Syariah law has to be at the forefront of nation-building - Pembela

SHAH ALAM - The Associations of Islam Defenders (Pembela) said Syariah law in Malaysia has to be at the forefront of nation-building.

Its chairman Aminuddin Yahaya said the misunderstandings about Islam needed to be rectified, noting that the main challenge was to educate the society on the “true narrative” of the religion.

“It is still seen as a rigid and intolerant religion.

“Islamophobic sentiments which were spread by the West was a ploy to further distance the society from Islam,” he said in his opening speech at the Law Convention at Tamu Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, today.

He pointed out that there were certain court cases involving the Syariah law which were not decided in favour of Muslims.

He added that the Sultan’s power as the head of the religion of Islam was even being questioned.

Aminuddin also called out those who had interfered in a case involving the unilateral conversion of three children to Islam by urging the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) to cancel their conversion.

“This did not happen out of the blue nor was it coincidental, but this was a result of decades of proper planning.

“I think this is an insult to Muslims because in other countries, I am sure that legal action would be taken against such individuals,” he said.

The Syariah law in the country, he said which was being treated like a secondary and subordinate law to the civil law needed to be changed.

“I am confident that we have the ability and expertise to amend existing laws and submit thoughtful suggestions in regards to the Federal Constitution.

“Perhaps this fight will take 20 years and we might not have enough time, but this is something we must accomplish,” Aminuddin said.

Pahang mufti Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Rahman Osman who was also present at the convention agreed with Aminuddin saying that although Malaysia is a Muslim country, the Syariah law was not being taken seriously and must be rectified by those in power.