As celebrated science fiction writer and visionary Isaac Asimov once warned us, ignorance should not be the basis of opposition to a thought or idea; if you want to oppose something, make sure you know what it is that you are opposing, and more importantly your reason for it.
As he once said: “Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge’.”
It is a lesson that some critics of the proposal to implement Islamic penal code of hudud law in PAS-held Kelantan, for many of them it seems are shouting this same line Asimov warned us of, “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge”.
The topic was explored in his fictional works in the Foundation series, on how critics of a planet spanning “foundation” worlds would criticise the charter by which their civilisation operated, at times without real understanding of the problems or any real concern at all, to many it was politics.
One character, if I remember correctly, was even proud to say how he was opposing the document without even having any real knowledge of its details.
Similarly some parties made much ado about hudud without even actually understanding what it is, after Pakatan Rakyat component PAS sought to table two Private Member’s Parliamentary Bills to give legal weight to a 1993 Kelantan state enactment that allows the Islamic party to implement hudud in the state it administers.
The most glaring of this are the warnings from various critics, mostly political players from Pakatan and the BN with something to gain by their protest of hudud, as it is leverage for support of the non-Muslims, and perhaps Muslims who live not by the tenets of their faith.
They have formed the misconceived notion that under hudud, victims of rape must provide four witnesses who saw the act with their very eyes, using this as a bogeyman of their anti-hudud campaign, or worse intentionally proceeded using the misinformation in their protest to stir up the hornet’s nest, so to speak.
A misconception between the standard of evidence required to convict Muslims for out of wedlock sex and the altogether different set of rules for treating the crime of rape and violence against women which is abhorrent in Islam.
In rape cases, Muslim learned judges have written that the physical and investigative evidence of the crime is sufficient as is a confession by the perpetrator.
And therein lies the problem as hudud is but a small portion of the Islamic justice system. The real breadth of which even I as a Muslim does not really know as it is a system unfairly reviled for being linked to chopping of hands and beheading and has not been practised by most Muslim countries in its real form.
It is at the extreme end of the spectrum, the harsh punishment as deterrent but the standards of evidence required to convict under hudud are also very high.
Whereas, if the cases fail the strict hudud test of evidence, they shall be judged under takzir, which relies on the wisdom and justice of independent judges, a less restrictive system that is much like the English system of justice ours was built on, giving the judge leeway to choose from punishments available and if to suspend any sentence.
Indeed, even the seeming monster of hudud is also apparent in many Western justice systems where there is mandatory capital or corporal punishments with no alternative or recourse.
But in a way, one cannot blame critics of hudud for the way it is being practised in some countries that call themselves Islamic like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia showcased problems when cultural and patriarchal elements creep in leading to whipping of rape victims or laws prohibiting women from driving.
Indeed Asimov’s warning on knowing what you oppose should in reverse also apply to those seeking to implement what they say is God’s law.
Those who are looking to implement hudud should also be sure that they know what they are doing. As the cases in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have shown, even God’s law, when implemented by human hands can be corrupted and misused.
Which brings us to the real concern about hudud -- the fear that manipulations and miscarriage of the legal system by the powers that be will see hudud become another draconian law. With Umno-led BN at the federal helm, this fear is not unfounded.
And most dangerous of all, there has been no news at all of how hudud will be implemented and how the takzir part will be handled, nor is there any detailed explanation of how hudud is to be adapted into the system of not only the courts but also enforcement.
Because it is not only the courts that need to be prepped but also the police and religious enforcement officers, for Muslims to be investigated will require a separate set of laws if they are to be tried under hudud for what would normally be Penal Code offences.
Are the police prepared? Do we have the judges trained and ready? Are there correctional department personnel trained to administer hudud punishments?
One must consider, police are not even trained up on most regular laws, our courts are already strained and what more our prisons. Can we do it in one day? I doubt.
What is needed here is a round table for all sides to meet, the hudud proponents, its detractors, legal experts and religious scholars, to come up with a framework in detail on what they plan to do, addressing the fears of those opposing it.
If those from PAS so eager to implement hudud were to remember, they and Pakatan made the same argument against the Goods and Services tax (GST).
The government needs to sit down and plan and explain GST, they said. Well, PAS should do the same with its hudud plan.
Don’t get me wrong, as a Muslim I am all for hudud, but I would rather see it done right than implemented wrongly and all the more shame Islam and tarnish its image.
I remember what the PAS Kelantan government under former MB Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat said when asked why they did not implement hudud years after the enactment was passed.
The state government wisely responded that the problem was not really implementation but dakwah and education. They believe it is time first to show Muslims and non-Muslims what hudud is and the Islamic justice system really is, to explain, to educate and to get their feedback.
I think the same applies to the current state authorities. It is time for dakwah and education, or else risk having what is supposed to be the Islamic way of life under God’s law becoming the misbegotten creation of the very human traits of impatience and ignorance.
- Hazlan Zakaria, The Ant Daily-
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