Opening up religious debate: Malaysia's challenge

Karim Raslan, Laywer, Writer, Kuala Lumpur

The Persatuan Ullama Malaysia (PUM) recently submitted a memorandum to the Chairman of the Council of Rulers against two newspaper columnists and three other individuals whom they claimed had denigrated Islam. Amongst those cited by the PUM in their memorandum were Sisters in Islam executive director Zainah Anwar, academic and columnist Farish A.Noor, Universiti Malaya lecturer Patricia Martinez, The Sun columnist Akbar Ali and Malay intellectual Kassim Ahmad. Along with six other Islamic organizations, PUM argued in their memorandum that the individuals cited had disparaged the faith and the institution of ulema.

The memorandum attracted considerable publicity. However most Malaysians would have read the news, yawned and then turned over the page: A squabble between a bunch of writers and the ulema?

Who cares?

Well they are wrong -- very wrong. The face-off between PUM and the six individuals is an extremely important test for Malaysia and for the practice of Islam in Malaysia. It will have a major impact on how Malaysia copes with the issue of religious extremism, the position and orientation of the ulema as well as the over-arching question of democracy within Islamic discourse.

So why is this issue so important for Malaysia?

There are four reasons why: Firstly because Malaysia is a majority Muslim nation, Islamic practices will have a significant impact on the entire nation; secondly if it is accepted that Malaysia's governance and administration should be based on Islamic principles, then the interpretation and implementation of those principles should be debated and widely considered; thirdly that this discourse should not be limited to a small section of the population, and fourthly that we are embarking on an extremely exciting -- potentially bumpy ride -- as we endeavor to meld the virtues of democracy, good governance and modernity with the timeless principles elucidated in the Holy Koran.

What we are doing in Malaysia has not really been attempted elsewhere in the Islamic world. We are entrusted with an enormous burden. Given the incompetence, corruption and injustice in much of the Arab Muslim world our model of Islamic practices, moderation, minority rights, development and social justice will become increasingly valuable for the entire globe.

This means that we shouldn't rush things and/or deny space to serious and reasonable voices from outside the ulema.

Muslims and non-Muslims alike should be concerned with this issue because Islam, unlike modern day Christianity cannot be relegated to the private and personal domain. Islam embraces all aspects of our lives.

Moreover, contrary to what many people think, the Islamic world is not monolithic. There is a great deal of diversity in how people practice the faith and views differ a great deal. Whilst I have been in the States, I have been meeting with Muslims from Egypt, Iran, the U.S., Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Morocco. Whilst we all share the same faith our expression of that faith varies.

In fact, Islam both recognizes and celebrates freedom of expression. Moreover there is a long-established tradition of ikhtilaf within Islam that actually seeks to acknowledge and respect these differences of opinion within a framework that is accommodating and moderate.

The confrontation between the PUM and the writers is concerned with the all-important question of who controls the interpretation of the Holy Koran.

Should one set of people -- the ulem in PUM -- monopolize the right to interpret the Holy Koran? Should we submit to their views alone or should we encourage a diversity of views? What about the ulema not represented in PUM?

The core issue is about power: Pure and simple. If you accept that Islam infuses, guides and subsumes all aspects of our lives, then the interpreters of the Holy Koran are very powerful people. They can shape our lives, determining the rights and position of men and women respectively and decide on matters of public policy.

Drawing their authority from the Holy Koran, they can pontificate on any and all aspect of our lives. Today, six writers are under attack. Tomorrow it could be entertainers such as Ella, Erra Fazira and Siti Haliza, and the day after it could well be women who chose to work.

If we -- the ordinary people -- elect not to support the writers, we are in effect, saying that we don't want to have a say in these all-important matters, that we want the ulema to be all-powerful.

Sadly most Malaysians and especially the middle classes of all races are extremely apathetic. After years of being brow-beaten by Prime Minister Dr Mathathir Mohamad they are used to letting others make decisions for them. This has got to change.

Interestingly the fracas has not played out along the traditional political lines. For example, the writers have received support from a wide range of groups and individuals including non government organizations such as Just World as well as individuals such as the Deputy Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi and the leader of the Malaysian People's Party (PRM) Syed Husin Ali.

Whilst the two groups and the two men represent diverse political views, all agree on the need for greater debate and dialog on Islam. They reject intellect terrorism. All of them have criticized the PUM for their attempt to quash the openness of the discourse, albeit in differing ways.

The ulema themselves are a very diverse collection of men and there are many among them who would advocate a far less condemnatory and black and white approach to Islamic discourse. They realize that instilling fear is counter-productive.

Unfortunately PAS (Malaysian Islamic Party) -- a party that subscribes to the view that the ulema are the supreme and unchallengeable interpreters of the Holy Koran -- have been the biggest supporters of PUM. This is a shame because the issue could well end up becoming little more than a political football with UMNO (the ruling United Malays National Organization) on one side and PAS on the other.

This does not mean that liberals such as myself want to deny the ulema the right to interpret the Holy Koran. Instead we -- as representatives of the people, because we are your voice -- want to share the space. We want to show to the world that Malaysia is different from the rest of the Islamic world in that we have the confidence and the substance to be able to debate the issues of modernity and faith.

We want to win the ulema in PUM over to democracy and iktilaf and work together to ensure that our future, here in Malaysia, avoids the disasters that have bedeviled the many Islamic societies where discourse, tolerance and moderation have been ignored.

If ordinary Malaysians remain on the sidelines we as a nation are doomed.