Grabbing a beer along Kuala Lumpur's Jalan Ampang last week,
it would be difficult to imagine that sharia law applied to 60 per cent of
Malaysia's 27 million people. Tourists and local revelers bar-hopped along a
strip that pounds to the usual dance, trance and RnB. All lubricated by beer
flowing like water, with poured-into-the-dress waitresses peddling shots of
vodka and tequila by the tray-full.
So you might be forgiven for thinking that I, an Irishman, am in my
element. The food is great, the beaches are fantastic, and Kuala Lumpur
features two of the world's most spectacular vertigo-inducing urban landmarks —
the Petronas Towers and the KL Tower — both among the world's tallest
buildings.
Still, all's not what it seems in this slickly-marketed, 'moderate
Islamic' tourist magnet.
Western media is fond of latching on to lurid examples of sharia-mandated
punishment, not least when these apply to women. On cue, last week saw
headlines about a 32-year-old woman named Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarno, who was
sentenced to be caned for drinking beer in public.
However, the courts
seemed to waver as the sentence was due to be carried out. Thirty minutes after picking Kartika up, officials turned back and she was brought home. At first they said the punishment was
suspended until after Ramadan, but this was later changed to an indefinite
suspension pending sharia court review.
Next came an announcement by the Ministry for Information, Communication
and Culture that Muslims could not attend a concert by the Black Eyed Peas,
scheduled for KL on 25 September. The gig is part of Guinness' 250th
Anniversary celebrations, but because the Irish brewery giant sponsored the Peas' appearance, the authorities deemed it in contravention of the sharia
legal system and its alcohol prohibitions.
Malaysia follows a dual-track justice system. Sharia laws apply to Muslim in
all personal matters. Non-Muslims — mainly Christian Chinese, Hindu Tamil/Indian, Sikh and others — are subject to the civil code.
For ethnic Malays — who are also defined as Muslims — the sharia system
often clashes with the civil courts, and often the former takes
precedence. However, the sharia issue has affected other faiths.
The
Catholic Herald newspaper has squabbled with the authorities over the right
to use the word 'Allah' in its Malay-language editions. It claims that this is
the word for 'God' that Christians of the region use.
In 2007, the sharia courts deemed illegitimate the conversion of a Christian