
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