The council chairperson Prof Aznan Hasan said today it is compulsory for all Muslim MPs to support the motion if it is tabled at the Dewan Rakyat.
Aznan said Muslim leaders should support the issue in the interest of Islam and Muslims, and not based on their political interest.
“For
the non-Muslims, the Isma council urges them to respect that Islam is
the religion of the Federation as stated in the Federal Constitution.
Islam has a special position and this has to be respected by all.“Hence, efforts to question the religion's standing in Malaysia is an attempt to disrupt the peace which we have today,” Aznan said in a statement today.
He was commenting on a proposal by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Jamil Khir Baharom on having a five-tiered syariah court system compared to the present three, which includes the formation of a Federal Syariah Court.
Support for 'equal jurisdiction'
Jamil was quoted to have said the government is waiting for a decision from the various state Islamic councils on establishing these courts to strengthen the syariah judiciary.
Presently, courts within the syariah system include the Lower Syariah Court, Syariah High Court, and the Syariah Court of Appeal which operate in the various states.
Each state has jurisdiction over Islam, which falls within the state’s powers.
Jamil says the Federal Syariah Court will have the same jurisdiction as the civil Federal Court.
DAP and MIC, among other political parties, are said to oppose such formation.
Aznan said Isma supports its formation and efforts to strengthen the syariah judiciary in an attempt to improve the Syariah Court in the country.
He also reiterated the NGO's support of any effort for the syariah system to have equal jurisdiction as the civil courts.
"For me, the effort is one way to uplift Islam from the legal aspect, and also to avoid any conflict in decisions made by the syariah courts which are challenged in the civil courts," he said.
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