Malaysia's new trend: Divorce by phone text message<\/p>\n
Religion vs. technology: Malaysia's divorce by phone text message
\nraises questions about Islam in the modern world[<\/p>\n
Rohan Sullivan, Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur<\/p>\n
After a quarrel with her husband, a young wife flees back to her
\nmother and he fumes from outside: \"If you don't leave your
\nparents' house, you will be divorced\".<\/p>\n
This text message delivered from his mobile phone to hers was
\nmore than just a cry of frustration. Under Islamic law, it was
\nenough to start formal proceedings that eventually annulled the
\n18-month marriage -- the cyberspace equivalent of serving divorce
\npapers.<\/p>\n
A Malaysian religious court's ruling last week that the text
\nmessage was a valid notice of intent to divorce caused a furor in
\nthis Southeast Asian country. Experts say it also underscores the
\ndifficult problem of how to make Islam's sacred and age-old
\ntraditions jibe with the modern world.<\/p>\n
As computers, mobile phones and other gadgets increasingly
\nbecome part of people's lives, Islam's guardians are being asked
\nto interpret how new technology applies to the Shariah, or
\nreligious law, set out in the Koran, Islam's holy book.<\/p>\n
Recent rulings in several countries on divorce are an example.
\nDivorce is allowed -- though discouraged -- in Islam.
\nInterpretations vary, but it is generally accepted that a Muslim
\nhusband has divorced his wife if he announces his intention to do
\nso to her and the decision is ratified by a cleric. For a wife to
\ndivorce a husband, however, the process is far more difficult.<\/p>\n
When the Koran was written more than 2,500 years ago, few
\noptions would have existed but for a face-to-face meeting between
\nhusband and wife or a handwritten declaration.<\/p>\n
But in 2001, in the United Arab Emirates, a phone text message
\nwas accepted as a form of written declaration, prompting test
\ncases in other Muslim countries. In nearby Qatar, an Islamic
\nscholar decreed that divorce by Internet e-mail was OK. But in
\nSingapore, which has a large Muslim minority, religious
\nauthorities disallowed phone text messages.<\/p>\n
Dr. Patricia Martinez, an expert on women's role in Islam,
\nsaid the divorce debate isn't likely to shake Islam's
\nfoundations, but is an example of how Islamic authorities need to
\nadapt its rules to new technology or risk losing relevance to
\ntoday's Muslims.<\/p>\n
How technology mixes with Islam \"is a dilemma for most Muslims
\nbecause Islam is essentially prescriptive, so there is a need for
\nguidance when one comes across a new way to be\", said Martinez, a
\nsenior research fellow at the University of Malaya's Asia-Europe
\nInstitute.<\/p>\n
Last week's ruling in Malaysia was the first time such a case
\nhad reached the country's religious courts, which must approve
\neach pronouncement of talaq, or divorce, for it to become legal.<\/p>\n
Ethnic Malay Muslims form about two-thirds of the roughly 23
\nmillion population, and moderate Islamic laws covering religious
\nand family issues coexist with Malaysia's secular constitution
\nand court system based on British law.<\/p>\n
The combination bolsters long-time Prime Minister Mahathir
\nMohamad's claim that the country is progressive and democratic,
\nbut also pious. He says Malaysia as a model for other Islamic and
\ndeveloping nations, a view U.S. President George W. Bush has said
\nhe shares.<\/p>\n
When the phone message ruling was first made, the government's
\nofficial religious adviser, Abdul Hamid Othman, initially did not
\nobject, saying a phone text message was \"just another form a
\nwriting\".<\/p>\n
But Mahathir disapproved, saying \"I think that if people want
\nto divorce their wives, they should resort to a much more
\npersonal approach than that\".<\/p>\n
Officials quickly backtracked and announced a review of
\nreligious divorce laws.<\/p>\n
\"Husbands should not be allowed to freely use SMS and other
\neasy methods such as e-mails, voicemail or even facsimile to
\nbegin divorce proceedings,\" Abdul Hamid said.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is
\ndue to succeed Mahathir when he retires later this year,
\ndescribed divorce by phone message as in \"bad taste\" and urged
\nMalaysians not to misuse information and communications
\ntechnology, the Bernama national news agency reported.<\/p>\n
\"The government is not backward just because it does not allow
\na husband and wife to divorce using the mobile telephone's short
\nmessaging service,\" Abdullah was quoted as saying. \"It is
\nunethical, unsuitable, can lead to lies and abuse.\"<\/p>\n
The changes are not likely to meet much opposition - religious
\nmullahs in Malaysia have far less influence on legal matters than
\nin some other Islamic countries.<\/p>",
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