Malaysia

Malaysia: Stop snooping around for khalwat couples

State religious authorities must stop spying, snooping and the practice of looking for couples to be charged with khalwat (close proximity). Mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said such practices were against Islamic principles of privacy and were trespass.

ماليزيا: غرامة على الثياب المثيرة

Malaysia: Don’t let mob rule prevail

Sisters in Islam was one of three NGOs mentioned at the Umno assembly as being party to undermining Islamic values through its talks and publications.

Malaysia: Religious freedom

Farish Noor - Malaysian academic and activist - casts a critical eye on his home country. He examines the current debate around religious freedom, and the sensitivities surrounding those who wish to convert from Islam.

Malaysia: Nation's youngest mufti speaks out on apostasy

Newly-minted Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said Islamic leaders must squarely address the questions of apostates and other challenges, and not further damage the Muslim community by their own failure to live up to religious values.

Malaysia: Know your reproductive rights, Malaysians told

Do you know your reproductive rights? This was the question of which the answers dominated the discussions in a media sensitisation workshop on sexual and reproductive health issues held in Kuala Lumpur on 4 November.

Malaysia: Hate ideology a threat to unity

In this article by Zainah Anwar, she is heartened that public opinion in Malaysia does not accept the hostile and aggressive propagation of a narrow understanding of one's faith and the turning of dogmatic personal piety into a directive for all to obey.

Malaysia: Stemming the 'I divorce you' trend

Malaysia was one of the first Muslim countries to provide for divorce to take place only in court. But in 1994 the law was amended to allow the registration of divorces outside courts, thus defeating the original intent & spirit of the 1984 law reform.

South Africa: Fighting for gender equality

Interview with WLUML networker Rashida Manjoo about her experiences of the Gender Equality Commission of South Africa, conducted during the recent conference in Malaysia on 'Mechanisms and Legislation to Promote and Protect Gender Equality'.

Malaysia: 2nd issue of BARAZA! on Diversity of opinions: an Islamic legacy

A compilation of articles by key Islamic scholars on the subject of diversity of opinion in Islam. The main essay by Mohammad Hashim Kamali, explores the scope of diversity and disagreement among pre-modern Islamic jurists.