Sisters in Islam remains ‘deviant group’ in Selangor.
The Kuala Lumpur High Court’s decision to refer Sisters in Islam’s (SIS) bid to challenge a fatwa declaring it a deviant organisation to the shariah court is a dangerous one for Muslims and companies, said lawyer Siti Kasim.
Reacting to judge Nordin Hassan’s decision today to dismiss SIS’ challenge against the fatwa by Selangor religious authorities, Siti Kasim said companies could now be considered ‘Muslim’ by virtue of having Muslim directors and shareholders.
“This decision is so dangerous for all the Malays as well as for companies. If the majority in your company are Malays, then the company can be considered a Muslim company.
“This goes against what we understand because a company cannot profess a religion. But this judge took it upon himself to decide that this is a Muslim company, because all the people here are Muslim.
“If you take on Malays as your shareholders then your company is liable to be sued if you don’t follow ‘hukum syarak’.
“This is an application that is very far reaching and will impact Malays much more than others.
https://www.facebook.com/sitikasim/videos/10220205810718271/?t=17
“I think Malays ought to be wary and angry about this decision because your life is at the hands of these very few people who are the religious authorities,” she said.
A video of her reaction to the judgement is also on her Facebook page.
Nordin today said the fatwa by the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department and its fatwa committee, issued and gazetted in July 2014, had legal basis because it was based on the state’s religious enactments.
“The federal constitution allows for legal matters involving shariah laws to be under the jurisdiction of the state,” he said.
He also said the fatwa was applicable to SIS because its office bearers are Muslims.
The fatwa declared SIS, which defends Muslim women’s rights, a deviant organisation because it had espoused liberalism and pluralism.
In October 2014, SIS, registered as SIS Forum (Malaysia) under the Companies Act 1965, filed a judicial review to challenge the fatwa.
In its claim, SIS said under the Companies Act, it was a company limited by guarantee and was not bound by decisions of the Selangor Islamic Religious Council and its fatwa committee.
Siti Kasim said the court’s decision was “devastating” for Malays and their freedom.
“It’s not about freedom to have free sex or anything like that, it’s that if they deem you are against their perception of Islam, they can come up with a fatwa without giving you the right to answer.
“This is what happened to SIS.
“This is another attempt to control us, to affect us, seriously. Anyone who wants to bring in Malays as their partners in business will think twice as they can be sued for no reason by the religious people because you are a Muslim company.
“This is crazy, it’s beyond mind boggling. I really feel the future of Malays is getting worse and worse with these kinds of people who make these decisions. It goes against everything we know as the law.”