‘Hudud hijacked by religionists’
Muslim lawyer Art Harun says opposing the implementation of hudud does not mean one is against Islam
Alyaa Azhar, Free Malaysia Today
The discourse on hudud has been hijacked by religionists on religious grounds, said lawyer cum human rights activist Azahar Harun.
Azahar, better know as Art, said the current rhetoric is that non-Muslims do not have the right to talk about hudud while Muslims who oppose hudud are said to be against Islam.
However, Azahar, at a forum organised by MCA, titled ‘Hudud- A Nation at a Crossroads’, said it was important to bring things back on track by looking at the country’s constitution.
“I am not against Islam. But we must look at our societal order as we live in a multiracial country. I’ve always been called a kafir (infidel), but that doesn’t bother me.
“Because when I’m six feet under ground, no one is going to be with me, not PAS, not MIC and not MCA,” he said.
Azahar believes that hudud has come back into the picture because it was PAS’ “wet dream to establish an Islamic state and implement hudud”.
He gave a scenario where after murdering a Chinese daughter, the Muslim murderer offers RM3 million in blood money and only one of the parents accepts it.
“So how can we say hudud does not affect the non-Muslims, too?” he asked.
He lamented how hudud has been cast in a bad light because PAS has failed to give proper explanation on the matter.
“For unmarried couples who commit zina (unlawful sexual intercourse), the punishment is to be lashed 100 times, not to be stoned to death.
“And why, in the Kelantan and Terengganu Syariah enactment, if a woman complains that she was raped, she’ll be punished by hudud? Rape does not need four witnesses.
“Who would be stupid to commit rape in front of four witnesses?”
