KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 20 — Under heat from several conservative Malay Muslim groups for advocating Islamic law reforms, pro-moderation group G25 was panned as “outdated” in its views of the religion by the Institute of Islamic Strategic Research Malaysia (Iksim).
The Islamic think tank’s chief executive officer Datuk Mahamad Naser Disa claimed the pressure group of retired senior civil servants would have Islam relegated to a “ceremonial” role with their thinking when the religion encompasses so much more, which has been recognised even by the courts.
“Among G25’s members are judges and lawyers, unfortunately their understanding of Islam’s position is outdated and they have not updated their views with the views acknowledged by the Federal Court,” he told Malay daily Berita Harian in an interview published today.
“Their outdated view of Islam as the official religion is that it is merely ceremonial. Islam is a way of life that covers administrative, economic and social,” he added.
At a recent forum titled “Islam in a Constitutional Democracy”, G25 spokesman Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin said the group was setting up a consultative committee to review and to recommend for repeal or amendment unconstitutional state Shariah enactments and laws that violate personal privacy, such as laws prohibiting khalwat (close proximity).
Various conservative Islamic personalities have since criticised the group, with Tan Sri Abdullah Mat Zin, religious adviser to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, warning that state fatwas, or religious edicts, could be issued against G25 for deviancy, similar to the fatwa against Al-Arqam, an Islamic sect in the 1990s.
Umno-linked daily Utusan Malaysia reported Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria as saying recently that G25’s move to call for the amendment or repeal of unconstitutional Shariah laws could lead to apostasy.
G25 spokesman Noor Farida herself has received threats of death and sexual assault over the issue and is also being investigated by the police for sedition.
