KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—Rising Islamic conservatism in Malaysia, where women were caned under Islamic law for the first time this month, has cast doubt over the future of the multi-ethnic country, commentators say.
The thrashing of three women for sex out of wedlock, a spate of firebombings at places of worship, and a row over the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims have shaken Malaysia's reputation as a moderate Muslim-majority nation.
"Malaysia's multi-religious future is uncertain because the government is caving in to the demands of conservative Islamic forces," said sociologist Noraini Othman from pressure group Sisters in Islam.
The religious sharia courts, which operate in parallel with the civil system, have become more muscular in recent years, clamping down on rarely enforced laws that ban alcohol and sex out of wedlock for Muslim Malays.
"The caning of the three women was a clear violation of Malaysia's penal code which does not allow women to be caned," said Noraini.
"So this is a major clash between sharia and civil law in Malaysia, with the government obviously siding with sharia."
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin defended the caning, saying at the weekend that it was "far lighter" than the heavy length of rattan used to flog criminals in the civil justice system for crimes like rape and murder.
"The punishment is legitimate and in accordance with the law," he said.
The action against the women, who in a carefully managed press conference said they welcomed their punishment as an opportunity to repent, came after a dispute over the word "Allah," which has escalated religious tensions.
Eleven churches, a mosque, and two Muslim prayer halls were attacked with Molotov cocktails, stones, and paint following a December court ruling that overturned a ban on non-Muslims using "Allah" as a translation for "God."
The government argues that although the word is commonly used by Christians in the Middle East and in neighboring Indonesia, it is off-limits in Malaysia because it could encourage conversion out of Islam, which is illegal.
The dispute has highlighted fears among Malaysia's ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities that rising "Islamization" is seeing their rights gradually eroded.
"There is probably no country in Asia that is getting the bad press these days that Malaysia is," the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy said in a recent report.
"Islamic activists... are threatening Malaysia’s secular credentials and pushing for a broader Islamization of Malaysia in ways that could deter not only foreign investors but also indigenous groups like ethnic Chinese and Indian business people."
Analysts say the politicization of Islam has escalated since March 2008 elections that saw the long-serving Barisan Nasional coalition lose unprecedented ground to a three-member opposition alliance.
After minority voters deserted the coalition, its lead party the United Malays National Organization (Umno) is now vying with the conservative Islamic party PAS, an opposition member, for the votes of Malays.
"These recent issues of caning and the use of the word 'Allah' are all political rather than religious, in a bid to get greater Malay support at the polls rather than really attempting to resolve any religious issue," blogger and columnist Muaz Omar told AFP.
"For a very long time, Islam in Malaysia has been managed and controlled by a select few," he said.
"In the end, it will be up to the Malays to determine what happens—as the country gets more urbanized it is likely that they will reject such conservative attitudes and Umno unless it changes." - Romen Bose, Agence France-Presse-Inquirer.net, February 22, 2010
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