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August 25, 2009
Tips for travelers wishing to avoid loopholes
For some reason, I was under the impression that Malaysia was one of those modern, "progressive" Muslim countries, where things like caning people for drinking alcohol did not go on. Wrong! KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - An Islamic court in Malaysia on Tuesday indefinitely put on hold the caning of a woman found guilty of drinking beer, saying the sentence was too harsh, a news report said.It certainly does raise questions. The fact that this woman could be sentenced to be caned in the first place has made me revise my thinking about Malaysia being a moderate Muslim country. The article says that she could have gotten three years in prison as well: Malaysia's Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the country's 27 million people, are prohibited from drinking alcohol under the Shariah laws they are subject to. The offense is punishable by up to three years in prison and caning but most offenders have been let off with a fine in the past.I don't know what made me think Malaysia was a moderate country. Perhaps I was falling into the trap of believing what I wanted to believe. When I researched the matter, it didn't take long to find other examples of people being caned for drinking, as these two men were in 2005: Brothers Mohamed Nizam Ibrahim, 32, and Mohamed Nasha, 30, were sentenced to receive the maximum six strokes of the cane and fined RM5,000 (S$2,000) each by the Syariah High Court here.Nice. So they have activists involved in law enforcement sting operations over there too. Bastards. (I often wish there were some way to keep activists out of government, but I don't want to get distracted with my utopian thinking or I'll start ranting about how groups like MADD and animal activists are blurring the line between activism and law enforcement.) The problem is that ordinary people just want to be left alone, and because they want to be left alone, they want to believe that they will be left alone. Wanting to be left alone thus lends itself to sloppy thinking, and denial. Even now, I think a lot of Americans -- including Americans who travel to Malaysia -- would just shrug their shoulders and be glad the law doesn't apply to them. But they would be wrong. As the sidebar notes, "LAWS APPLY TO FOREIGN MUSLIMS AS WELL" ALL Muslims, including foreigners, are subject to the Islamic criminal laws of Malaysia when they are in the country, lawyers said yesterday.So that would mean that American Muslims could be arrested and imprisoned or caned for drinking in Malaysia. How, pray tell, do they define who is a Muslim? No doubt groups like the Pahang Islamic Religious Department would agitate for the broadest possible definition -- perhaps even including innocent American children who are alleged to have been converted to Islam by adoptive parents. And so might MADD (or one of its international equivalents like GAPA, which promotes prohibitionistic policies in Malaysia). As things stand now, MADD has already stepped up to the plate and condemned an American president merely for drinking beer. Which is an outrage, if you take the time to think about it. Unfortunately, not that many conservatives defended him. But I guess I should be glad that there isn't an alliance between Shariah activists and MADD or else they might have tried to sic Islamist activists on Barack Obama under the crackpot "once a Muslim, always a Muslim" theory. (Funny how hardline Islamists and their most hardline enemies often agree on the most hardline theories as being the only true Islam. Almost reminds me of the unspoken alliance between gays and their enemies, but that's another subject.) Anyway, now that I'm drifting off into paranoia land, I might as well see it through. Let's turn this silly business into a law school exam question. Suppose you were a confused but very open-minded teenager and you enjoyed exploring and dabbling in different religions, just because they were there. You tried Christianity, Buddhism, Bahai, Hinduism, and finally you stumbled onto Islam, and discovered a local madrassa -- like the one in my old neighborhood. You liked the free Arabic lessons, and one thing led to another, so you thought you'd give the religion a try. Next thing, you sat down in their auditorium and recited the Shahada in front of witnesses. No big deal; just dabbling, right? Americans under the First Amendment have a constitutional right to dabble in whatever religions they want. So eventually you grow up and forget all about it. On a trip to Malaysia years later, in an amazing coincidence you stumble onto an old "friend" from the madrassa, and when he asks you whether you're still going to prayers five times a day you sort of tell him what he wants to hear in the hope that he'll just shut up and, you know, leave you alone. You forget all about that, but then later that evening, he sees you hanging out at the Yi Huat Restaurant, drinking a Guiness. He goes straight to the religious police, who come back and arrest you for drinking while Muslim. "But I'm not a Muslim!" you claim. "You have it all wrong!" Would that be a defense? Or would it be preferable for you as an American be charged with drinking? Or apostasy? (The latter is not a loophole, but a crime.) I don't know the answers, but it probably wouldn't be the greatest time to ask your old friend where the Malaysian gay bars are. posted by Eric on 08.25.09 at 11:20 AM
Comments
I defended him. Because seriously, what's wrong with a beer. Also, during Gatesgate, and it was "Oh, beer's the working man's drink!" I thought, "Maybe Barry O just likes beer." Some people like beer. Fearsome Comrade · August 27, 2009 05:03 PM Heh, something about my country. I guess I should say some few lame words in defence of the old sod, but I won't. There are two separate (and supposedly equal, but yeah, come on) legal systems in Malaysia; teh civil, which is for non-Muslims, and teh Shariah, which is for Muslims. At some stage they wanted to implement the full set of Islamic laws (hudud), which would have included chopping the hand off aa Muslim thief while his non-Muslim gets off with a short stay in jail. How do they tell you're Muslim? Good question. My guess is, if you were stupid enough to wear Muslim-like clothes, have a Muslim-like name, dropped into the local mosque before heading off to the pub for a Tiger, then you're a Muslim. Malaysians have a govt-issued ID card, which contains all the information that would send privacy advocates in the USA up the wall. Including ethnicity, religion, current address, and fingerprints. S'poreans have the same card. Funny; these ICs were meant to be to combat Commies, but I don't see too many pinko bastards around here anymore. I must take exception to the Bumiputera comment, though. Yes, it is positive discrimination. But it's racial in nature, not religious (although, yes, people have been twisting it to become religious). Also, note that these cases happened in the 'rural' areas - in other words, where the authorities can't turn a blind eye. Believe me when I say there are plenty of places where Muslims can get themselves shit-faced on all the XO and Vodka they want... in KL. It was wrong to make it illegal, but it was also stupid for them to go drinking in the East Coast states. Kinda sad that we're at this level, isn't it? Gregory · September 1, 2009 06:33 AM Post a comment
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There's nothing "progressive" about Malaysian Islam.
The Bumiputra system entrenches the systematic legal and social disability of all non-Muslims in Malaysia. It is, essentially, disguised jizya, a major component of Sharia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumiputra