“True Teachings of Islam”: Academic Unfreedom, Muslim Conformity, and Gender Inequality? - Part 2

(*This is a three-part series on academic freedom, interpretations of Islam and Muslim conformity and the Malaysian women’s movement*)

Read Part I here

Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin plans to grant RM100 million in research funds to UIA to promote “true teachings of Islam.” He stated, “Muslims are now facing challenges which are not of their own making. The spread of western liberalism, under the pretext of human rights activism and gender rights movement, has brought new beliefs and ideas that are totally against Islam”.

He cited “gay rights, lesbianism and same-sex marriage” as examples and said they are “sinful acts abhorred by Islam”. He suggested that this is made worse because “some Muslims do not just believe this, but also actively propagate these false beliefs to other Muslims”.

One of the many challenges facing Muslims mainly arises from how Islam has been interpreted and practised. Islam is not set in stone; it is what is understood, practised and disseminated by its adherents.

To avoid essentialising Islam and Muslims, it is important to note that Islam is not the sole factor in Muslim lives, and for the most part is not always the solution to all problems. In Malaysia, factors such as historical legacy, racial politics, education, autocracy, nation building and so on play significant roles in Muslim lives. Scriptural interpretation and “Islamic” laws and policies have to be understood as a wider part of the Malaysian fabric.

In Malaysia, citizens who claim Islam as their faith are subjected to paternalistic state surveillance that seeks to regulate their relationship with the Divine and monopolise the meaning of Islam.

The tools of surveillance include censorship, criminalisation and admonishment of anything construed as “insulting Islam and Muslims”. This, in turn, dismisses Muslim citizens as those whose faith is easily swayed.

In other words, Muslims cannot be trusted to be Muslims on their own. They cannot eat, drink and dress without the state scrutinising their choice and behaviour. They cannot form relationships across faith traditions without the laws of conversion and communal expectations of Malayness looming over them. They cannot be living, thinking, and believing Muslims without a stamp of approval from the state.

To be Muslim in Malaysia today is to be shackled to state interpretation of Islam by laws and policies that seek to shame, ridicule and restrict. There is adequate documentation of unconscionable, un-Islamic, and unconstitutional actions by various Islamic departments and enforcement officials.

The JAWI raid on Zouk and the vile and sexist attitudes of male officials towards women detainees still lingers in our memories. Snooping, moral policing, raids, and intimidation of those daring to transgress the culture of fear surrounding Islamic issues are all familiar to Malaysians.

Islam in Malaysia is about conformity to state orthodoxy. This mentality is no better than the infamous proclamation by George Bush after 9/11 – “either you are with us or against us”.

In Malaysia’s case, it’s either Muslims capitulate to the patriarchal, nationalistic and stationary state interpretation of Islam and be included in a particular formulation of ummah, or pay the price for disobedience by being subjected to violation and violence.

The state claims that Islam is the foundation that enables it and its machineries to formulate and legislate laws and policies to govern Muslims. The question is, has been, and will always be, is, what Islam?

Organisations such as Sisters in Islam, along with intellectuals such as Zainah Anwar, Patricia Martinez, Norani Othman, and Farish Noor have consistently questioned this interpretation of Islam and its impact on Muslims.

Who has the power and authority to interpret Islam? What are the sources of Islamic legal theory and practice that sanction laws and policies? How does colonialism factor into the formulation and evolution of contemporary Islamic law? What are the roles of women who have, for the most part, been excluded from historical interpretive communities?

Instead of taking advantage of the time of crisis currently facing communities of Muslims, by turning inward and re-evaluating patriarchal scriptural interpretations, harmful practices, and repressive laws and policies that impact citizen’s lives, the Minister blames “external” influences (read “Westernisation,” “Christianity” and “Secularism”) for societal ills.

Human rights and women’s movements are blamed for spreading “new beliefs and ideas that are totally against Islam.” Are the principles of dignity, justice, and equality championed by many rights based organisations not the fundamentals of Islam? Are these not the values contained in the Qur’an and through the deeds and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad?

The rights of the gay, lesbian and transgendered remain highly contested in many societies, and the Malaysian experience is just one of many. The leading scholar on Islam and sexuality, Scott Siraj Al-Haqq Kugle has suggested that the Quran does not condemn homosexuality but normative interpretations signifying Islamic tradition reference passages from the Quran, such as the story of Sodom and Gomorrah to invalidate sexual diversity.

Based on his critical reading of Islamic legal and scriptural interpretations along with narratives of Muslims he encountered, Kugle argues that ambiguity about homosexuality in Islam offers the possibilities that diversity in sexual practices of Muslims does not put them and Islam on a collision course.

In reading Kugle’s meticulous scholarship, I am reminded of the moral courage of gay, lesbian and transgender Muslims and their allies; these are the people who believe in God’s diversity in creation, the sacredness of life, the inherent dignity of human beings and above all, they are the ones most aware of God (Quran 49:13).

The way to become a “fortress of Islamic intellectualism” and function as a “beacon of light for the Muslim ummah”, as well as to promote Malaysia as a country of “moderate Muslims” in the bid for a UN Security Council seat is not through: defining Shiite teachings, pluralism, and liberalism as “threats” to Muslims; classifying gay, lesbian and transgender people as afflicted with a “disease”; Sabah’s Mufti proposal to “Malaynise” Muslim members of indigenous tribes; JAKIM issuing a warning that marriage between Muslims and non-Muslims is “prohibited” and against the state’s interpretation of Islam; labeling the 1Malaysia Spiritual Tourism project showcasing Buddhism, Hinduism and Christianity as “threatening the position and image of Islam,” and; divisive racial politics masquerading as historical account.

It is time the state ceases to insult the intelligence and faith of many Malaysian Muslims who are fully capable of living and practising Islam without the dictates of the state. Instead of stifling the production of knowledge, allow spaces where citizens have the right to discuss and debate interpretations of Islam and the questionable formulations of laws and policies.

Instead of marking gay, lesbian and transgendered bodies as “deviant,” facilitate interfaith and intercultural dialogues about the fluidity of gender identity and sexual orientation to revitalize Islamic faith and practice. Instead of using smoke and mirrors to project Malaysia as practicing “modern” and “moderate” Islam, begin revamping Islamic bureaucracy by retraining officials and policy-makers in contemporary and constructive approaches to Islamic texts, specifically in relation to questions of gender, religious freedom, sexualities and democracy with leading scholars of Islam such as Amina Wadud, Khaled Abou-El Fadl, Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Abdullahi An-Na’im, and Kecia Ali, as well as NGOs and community activists who have been actively engaged in this work.

Islam’s tradition of Tajdid (renewal) and Islah (reform) demands of Muslims the ability to implement timeless moral values and ethical principles according to the challenges of the times, as well as their diverse experiences and lived realities. After all, as believing Muslims, are we not obligated to reflect on the gift of intellect and reasoning?

Next week’s analysis will focus on the Malaysian women’s movement. – October 4, 2013.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.