13 January 2010

DR. FARUQI: KALIMAH ALLAH

Salam 2 all.

Saya perturunkan disini tulisan Professor Datuk Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi* mengenai isu penyalahgunaan kalimah ALLAH. Dr. Faruqi seoarng yang dikenal sebagai pakar perundangan khususnya dalam bidang perlembagaan. Pandangan dan pendapat beliau selalu digunakan oleh puak-puak Islam Liberal dan para penyembah agama hak asasi kemanusiaan.

Sebenarnya kalau dilihat pandangan Dr. Faruqi tidak jauh bezanya dengan pandangan Datuk Dr. Siddiq Fadzil yang mengambil pendekatan 'uruf al balad; melihat kepada keadaan setempat dalam menilai masalah penyalahgunaan kalimah ALLAH ini.

Moga pandangan yang beliau kemukakan akan memperbetulkan kembali mentaliti segelintir puak-puak Kristian dan para penyokong dan pendokong mereka termasuk dikalangan Melayu sendiri.

Zulkifli Bin Noordin
Rabu
27 Muharram 1431
13 Januari 2010

*Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi is a Malaysian Senior Professor of law who has served Universiti Teknologi MARA in Shah Alam, Selangor in various capacities from 1971 onwards. He served as the Head of the Diploma in Law programme (1979 - 1984), as Assistant Rector (1996-1999), Assistant Vice Chancellor (1999 - 2001) and Legal Advisor (1996 - 2006).
He has also served on the faculties of law at the
International Islamic University Malaysia, part time at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and a visiting professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia.
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At the age of 19, Dr Shad Faruqi graduated from the
Wesleyan University in the United States with a degree in Government Administration. He went on to complete his LLB (First Class) and LLM (First Class) from Aligarh Muslim University, India and his PhD from International Islamic University Malaysia.
Dr. Shad Faruqi has served as a consultant to many countries including
Maldives, Fiji, Timor Leste, Afghanistan and Iraq, advising them on their constitutional documents. In 1991 as part of an Asia Foundation Project he drafted the constitution of the Republic of Maldives.
On behalf of Institut Teknologi MARA he drafted the Institut Teknologi MARA (Amendment) Bill 1996 that went on to become an Act of Parliament. In 1999 he drafted the Universiti Teknologi MARA (Amendment) Bill that was enacted by Parliament as Act A1073. The Act converted Institut Teknologi MARA into a full-fledged university.
At the end of 2004, the
Barisan Nasional Back-Benchers Club of the Parliament of Malaysia appointed him as a consultant to advise them on reforming and empowering Parliament in the face of the executive branch's dominance of the Malaysian government.
In 2006 the
Minister of Education appointed him Chairman of a Committee to propose amendments to the Universities and University Colleges Act 1972 [Act 30]. The Committee's recommendations were adopted as law in early 2009. He is also a member of the Apex University Initiative; Distinguished Fellow of the Institute of Strategic Studies; and one-time member of the Human Rights Commission's Education Sub-Committee.



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(Petikan daripada akhbar The Star Rabu 13.01.2010)

Finding the middle path



REFLECTING ON THE LAW
By SHAD SALEEM FARUQI

It is not always right to use our rights. In matters of religion, history, logic and reason must not apply exclusively. Emotions must be regarded.
THE desecration of several places of Christian worship must be condemned as a shameless and mindless atrocity. A democratic society does not resolve disputes through violence.
It is obvious that we have in our midst a lunatic fringe that has no understanding of religion or of the Constitution or of the traditions of tolerance and multi-culturalism that made Malaysia an exemplar for all other plural societies.
In the midst of gloom it is heartening to note that a large number of Muslims, including the Prime Minister, have joined grieving Christians to condemn this outrage.
Church leaders have shown exceptional restraint and have been true to their faith by condemning the sin but forgiving the sinners.
We have to put this national shame behind us and to move on to resolve the “Allah issue” in a spirit of compassion, moderation and accommodation.
Through the looking glass of the Christians, I can clearly see that although the word Allah has obvious reverence for Muslims, no one can deny that Allah is also a term of language.
For centuries, in the whole of Arabia, followers of all semitic religions have used the word Allah to refer to their own God. Arab-speaking Christians use Allah al-ab (God the father), Allah al-ibn (God the son), Allah al-quds (God the Holy Spirit).
Such transcendence of common symbols and vocabulary must be commended, not condemned. In any case the Muslim belief in one and only one God necessitates acceptance that Allah is for everyone and not just for Muslims.
There is also the constitutional dimension of freedom of religion in Article 11(1) and the right to free speech in Article 10(1)(a). These Articles are broad enough to permit any one to invoke whatever language or sentiment he wishes to invoke in order to open his heart and soul to God.
Muslim leaders must also acknow­ledge their role in this imbrogilo. They banned local translations of the Bible into Malay. This forced Malay-speaking Christians, especially in Sabah and Sarawak, to import Bibles from Indonesia.
Bibles in Bahasa Indonesia use Allah to refer to the Christian God.
The Muslim argument that use of the word Allah by non-Muslims will confuse the Muslim population is demeaning.
It paints the Muslims as an extremely ignorant and gullible lot. It ignores the fact that Islam took deep roots in Malaya hundreds of years ago and became the identifying feature of the Malay persona.
The Islamic faith was not shattered during British rule. Why should it be so easily shaken now after 52 years of Muslim rule, 52 years of Islamic education and a vigorous dakwah movement?
However, looking at the issue through Muslim lenses, many issues tug at my conscience. First, it is not always right to use our rights. Freedom per se has no value. It is what freedom is for. It is the use to which it is put. It is the sense of responsibility and restraint with which it is exercised.
Take the one hundred million Muslims in India for example. Despite their rights in secular India’s Constitution, they refrain from butchering the cow because the cow is regarded as sacred by the majority Hindus.
In the British case of Humphries vs Connors, 1864, a Protestant lady was marching in a predominantly Catholic area with an orange lily in her buttonhole. For historical reasons that evoked painful memories for the Catholics.
A police constable plucked the lily away. In an action against the officer for assault, the court held that the officer was within his duty to prevent breaches of the peace.
Similar considerations apply in Malaysia. The constitutional right to freedom of religion is subjected by Article 11(4) to restrictions on proselytisation. Article 11(5) subordinates religion to public order, public health or morality.
A relevant law on public order is section 298 of the Penal Code which punishes the offence of wounding religious feelings.
These feelings are likely to be wounded if there is a claim that Allah was born in the manger; that Allah was born of Mary; that Allah was crucified on the cross.
The Muslim doctrine is that Allah does not beget and cannot be begotten. He cannot be depicted in any physical form. He cannot be part of the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
To argue that the word Allah is central to the Christian faith and that any restriction on its usage would hinder freedom of conscience of the Christians requires a willing suspension of disbelief.
Other than in the Arab Peninsula and in Sabah and Sarawak, the word Allah has never been part of Christian discourse or sermons. Certainly in west Malaysia the word was not part of Christian vocabulary up to now.
The Herald’s new found love for Arabic words is indeed very touching but one cannot fail to note that the import of Arabic words is rather selective.
Tan Sri Dzulkifli of USM has pointed out that in the Malay translation of the Bible, the word Allah is used to refer to the Lord God but Mary, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, Michael and other revered figures are not given their Arabic names.
One must also remember that Malaysia is not Arab-speaking and Christian sermons in Malay could just as well use words like Tuhan, Dewa, Dewata and Betara without any diminution of freedom of conscience.
The plaintiffs in the Herald case must also take note that there is suspicion, unjustified though it may be, that the use of the word Allah is an indirect attempt to proselytize Muslims contrary to Article 11(4).
The argument that the Church will be using the word Allah only privately is credible but we all know that it does not take much to put a private publication in the public domain.
All in all it can be said that in relation to the Herald case, the general Muslim reaction is too emotional and is based on lack of knowledge.
The Herald, on the other hand, has lots of facts but no tact. Its arguments rely on cold logic, history and rationality but there is total disregard of local context and of religious sensitivities.
It is submitted that in matters of religion, history, logic and reason must not apply exclusively. Emotions must be regarded. Sometimes rights must give way to the need for social harmony. We need to find a middle path.
The case of Sabah and Sarawak Christians who have a long tradition of using the word Allah without any inter-religious problems needs to be sympathetically considered.
In the long range, encouragement must be given to replace Indonesian translations of the Bible with Malaysian renditions. All restrictions on the printing of Bibles in the Malay language must be lifted.
In relation to west Malaysian Christians, there is no need to use the sledgehammer of the Printing Press­es Act to impose prior restrai­nts. A Home Ministry advice on the consequences of violating Articles 11(4), 11(5) and section 298 of the Penal Code will be sufficient. If this advice is not followed, prosecutions can be commenced.
The judicial process should be allowed to continue without any intimidation. However neither judicial decisions nor executive proclamations can make this heart-wrenching problem go away.
We need inter-faith dialogue to find comprehensive political and administrative solutions for our tattered fabric of inter-religious relationships. There are many painful issues and piece-meal solutions will not be enough.
Fair and moderate solutions will require leadership and sacrifice. As the Rev Jesse Jackson said “leaders of substance do not follow opinion polls; they mould opinion, not with guns or power of position but with the power of their souls”.
> Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is Emeritus Professor of Law at UiTM and Visiting Professor at USM.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

salam. rasa mcm kelakar gak agama yang dah wujud sekian lama tidak ada nama bagi tuhan mereka sampai nak amik nama tuhan agama lain. sekurang2nye hindu pun ada nama untuk tuhan mereka. tak malu betol diaorg nih, nampak sangat agama ni macam tipu aje..

putihmerah said...

pandangan yg bernas!
rasanya pandangan Dr ni boleh di consider oleh semua pihak..
Malaysia kena ikut cara Malaysia.kita tidak boleh universal dlm certain2 perkara..

tobeng said...

En Zul,

Saya nampak cuma anda seorang yang terkontang-kanting di dalam PR yang membela Islam.Mungkin ada seorang dua yang lain tapi kurang menyerlah.

Ini sangat bertentangan dengan pendirian ketua yang anda sanjungi iaitu Anwar Ibrahim.Anwar Ibrahim sekarang(bukan dulu)mewakili golongan human right dan liberal yang sibuk2 anda perkatakan ini.Anwar juga yang menyokong tindakan pihak gereja tentang penggunaan nama Allah oleh Kristian.

Adakah anda pura2 menutup sebelah mata dengan tindak tanduk bos anda sendiri?Harap2 anda bukanlah hipokrit yang double standard.Bukan begitu?

Saya mendapat khabar yang anda akan mewakili bos anda dalam kes qazaf terhadap Saiful di Mahkamah Syariah.Saya gerenti 100% anda akan menang dalam mewakili bos anda.Bagaimanakah Saiful dapat membawa 4 orang saksi yang adil yang menyaksikan perbuatan terkutuk anwar terhadapnya.Adakah munasabah seorang yang mahu melakukan perbuatan homoseksual melakukannya secara terang2an sehingga boleh disaksikan oleh 4 orang yang lain?

Sekiranya Saiful benar2 diliwat anda bersubahat menzaliminya kerana membela penjenayah iaitu bos anda sendiri.Sebaliknya simangsa pula yang dipersalahkan dan dihukum kerana didapati 'menipu'(sekiranya beliau gagal mendatangkan saksi).Adakah seorang perogol boleh membawa kes seperti ini ke mahkamah syariah dan menuntut qazaf ke atas mangsa rogolnya?Sekiranya mangsa rogol tadi tidak dapat membawa 4 orang saksi(sudah pasti),maka adakah mangsa rogol tadi yang dihukum manakala siperogol senang2 terlepas dan dibersihkan namanya?Adakah anda cuba menunjukkan keadilan Islam atau mengambil kesempatan ke atas 'kelompangan' sistem perundangan Islam itu sendiri?

Soalan saya seterusnya.Adakah qazaf layak dikenakan kepada simangsa sendiri,bukankah sepatutnya qazaf untuk pihak ketiga yang menuduh?

Adakah anda 'buta' dengan permainan Anwar Ibrahim yang cuba mempermainkan terma2 perundangan untuk melepaskan diri?Adakah anda menyokong Anwar kerana anda sudah benar2 mengenalinya atau anda cuma seorang lagi yang taksub terhadapnya?

Jawab dengan matahati zul,jangan sampai tertipu dengan permainan kata anwar si chameleon!

Kalaupun anda tidak berani menyiarkan komen saya ini,sekurang2nya anda baca dan renung2kanlah.

Ikhlas dari saudara seIslammu.

Tiksan said...

"Hai orang-orang yang beriman, jika kamu menolong (agama) Allah, niscaya Dia akan
menolangmu dan meneguhkan kedudukanmu"

Bah Lontok said...

Bah sangat menyokong pendirian pemimpin2 PAS terutamanya Tn Guru Hj Nik Aziz berkenaan sokongan terhadap kejayaan perjuangan 'Herald the Catholic Weekly'.

Terlalu lama perkara perjuangan ini untuk diselesaikan, setelah selesai dengan keputusan Mahkamah membenarkan 'Herald' mengunakan perkataan "ALLAH" dan juga diterbitkan dalam Bahasa Melayu, banyak pehak pula yang menentang nya sampai ada yang bom atau bakar gereja.

Hanya Pemimpin2 PAS sahaja yang nampak bersetuju. Maka dengan ini pehak pendakwah Catholic akan lebih memudahkan tugas2 dakwah nya dikalangan kaum kami. Ada kemungkinan lebih ramai yang minat agama Catholic kerana ianya dianggap lebih kurang sama saja dengan Islam, bahkan ianya lebih senang kerana tidak banyak yang perlu dipelajari.

Selain dari itu bab makan minum pun tidak berubah boleh makan dan minum semua nya. Kerana tidak ada halal atau haram dalam segi pemakanan. Kejayaan 'Herald' ini akan memberi kan lebih ramai kaum asli memeluk agama Catholic.

Mudah-mudahan orang melayu pun banyak ikut sama masuk katolik yang mudah dan senang ini.

Sekarang kita sudah tidak ada apa bezanya, kita juga sama2 sembah ALLAH yang maha esa. Ameeeen!!!!!!!

buttercity said...

Soalan: Apa itu Islam Liberal? Lain dari Islam ke?

MomTom said...

saya setuju dengan 'ingin tahu' punya pendapat mengenai qazaf
tp xpe
itu isu lain....

di sini, saya nak kata yg hakim juga manusia biasa
tp ada puak2 di malaysia ini yg meletakkan seolah2 hakim ini manusia yg sangat bijak sehingga apa2 juga keputusannya, adalah betol

pemikiran begini patut dihapuskan

saya pernah tnya kwn saya, pengamal undang2 yg condemn kerajaan kerana selalu masuk campur dlm keputusan perundangan
saya tanya, jika kerajaan boleh ditegur, bagaimana pula ngan hakim?

kapten said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SHUKRI said...

Allahuakbar......Allahuakbar....
Allahuakbar....teruskan perjuangan YB dalam isu ini.

andy said...

YB keluar saja la dari PKR. saya dah meluat sgt tgk pemainan politik org kafir harbi nih.

Mereka bkn ikhlas memperjuangkan keadilan tetapi keadilan utk agama kristian & hindu,hak samarata mereka(non bumi), bahasa cina & sekolahh mereka saja.

saya sgt terkejut pendirian PAS.
Taniah YB & Dato Harun Din.. teruskan perjuangan islam