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ianstone
03-26-2010, 07:28 AM
Malaysia's language minefield (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/03/22/malaysias-language-minefield)


By Teymoor Nabili (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/profile/teymoor-nabili) in

Asia (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia)
on March 22nd, 2010.
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Muslim activists have filed a lawsuit against a Malaysian women's group, asking it to remove the word "Islam" from its name, on the grounds that it misleads people to believe it speaks for all Muslims.



Using the wrong word can get you into a lot of trouble in Malaysia.
Recently, there was the row (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/01/05/misuse-negativity-could-spark-tension) over the use of the word Allah; now some are demanding (http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_505099.html)that use of the word Islam also be circumscribed.
Muslim activists filed a lawsuit on Monday against a Malaysian women's group, asking it to remove the word "Islam" from its name on the grounds that it misleads people to believe it speaks for all Muslims.
The group in question, Sisters In Islam (http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/) (SIS), is accused of "misinterpreting religious principles" because they objected (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/02/24/malaysia-caning-women-debate)to the caning of three women recently.
The Malaysian Assembly of Mosque Youths, which filed the suit, believes: "The use of the word 'Islam' in names must be restricted and protected".
Restricted to whom, and protected from what, the group does not specify.
'Misuse of negativity could spark tension' (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/01/05/misuse-negativity-could-spark-tension)


By Teymoor Nabili (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/profile/teymoor-nabili) in

Asia (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia)
on January 5th, 2010.
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http://blogs.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/blogpostFeaturedImage/malflag.jpg Photo by EPA

Malaysia's Barisan National has been ruling virtually uninterrupted for half a century, so it's not surpising that it feels comfortable issuing blanket decrees.



Malaysia's Barisan National has been ruling virtually uninterrupted for half a century, so in many ways it's not surpising that it feels comfortable in issuing blanket decrees, however irrational they may be.
The latest dictum, above, is a perfect case in point.
A little background (http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2010/0104/Malaysia-Catholics-allowed-to-call-God-Allah-again.-Why-the-fuss). The Catholic Church in Malaysia has been in litigation against the government for the past two years. At issue: should Christians use the word "Allah" to refer to God when they are speaking to local Christians in Malaysian?
The question came up when the government, seemingly without any motivation, decreed that they must not. It would, they said, "confuse" Muslims.
The Catholic Church pointed out that they have been active in Malaysia and using the word for centuries, without any problem.
In addition, they use it almost exclusively in their publication, the Catholic Herald, and since the government only allows the paper to be distributed among Christians, the accusation that it confuses Muslims simply doesn't make sense.
Also bear in mind that, in the language of Malaysia, Bahasa Melayu, the word for God is Allah. When writing in Bahasa Melayu, would it not be more confusing for readers who don't speak English to suddenly come across the word "God"?
Anyway, I have no intention of getting myself involved in this debate.
What I will say is this: confusing, patronising and meaningless governmental pronouncements (http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=466127) like the following simply don't help members of the media as we try to cover the story:
SE Asia

Home (http://www.straitstimes.com/) > Breaking News > SE Asia (http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/SE%2BAsia.html) > Story


Mar 22, 2010

M'sia women's group sued



KUALA LUMPUR - MUSLIM activists filed a lawsuit on Monday against a Malaysian women's group, asking it to remove the word 'Islam' from its name on the ground that it misleads people to believe it speaks for all Muslims.
The suit against Sisters in Islam, one of the most well-known nongovernment groups in this Muslim-majority country, comes after it angered conservative Muslims by criticizing Islamic Shariah laws that allow the caning of women for offenses such as drinking alcohol.
Numerous Muslim groups have in recent months accused Sisters in Islam of misinterpreting religious principles, highlighting a divide between Muslims who demand strict enforcement of Islamic morality laws and others who fear religious intolerance is threatening the moderate practice of their religion. The lawsuit was filed by Malaysian Assembly of Mosque Youths, whose leader, Mohammad Nawar Ariffin, said Sisters in Islam never obtained formal approval for the name with the government's registrar of societies.
'The use of the word 'Islam' in names must be restricted and protected,' Mohammad Nawar told The Associated Press. 'The so-called Sisters in Islam uses the word to attract attention, but it issues statements that contradict what other Muslims believe. It causes confusion among Muslims who might think that the group represents Islam.'
The Kuala Lumpur High Court did not immediately schedule a date to hear the lawsuit by the group, which claims to have at least 5,000 members whose aim is to safeguard Islamic teachings.
Hamidah Marican, executive director of Sisters in Islam, declined to comment on the case, saying the group's lawyers need to study the suit before they can issue any statement. However, she defended the group's work as being 'driven by the tenets of the Quran and Islam.' -- AP
Latest News
Media Statement - Police Investigates Sisters in Islam (http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=993&Itemid=1) Wednesday, 24 March 2010
MEDIA STATEMENT

Police Investigates Sisters in Islam on
the Caning of Three Muslim Women under the Shariah Criminal Offences Law
22 March 2010


Sisters in Islam (SIS) Executive Director Dr Hamidah Marican gave her statement at the Petaling Jaya District Police Station Headquarters today in respect of a police report lodged against SIS for its press statement on the caning of three Muslim women under the Shariah Criminal Offences law.
Kenyataan Akhbar - JAG sudah 25 tahun (http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=992&Itemid=1) Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Sidang Akhbar dan Makluman Ringkas kepada Ahli - ahli Parlimen

Kenyataan Akhbar
JAG sudah 25 tahun
Satu Laporan tentang Status Wanita – Yang Baik, Yang Buruk dan Yang Hodoh


Pada tahun 1985, Joint Action Group against Violence against Women (JAG)1 julung kalinya mengadakan satu bengkel dan pameran tentang Keganasan Terhadap Wanita (VAW) untuk menyeru reformasi undang – undang terhadap rogol, pelacuran, keganasan rumah tangga dan perubahan kepada semua undang – undang yang mendiskriminasikan kaum wanita. Press Statement - JAG turns 25 years (http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=991&Itemid=1) Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Press Conference cum briefing to Members of Parliament
24 March 2010



Press Statement
JAG turns 25 years
A Women’s Status Report – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly


In 1985 the Joint Action Group against Violence against Women (JAG) organised a historic workshop cum exhibition on VAW calling for law reforms to rape, prostitution, domestic violence and amendments to all laws that discriminate against women. The workshop also highlighted issues on the negative portrayal of women in the media and sexual harassment in the workplace. Kenyataan Akhbar IRF (http://www.sistersinislam.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=990&Itemid=1) Saturday, 06 March 2010 Kenyataan Akhbar IRF || 5 Mac 2010 (Digunakan dengan izin)

Kami mengikuti berita berkenaan laporan polis yang telah dibuat oleh Majlis Agama Islam Selangor terhadap Sisters in Islam (SIS) mengenai isu kontroversi yang melibatkan hukuman sebat ke atas wanita Islam di bawah undang-undang jenayah Syariah dengan penuh kegusaran.
Malaysia in caning women debate (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/02/24/malaysia-caning-women-debate)


By Teymoor Nabili (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/profile/teymoor-nabili) in

Asia (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia)
on February 25th, 2010.
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http://blogs.aljazeera.net/sites/default/files/imagecache/blogpostFeaturedImage/cane2502.jpg Photo by Reuters/New Straits Times Press

Malaysia tries to handle fallout and score political points from news that it caned three women for sex outside of wedlock.



Malaysia wants to organise an international conference (http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=477007) to "discuss" the caning of women.
It will be international only in a limited sense, since only other Muslim nations will be invited, and the agenda is extremely vague. Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil says only

'The ministry hopes ... we can make a comparative study on whether the sentence is normally practised among Muslim countries.
Since that information can easily be compiled with a few phone calls, and the subject of the conference as proposed does not, at first glance, hold much promise of enlightened or even interesting discussion, you have to wonder: what's going on here?
Well, in true Malaysian style, it's looking increasingly like a hasty and ham-fisted effort to manage the fallout - and gain political leverage - from the news that this month, for the first time in Malaysian history, three women were subjected to caning by authorities. (http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=476110)
The women (along with four men, but there was no information provided about the apparent mismatch in numbers) were accused of having sex outside of wedlock, and sentenced by Malaysia's autonomous sharia court.
The home minister said:

The sentence is to educate and make the offenders realise their mistakes and to return to the right path".
The story highlights once again the rift between Malaysia's conservative Muslims - increasingly supported by the government - and the more liberal elements within both its Muslim and non-Muslim population.
In protesting the decision, some have asked why the sentence was imposed and carried out in secret and not announced until a week after the act, and wonder what it implies (http://www.aliran.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1192:whipping-of-three-muslim-women&catid=96:2010&Itemid=47) about the government's intentions towards Malaysia's secular constitution, which forbids caning of women.
Some are convinced that the women were coerced (http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/124718)into making the statements in which they welcomed their punishment as "deserved".
Others question why (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/breaking-views/54147-the-caning-women-islam-or-politics-shaikh-saleem) former deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim was not caned when he was previously convicted of sodomy, since caning is prescribed for that act also. (Perhaps this uproar will have increased the chances of that sentence being handed down if he's convicted this time.)
And what does it mean for Malaysia's large gay and transsexual community, and those millions of Muslims who regularly consume alcohol?
All of them are now presumably on notice of being arrested and caned, too.
That Malaysia has been trending towards an increasingly strict Islamic identity has been debated in earnest (http://www.othermalaysia.org/2007/08/01/the-great-malaysian-paradox/)for some years now.
The latest government attempt to manipulate the national psyche has been to force radio stations (http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=477813) to play fewer Western songs, arguing they have a "negative impact on nationalism", and many are seeing parallels between this caning decision and the recent furore (http://blogs.aljazeera.net/asia/2010/01/07/religious-tensions-rise-one-malaysia) over the use of the word "Allah".
For many analysts, it all adds up to an increasingly grim scenario (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/breaking-views/54147-the-caning-women-islam-or-politics-shaikh-saleem):

It is a power issue for the government of the day to show its ‘physical’ Islamic credentials and also for the sharia courts to quietly and using backdoor means to raise its status to a level higher than what is provided for in the Federal Constitution
For its part, the government is attempting to paint the canings as within the bounds (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/2/19/nation/20100219142900&sec=nation) of accepted practice; the deputy prime minster believes all that's required is a little explanation and dialogue to clear up any "wrong impressions". (http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=476449)
But the strongest impression that is likely to remain from this incident is one of an increasingly paternalistic and sexist society seeking to convince its women that caning is necessary for their own good; something the DPM believes is necessary for reminding them "to honour and abide by their religion".
The attitude is unambiguously driven home by the somewhat Orwellian announcement that the caning conference will be organised by the "Secretariat of Advocacy and Empowerment of Muslim Women".

Sadly it is the same old story. Islam has become like the mosquitos. We all know mosquitos kill more people than bullet per year. I suggest that the infuences of ISLAM, moslims are giving them a run for there money.
We cant wipe out all the mosqitos so in all honestly giving ratioal answers, what can we do really? I simply do not know what to think anymore. Do you have an answer for this frree world cancer!