Lawyers, Islamic leaders and secular groups in Malaysia have raised alarm over a new parliamentary bill that they say will enforce a rigid Sunni orthodoxy on Muslims and threaten the country’s multicultural make-up.
Advertisement
The Mufti Bill 2024 aims to redefine the role of muftis – Islamic leaders who advise on religious matters – and grant them powers to issue legally binding fatwa, or religious rulings, without parliamentary oversight.
The bill, which has the backing of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and will be debated next week, requires the mufti to follow the Shafie school of Sunni Islam, which is the officially sanctioned interpretation of the state religion.
It has sparked concerns of an infringement of the religious freedoms of Muslims who follow other Islamic sects.
On Friday, a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) issued a statement rejecting any move to be “ruled by muftis”, calling the bill unconstitutional.
Advertisement
“This would effectively sideline the constitutional monarchy, the government, and the secular parliamentary democracy that Malaysia is built upon,” the group said.