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Campaign against polygamy launched
AFP (17.03.2003)/ HRWF Int. (21.03.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - A coalition of 12 Malaysian women's groups on Sunday launched a campaign against polygamy following recent moves by some states to ease restrictions for Muslim men to take a second wife.
Most Muslim men here are generally allowed to marry up to four wives, providing they have authorisation from their existing wives.
But Muslim women's groups were enraged when last year the government of northern Perlis state, bordering Thailand, announced it would allow Muslim men to marry again without the consent of the first wife.
The northeast state of Terengganu also plans to ease the process of taking on a second wife for its legislators by issuing them with undated letters authorising them to do so at any time.
Zainah Anwar, director of Sisters-In-Islam, said the coalition wanted to spread the message that polygamy was not the norm in a Muslim marriage and to encourage Muslim men to make a conscious commitment to monogamy.
She told AFP that official statistics showed that only five per cent of Muslim marriages in the country were polygamous but estimated the figure to be nearly 20 per cent.
"The catalyst for this campaign arose from the Perlis announcement to welcome men to practice polygamy there without any restrictions and the growing sense that polygamy is a right in Islam," she said.
Citing the Prophet Muhammad as an example, she said he was faithful to his first wife for 25 years and that his polygamous marriages after her death were to widowed or divorced women for political and tribal reasons.
"Our position is that polygamy is not an absolute right in Islam. Monogamy is the norm," she added.
Muslims make up 60 per cent of Malaysia's 23 million people. To skip strict Shariah regulations demanding they receive permission from their wives before marrying again, many Muslim men have quietly taken on other wives across the border in neighbouring Thailand.
The "Campaign for Monogamy" was backed by Endon Mahmood, the wife of Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
"Polygamy all too often destroys the happiness of a marriage and family, and implications for the children involved are almost always ignored," she said when launching the campaign at a shopping mall in a Kuala Lumpur suburb.
"The love between me and my husband, even after nearly forty years of marriage, grows stronger every day. Monogamy is the choice for my family."
Zainah said leaflets, booklets and car stickers would be distributed to raise awareness.
She urged the authorities to speed up divorce proceedings for Muslim women and urged the government to set up a national register of Muslim marriages and divorces to allow women to ascertain the status of their prospective husbands. There is now only a register for non-Muslim marriages.
Religious court gets technology boost
by Raslan Sharif
NewsNow (07.02.2003)/ HRWF Int. (11.02.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - The Government has launched an application system for the Syariah Court that it said would help speed up the administration of justice under syariah law.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the E-Syariah application system, a web-enabled Syariah Court case management system that also integrates other related functions.
Dr Mahathir said in his speech at the launch that the introduction of E-Syariah was not for the "sake of having a sophisticated system, even though we do not want to see Islamic law enforcement (processes) remaining at an out-moded level."
He added there had been cases where "years passed" before a verdict was handed down.
"Justice delayed is justice denied ... E-Syariah would help speed up the judicial process," he said.
Instances of Syariah Court cases -- which largely involve disputes under Islamic family law -- dragging on for several years have increasingly fallen under the spotlight, although the problem is nothing new.
Women's organisations, in particular, have regularly highlighted the need for cases filed with the Syariah Court to be expedited more efficiently.
The introduction of E-Syariah was expected to help in that direction, according to the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu).
Acknowledging that "the Syariah Court has received much media publicity of late, not all of which have been good," Mampu director-general Datuk Dr Muhammad Rais Abdul Karim said "attention should be given to the need to standardise the administration and improve the processes and procedures of the Syariah Court -- the quicker the better."
"Technology can help us in this regard," he said.
However, Dr Mahathir was quick to caution that "E-Syariah is not the answer to all problems ... it is only an enabler."
Rais said that the real measure of the system's success would be when "the people themselves use it ... they will be the judge of its effectiveness."
He also said the main challenge would be "the capacity of the Syariah Court to make the changes in working practices and attitudes" that would be required to take full advantage of the system.
Mampu initiated the development of E-Syariah, which is the newest of several components that fall under the Multimedia Super Corridor's Electronic Government Flagship Application.
E-Syariah will be implemented across 106 Syariah courts in 102 locations nationwide, with installation spread out over several stages, to be completed by 2005.
The entire application system comprises six components: Syariah Court management, office automation, lawyer registration, library management, portal, and an inter-agency network.
According to Mampu, the system would enable judges and court registrars to communicate electronically to exchange information, as all court employees, including judges, would have their own e-mail addresses.
Judges and registrars would also have online access to such cases, and be able to monitor ongoing ones.
A database of all cases filed with the Syariah Court will be maintained for that purpose, and to avoid duplication of cases in other states.
The E-Syariah network would also be linked to the National Registration Department's Agency Link-up System (Alis), Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) and the Malaysian Legal Assistance Bureau.
The extensive links would ensure that all information related to a particular case would be easily accessible, according to Mampu.
"Individual information can be verified against records kept by the National Registration Dept, bureau officers will be able to check the status of their client's case through the Internet, and marriage records in Jakim will be made accessible," said Rais.
The lawyer registration component will be used for the registration of new lawyers and for the renewal of practising certificates, all maintained in a database to facilitate monitoring and coordination by the authorities.
E-Syariah would also be equipped with a web-based library management system that would enable users to conduct electronic searches, and make online bookings for books and other library materials kept at the Malaysian Syariah Judiciary Department (JKSM) library and State Syariah libraries.
The E-Syariah portal would provide the latest court procedures and regulations and be opened to members of the public. The public would also be able to make enquiries on the status of particular cases and use the online Faraid calculator.
Faraid is the system for the distribution and allocation of a deceased Muslim's estate and property.
According to Mampu, several E-Syariah components have been fully implemented in Perlis, Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and the Federal Territory, while the remaining states would be covered by the middle of this year.
The E-Syariah system was designed and developed by Sarawak Information Systems Sdn Bhd. The system's implementation project is being lead by JKSM, which is being assisted by KPMG as project management consultant.
Mufti warns women not to oppose polygamy
The practice is allowed under Islam, so 'hold your tongue'
The Straits Times (06.01.2003)/ HRWF Int. (08.01.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Religious authorities in Perlis have told women's groups not to oppose the move to make it easier for Muslim men to take additional wives, saying polygamy is allowed under Islam.
The Mufti of Perlis, Datuk Mat Jahaya Husin, warned that groups which were critical of the move on polygamy would be in danger of committing a 'wrong' by denying its legality under Islamic law, according to a report in Malaysia's Berita Harian.
'Hence it is best to hold your tongue lest you deny the right to polygamy in Islam,' he was quoted as saying.
His remarks were directed at criticisms by women's groups and Women's Affairs Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who described the move as an insult to women.
The mufti recently announced the move to make it easier for Muslim men to take a second wife in the state instead of crossing the border to marry in Thailand.
But in a swift rejoinder, a women's group, Sister in Islam, argued that Muslims had the right to an opinion and to be engaged in Islamic discourse.
'Freedom of expression is enshrined in Islam,' said the group's programme coordinator Ruzana Udin, adding that this did not mean changing the teachings of Islam but, rather, examining progressive applications of the teachings in current situations.
She said it was when Islamic discourse was monopolised by just a few that the religion would become backward.
Another group, Women's Candidacy Initiative, said the cause of the present controversy was the fact that people were not involved in the debate on polygamy.
'Many Islamic scholars have refuted the right of men to practise polygamy, and yet for some reason most Malaysians don't know this,' said spokesman Zaitun Kasim.
She said countries such as Tunisia had banned polygamy, while others such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Morocco and Lebanon allowed marriage contracts, which empowered women to divorce their husbands if they married again.
Malaysian state promotes itself as polygamist paradise
by Sean Yoong
AP (02.01.2003)/ HRWF Int. (03.01.2003) - Website http://www.hrwf.net - Email: info@hrwf.net - Muslim authorities in a northern Malaysian state have loosened polygamy laws in an attempt to dissuade men from sneaking abroad to marry new wives, a cleric said Thursday.
More than 100 Muslim men have recently married second spouses in Perlis state, 500 kilometers (300 miles) north of Kuala Lumpur, after authorities relaxed rules making it difficult for some men to wed again, said Jahya Husein, the state's top Islamic cleric.
"This is what we're publicizing if you want to practice polygamy, come to Perlis," Jahya told The Associated Press. "Don't run off to Thailand to get married secretly."
Under Islamic laws enforced in Malaysia, Muslim men can have up to four wives, but they need to fulfill various requirements before they can marry again, including obtaining signed permission from their existing spouse and the state religious department.
Illegal polygamy is punishable by prison sentences and fines handed down by Islamic courts.
Despite the risks, more than 500 Malaysian husbands held secret weddings in neighboring Thailand last year and returned home with their additional wives, government officials estimate.
Nearly two-thirds of Malaysia's 23 million people are ethnic Malay Muslims, who are subject to Islamic as well as secular laws. The country is widely viewed as a moderate Muslim nation, and polygamy is relatively rare outside wealthy circles and royalty.
But the reduction of red tape in Perlis could make the practice more common, Jahya said.
Husbands in the tiny, mostly rural state no longer need their wives' written consent to remarry. Polygamy registration rates have been made more affordable 500 ringgit (US$130) for Perlis residents and 1,000 ringgit (US$260) for Malaysian outsiders. Men also need not undergo fresh marital instruction courses before remarrying, which is customary in other states.
But some restrictions still apply. Husbands should be financially secure to support a second family and confirm they are not trying to hurt their existing spouse by remarrying.
Authorities fear illegal marriages involving foreign brides could lead to social ills, broken marriages with existing spouses and complications when the couple have children.
Lo'lo Ghazali, a senior women's leader in the opposition Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, expressed hope that the relaxation of rules in Perlis would reduce illegal marriages, which she said violated Islamic values and threatened the rights of wives.
"Polygamy is not wrong," Lo'lo told the AP. "If the move in Perlis keeps men from having mistresses or illegal wives by making it easier to marry twice legally, then it is good."
But Malaysian women's affairs minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil worried the state's move might spur some men to wed recklessly and jeopardize their existing marriages.
"Marriage is like building a mosque," Shahrizat was quoted as saying by the Bernama national news agency. "In your enthusiasm to build a second, third or fourth mosque, don't allow the first and original mosque to be wrecked."
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