Jennifer Cocks
October 29, 2010
2:06 pm
Sisters in Islam is a prominent non-governmental organization in Malaysia. It fights for reforming women’s rights by challenging the enforcement and punishment associated with breaking Muslim morality laws. Initially Sisters in Islam was formed to stop child marriages, polygamy, and more recently to stop the caning of women who have been caught publicly drinking alcohol. Recently, the Malaysian Assembly of Muslim Youths filed suit against the women’s advocacy group, claiming that the use of Islam in its name is confusing Muslim practitioners by appearing to represent all Muslims. The High Court ruled in favor of the Sisters in Islam, stating that the Muslim Youths group had no legal basis for challenging the name.
I think the Sisters in Islam are trying to bring a modern interpretation to the acceptable behaviors and punishments of Muslim practitioners. Basic human rights and women’s rights are also incorporated in the goals of the organization. I do believe that the ‘Muslim Youths’ organization had an interesting point, that the organization’s goals do conflict with the traditional values and customs associated with Islam; I also believe that the cognitive dissonance it might bring to people that do get confused and perceive the organization as being representative of the majority of Muslims would be positive and hopefully will promote additional reforms. However, the group has challenges that I wished the article spent more time on; for instance, the Sisters were able to stop the caning punishment for women who drink alcohol in public and instead women now serve community service for the offense. But since the implementation of the alternate punishment, other moral crimes that Muslim Malaysian women commit have been adversely affected. One specific instance that the article highlighted was that women who have committed adultery are now being caned- a punishment that is new for that particular moral crime. Obviously, the ‘Sisters’ have many more trials ahead in their quest for “promoting moderation in Islam.”
1 comment:
I appreciate the works of the Sisters in Islam. Obvious, it is an organisation that is against the notion of cultural relativism. Hence, it is doomed to face many resistances and challenges from the traditional Islamic groups.
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