The implementation of Islamic law in contemporary Malaysia : prospects and problems
While the Federal Constitution of Malaysia readily proclaims Islam to be Malaysia's official religion, opinions have fiercely diverged among legal scholars and practitioners as to how substantive should the relevant clause on this be interpreted. Such vagueness is typical of the document, whos...
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
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2009
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/90449 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/6097 |
| _version_ | 1811678946200125440 |
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| author | Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid |
| author2 | S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies |
| author_facet | S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid |
| author_sort | Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid |
| collection | NTU |
| description | While the Federal Constitution of Malaysia readily proclaims Islam to be Malaysia's official religion, opinions have fiercely diverged among legal scholars and practitioners as to how substantive should the relevant clause on this be interpreted. Such vagueness is typical of the document, whose drafting took place amidst intense negotiations among Malaysia's multi-racial communities, resulting in an informal bargain or 'social contract' which until today has become a subject of bitter dispute amidst rising polarisation along 'Muslim vesus non-Muslim' lines. Locating origins of contemporaneous legal conflict to divergent understandings of constitutional clauses, this article proceeds to discuss contemporary controversies which she light on Malaysia's struggle to identify itself as a nation-state which integrates the best of both modern and Islamic civilisations. It is argued that this delicate balance has been recently threatened by the increasing penetration of a form of orthodox Islamist legalism which antagonises non-Muslim minorities and unduly homogenises its Malay-Muslim population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:01:20Z |
| format | Working Paper |
| id | ntu-10356/90449 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T03:01:20Z |
| publishDate | 2009 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/904492020-11-01T08:40:49Z The implementation of Islamic law in contemporary Malaysia : prospects and problems Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions::Asia::Malaysia While the Federal Constitution of Malaysia readily proclaims Islam to be Malaysia's official religion, opinions have fiercely diverged among legal scholars and practitioners as to how substantive should the relevant clause on this be interpreted. Such vagueness is typical of the document, whose drafting took place amidst intense negotiations among Malaysia's multi-racial communities, resulting in an informal bargain or 'social contract' which until today has become a subject of bitter dispute amidst rising polarisation along 'Muslim vesus non-Muslim' lines. Locating origins of contemporaneous legal conflict to divergent understandings of constitutional clauses, this article proceeds to discuss contemporary controversies which she light on Malaysia's struggle to identify itself as a nation-state which integrates the best of both modern and Islamic civilisations. It is argued that this delicate balance has been recently threatened by the increasing penetration of a form of orthodox Islamist legalism which antagonises non-Muslim minorities and unduly homogenises its Malay-Muslim population. 2009-09-22T00:54:57Z 2019-12-06T17:47:56Z 2009-09-22T00:54:57Z 2019-12-06T17:47:56Z 2009 2009 Working Paper Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid. (2009). The implementation of Islamic law in contemporary Malaysia : prospects and problems. (RSIS Working Paper, No. 169). Singapore: Nanyang Technological University. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/90449 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/6097 en RSIS Working Papers ; 169/09 45 p. application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions::Asia::Malaysia Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid The implementation of Islamic law in contemporary Malaysia : prospects and problems |
| title | The implementation of Islamic law in contemporary Malaysia : prospects and problems |
| title_full | The implementation of Islamic law in contemporary Malaysia : prospects and problems |
| title_fullStr | The implementation of Islamic law in contemporary Malaysia : prospects and problems |
| title_full_unstemmed | The implementation of Islamic law in contemporary Malaysia : prospects and problems |
| title_short | The implementation of Islamic law in contemporary Malaysia : prospects and problems |
| title_sort | implementation of islamic law in contemporary malaysia prospects and problems |
| topic | DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions::Asia::Malaysia |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/90449 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/6097 |
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