Malaysia: Islamic state plan unveiled
Source:
The Star - Malaysia PAS' “blueprint” of an Islamic state aims to amend the Federal Constitution to make Syariah (Islamic law) the supreme law of the land.
The blueprint, entitled The Islamic State Document, states that the determining characteristics of an Islamic state are its total commitment and will to see that syariah is codified into the law of the land. The document also calls for all Muslims in the country to be subjected to the Syariah Penal Code (Hudud, Qisas and Ta’zir).
Non-Muslims, however, will be given the option of choosing between the Syariah Penal Code and the present Penal Code.
“Any attempt to say that it is not just is tantamount to saying that Allah is unjust in His injunction. The option is actually divinely derived and it is not an option provided by PAS,” states the document.
The document was launched by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang at the party headquarters at Taman Melewar here yesterday. Party mursyidul aam (spiritual adviser) Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who was supposed to launch the document, was absent due to a flight delay from Kelantan.
According to the document, the main characteristics of an Islamic state can be summarised and these features will be given due importance in the formulation and development of the state and its policies.
The summarised features of an Islamic state as outlined by the document include:
1. The sovereignty of the state;
2. Muslims have no choice but to completely abide by their religion;
3. The implementation of the Syariah to achieve the five imperatives of living – religion/beliefs, life, intellect, dignity and purity of lineage, and property;
4. Citizens are expected to render their obedience and trust to the leadership of the country for as long as the leaders obey Allah, but are entitled to remove them should the leaders fail to abide by Allah’s law;
5. Citizens possess all rights to demand transparency at all levels of leadership;
6. All citizens are duty bound to implement the principle of “enjoining good and forbidding evil” within the domains of the family and society as well as at the national level;
7. The state gives utmost care to the welfare of the citizenry and the leaders are in fact “slaves” of the people;
8. The Islamic state will entrench the principle of Parliamentary Shura (consultation) and Constitutional Monarchy based on the teachings of Islam, and
9. Physical development will be integrated with spiritual needs so as to bring about a progressive nation that is technologically advanced.
Under the sub-heading “General Policies of the Islamic State,” the document states that citizens are free to conduct their economic activities “within the ambit of the Syariah.”
“The practice of usury or riba will be gradually phased out in all activities,” it adds.
It also says all ethnic groupings will be allowed freedom of cultural expression.
On the role of women, the document states that the Islamic state encourages healthy competition of women alongside men within the limits of the Syariah and aims to eliminate the exploitation of women in all aspects of life
In its preamble, the document says PAS took full cognisance of the reality and sensitivity of the country’s multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural make-up.
“Just as the first Islamic state was established in the multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society of Medina in the period of the Prophet and the Rightly Guided Caliphates, so shall it remain to be re-established till the end of time,” it reads.
Read the original article on the The Star website.
“Any attempt to say that it is not just is tantamount to saying that Allah is unjust in His injunction. The option is actually divinely derived and it is not an option provided by PAS,” states the document.
The document was launched by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang at the party headquarters at Taman Melewar here yesterday. Party mursyidul aam (spiritual adviser) Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who was supposed to launch the document, was absent due to a flight delay from Kelantan.
According to the document, the main characteristics of an Islamic state can be summarised and these features will be given due importance in the formulation and development of the state and its policies.
The summarised features of an Islamic state as outlined by the document include:
1. The sovereignty of the state;
2. Muslims have no choice but to completely abide by their religion;
3. The implementation of the Syariah to achieve the five imperatives of living – religion/beliefs, life, intellect, dignity and purity of lineage, and property;
4. Citizens are expected to render their obedience and trust to the leadership of the country for as long as the leaders obey Allah, but are entitled to remove them should the leaders fail to abide by Allah’s law;
5. Citizens possess all rights to demand transparency at all levels of leadership;
6. All citizens are duty bound to implement the principle of “enjoining good and forbidding evil” within the domains of the family and society as well as at the national level;
7. The state gives utmost care to the welfare of the citizenry and the leaders are in fact “slaves” of the people;
8. The Islamic state will entrench the principle of Parliamentary Shura (consultation) and Constitutional Monarchy based on the teachings of Islam, and
9. Physical development will be integrated with spiritual needs so as to bring about a progressive nation that is technologically advanced.
Under the sub-heading “General Policies of the Islamic State,” the document states that citizens are free to conduct their economic activities “within the ambit of the Syariah.”
“The practice of usury or riba will be gradually phased out in all activities,” it adds.
It also says all ethnic groupings will be allowed freedom of cultural expression.
On the role of women, the document states that the Islamic state encourages healthy competition of women alongside men within the limits of the Syariah and aims to eliminate the exploitation of women in all aspects of life
In its preamble, the document says PAS took full cognisance of the reality and sensitivity of the country’s multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural make-up.
“Just as the first Islamic state was established in the multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious society of Medina in the period of the Prophet and the Rightly Guided Caliphates, so shall it remain to be re-established till the end of time,” it reads.
Read the original article on the The Star website.
