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Shari'ah, Law, Islamic Finance and Muslim News
Monthly Archives: January 2012
January 31, 2012
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
Menelusuri Literatur Sirah Nabi Muhammad Sallallahualaihiwasallam
MENELUSURI LITERATUR SIRAH RASULULLAH SALLALLAHUALAIHIWASALLAM
Zulkifli Hasan
Ahad ini bersamaan dengan 12 Rabiulawal 1433H/2012M seperti kebiasaannya umat Islam akan menyambut maulidur Rasul bersempena memperingati kelahiran Nabi Muhammad Sallallahualaihiwasallam yang kita kasihi. Mungkin ada yang tidak tahu bahawa tarikh kewafatan Rasululullah juga berlaku pada 12 Rabiulawal iaitu pada 11 Hijrah/632M seperti yang diriwayatkan oleh sebahagian besar ahli sejarah. Manfaat juga untuk dikongsikan di sini bahawasanya kebanyakan ahli sejarah pada zaman sahabat dan tabiin yang meriwayatkan kisah dan kehidupan Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam merupakan pakar dalam ilmu hadis.
Tatkala sebahagian umat Islam sibuk membuat persiapan menyambut maulidur Rasul dengan pelbagai aktiviti, ada juga yang mempertikaikan usaha ini dan melabelkannya sebagai bidaah. Dalam kekhilafan ini, penulis memilih pendekatan sederhana untuk bersama-sama Imam Jalaluddin Sayuti, Sayid Ahmad bin Zaini Dahlan, Syeikh Yusuf Qaradawi dan fuqaha yang lain untuk mengharuskan sambutan Maulidur Rasul dengan syarat ianya tidak mencampur adukkan perkara yang dilarang oleh Islam. Dalam merungkai permasalahan ini, penulis ingin menukilkan kata-kata Hasan Al Banna menasihati umat Islam dalam masalah ini seperti yang diungkapkan oleh Yusuf Qaradawi di dalam Fiqh Awlawiyat, halaman 266-267 yang bermaksud:
“Wahai saudara-saudaraku, aku amat mengetahui bahawa saudara yang bertanya tadi, termasuk juga ramai di kalangan kalian, tidak bermaksud daripada soalan seumpama itu melainkan hanya ingin mengetahui, daripada kumpulan manakah pengajar baru ini? Adakah daripada kumpulan Syeikh Musa atau daripada kumpulan Syeikh Abdul Sami’?! Sesungguhnya pengetahuan ini tidak memberikan apa-apa manfaat kepada kamu, sedangkan kamu telah menghabiskan masa dalam keadaan fitnah selama lapan tahun dan cukuplah sekadar itu. Kesemua masalah-masalah itu telah diperselisihkan oleh umat Islam sejak ratusan tahun dan mereka masih terus berselisih pendapat sehingga ke hari ini, namun Allah SWT redha kepada kita untuk berkasih sayang dan bersatu padu serta membenci untuk kita berselisihan dan berpecah-belah. Maka aku ingin mengajak kamu semua berjanji dengan Allah SWT untuk meninggalkan semua perkara-perkara ini sekarang, dan bersungguh-sungguh untuk mempelajari asas-asas agama dan kaedah-kaedahnya, beramal dengan akhlaknya, kelebihan-kelebihannya yang umum dan petunjuk-petunjuknya yang disepakati. Dan mendirikan segala kewajipan dan sunat serta meninggalkan sikap memberat-beratkan dan terlalu rigid supaya hati menjadi suci. Dan supaya menjadi tujuan kita semua hanya untuk mengetahui kebenaran, bukan hanya kerana sekadar mahu memenangkan satu pandangan. Ketika itu, kita mempelajari kesemua ini bersama dalam keadaan kasih sayang, kepercayaan, kesatuan dan keikhlasan. Aku berharap kamu terimalah pandanganku ini dan agar ia menjadi perjanjian sesame kita untuk berbuat demikian”
Berdasarkan kepada peringatan penting Hasan Al Banna di atas, sudah pasti isu sambutan maulidur Rasul ini tidak akan menjadi punca perselisihan dan perpecahan umat Islam sekiranya maksud sebenar sambutan seumpama ini dihayati. Jika ditinjau sejarah, C. Cherfils di dalam bukunya ‘Napoleon And Islam’ menukilkan bahawa Napoleon Bonaparte juga telah menganjurkan upacara besar-besaran menyambut maulidur Rasul di atas kekagumannya terhadap Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam. Hingga ada yang mengatakan dengan yakin berdasarkan beberapa dokumen sahih bahawa Napoleon diakhir hayatnya adalah seorang Muslim dengan nama Muhammad Ali Bonaparte.
Namun harus diingat, pada masa umat Islam beriya-beriya untuk menjayakan sambutan Maulidur Rasul dengan pelbagai program dan aktiviti di setiap pelusuk negara, sememangnya tidak dapat dinafikan bahawa masih ramai yang tidak mengenali Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam sama ada dari aspek pemikiran, peribadi, akhlak, pendekatan dan keseluruhan cara hidup baginda. Penulis mengambil kesempatan ini untuk berkongsi sedikit pengetahuan untuk membicarakan literatur mengenai Sirah Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam dengan harapan ianya akan dapat menjadi panduan dan rujukan selepas ini.
Merujuk kepada sejarah penulisan Sirah Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam, ianya telah pun dimulakan oleh para sahabat seperti Abu Rafi Mawla yang telah menulis tentang sifat solat dan ibadah baginda. Ini termasuk Sahl b. Abi Hathmah al-Madani al-‘Ansari dan  ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amru b. al-‘As b. Wa’il b. Hashim. Penulisan sirah Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam secara sistematik telah dimulakan oleh para Muhaddithun yang juga ahli sejarah seperti Sa`id b. al-Musayyib al-Makhzumi, ‘Urwah b. al-Zubayr b. al-‘Awwam and Abu Fadalah ‘Abd Allah b. Ka’b b. Malik al-Ansari.
Penulisan sirah Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam kemudiannya kian popular ketika zaman Muhammad b. Ishaq yang telah menulis kitab Kitab al-Mubtada’ wa al-Mab`ath wa al-Maghazi iaitu buku yang membincangkan secara terperinci kehidupan baginda bermula kelahiran hingga kewafatan. Ini diikuti oleh Muhammad b. ‘Umar al-Waqidi yang menulis Kitab Azwaj al-Nabiyy, Kitab al-Tarikh wa al-Maghazi wa al-Mab`ath and Kitab Wafat al-Nabiyy and Kitab al-Maghazi. Kitab Sirah yang menjadi rujukan utama hingga kini telah ditulis oleh ‘Abd al-Malik b. Hisham melalui karyanya yang masyhur iaitu Kitab al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah.
Kitab-kitab sirah di atas walaubagaimanapun ditulis di dalam bahasa Arab dan mungkin ini menimbulkan kesulitan sesetengah pihak untuk memahami dan merujuk isi kandungannya. Ini sebenarnya tidak menjadi halangan bagi tujuan untuk memahami kehidupan Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam kerana terdapat banyak buku-buku kontemporari yang ditulis oleh sejarawan Islam mahupun dalam bentuk terjemahan. Sebagai contoh buku “Life of the Prophet Muhammad: Al-Sira Al-Nabawiyya” oleh Ibn Kathir dan juga “The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ibn Ishaq: Sirat Rasul Allah” telah diterjemahkan ke dalam bahasa Inggeris yang boleh dijadikan sebagai rujukan.
Selain daripada itu, buku-buku lain yang boleh dirujuk adalah seperti “Prophet Muḣammad and His mission” oleh S. Athar Husain, “Muhammad, the messenger of Islam: His Life and Prophecy” oleh Hajjah Amina Adil, “Mohammed and the Rise of Islam” oleh D. S. Margoliouth, “The Great Prophet a Short Life of the Founder of Islam” oleh F. K. Khan Durrani, “The Messenger of God Muhammad: An Analysis of the Prophet’s life” oleh M. Fethullah Gulen, “Prophet Muhammad(s) and His Family: A Sociological Perspective” oleh Shamim Aleem, “The Prophet Muhammad: A Biography” oleh  Barnaby Rogerson, “Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman” oleh William Montgomery Watt, “Muhammad: Prophet for Our Time (Eminent Lives)” and “Muhammad: Western Attempt to Understand Islam” oleh Karen Armstrong, “The Sealed Nectar (Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum)” oleh S. al-Mubarakpuri, “Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources” oleh Martin Lings, “Introducing Muhammad” oleh Ziauddin Sardar dan “Prophet Muhammad and His Miracles” oleh Bediuzzaman Said Nursi. Di samping itu, terdapat juga koleksi rujukan dalam bentuk cakera padat seperti “The Life of the Last Prophet”, sebuah audio biografi oleh Yusuf Islam.
Kesemua koleksi sirah Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam di atas diterbitkan dalam bahasa Inggeris dan faktor ini boleh menjadi penghalang sesetengah individu untuk memahami buku-buku tersebut. Sebenarnya terdapat buku-buku dalam bahasa melayu telah diterbitkan seperti “Biografi Muhammad bin Abdullah” oleh Zulkifli Mohd Yusoff dan Noor Naemah Abdul Rahman termasuk buku terjemahan seperti Fiqh al-Sirah oleh Muhammad Sa’id Ramadan al-Buti, “Sejarah kehidupan Nabi Muhammad” oleh Muhammad Hussein Haykal dan “Sirah Nabi Muhammad SAW: Pengajaran dan Pedoman” oleh Mustafa as-Shibaie. Berdasarkan senarai rujukan tertera di atas, penulis menganjurkan agar setiap umat Islam untuk memiliki sekurang-kurangnya senaskhah sirah Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam sebagai koleksi peribadi.
Memahami dan meneladani Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam merupakan suatu kewajipan bagi semua umat Islam. Perkara ini tidak akan dapat dicapai melainkan melalui proses pencarian ilmu. Dalam aspek ini, sememangnya kita telah disajikan dengan pelbagai koleksi rujukan mengenai kehidupan Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam. Hanya tinggal kini ialah kemahuan, keazaman, keiltizaman diri untuk belajar memahami dan meneladani seterusnya mendidik jiwa dan rohani untuk mengasihi Rasulullah Sallallahualaihiwasallam.
Selamat Menyambut Maulidur Rasul!!
Best Regards

ZULKIFLI HASAN
Sarajevo Mosque, Bosnia and Herzegovina
My Thought
1 Comment
January 30, 2012
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
Is Islamic Finance a Failure? An Assessment
Is Islamic Finance a Failure? An Assessment -Oliver Agha
Fri Jan 27, 2012 1:13pm EST Available at:
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSL5E8CR0FV20120127?irpc=932
Oliver Agha, founding Partner of Agha and Co, a shari’ah-compliant law firm based in the United Arab Emirates (www.aghaandco.com), is a board member of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, and secretary general of the World Islamic Finance Institute, a body created to develop best practice in the industry.Islamic finance, a faith-based system of ethical finance, is growing while it continues to struggle for its identity; it is torn between the market success of emulating conventional structures and developing genuinely Islamic structures that reflect its spiritual ethos.
This article reveals the struggle and highlights the endemic and extraneous pressures that threaten Islamic finance — and then notes specific remedial actions that must be taken for its redemption.The Islamic finance industry is reported to be valued at over $1 trillion, with an estimated annual growth rate of 10 percent (Global Islamic Finance Report, 34 (Humayon Dar et al eds., BMB Islamic ed. 2011)). The industry is continuing to grow despite its inherent problems, and some market analysts project it will be valued at anywhere from $3 to $5 trillion by 2016.Islamic finance should serve as a stabilising force in the global economic order because deposits in Islamic banks (which are not loans but true investment deposits on a mudaraba basis) are reinvested in the real economy for goods/services without any artificial money expansion.
In the conventional system, banks increase credit in good times on the fractional reserve banking system principle — for each dollar deposited (loaned) to a bank, the bank may loan out many more. The “choking” of such credit, in a downturn, can wreak havoc as evidenced by the financial crises, and therefore the equity-based constructs inherent in the Islamic system are likely to serve as a stable pillar of the economic system particularly in these times.While the spiritual precepts behind Islamic finance espouse risk sharing and partnerships, many products in the market reflect risk profiles of conventional structures. As disputes in such products/structures develop, the judgments (if out of line with Shari’ah precepts in the absence of regulatory and legal frameworks) could threaten the future of the industry.
From where we sit, stakeholders need reliability and clarity on laws governing the Islamic finance industry and adjudication of their disputes; in the absence of such clarity the industry will suffer from structural problems risking an exodus.This article is written, while uncompromisingly, with the intention to have the governmental authorities and stakeholders take serious notice of the issues and address them comprehensively through considered and comprehensive legislation while the industry is still in a nascent stage a stitch in time will save nine. It is also a call to all to push for an alignment for the industry with its spiritual core not focusing merely on market success. The article ought to be read with this background in mind.
Today, Islamic finance is beset with problems including those relating to credibility, regulatory, enforceability, uniformity (including Shari’ah issues), lack of scholarship/training and being fundamentally out of sync with its spiritual and ethical mandate.More often than not, people have said to me, “Islamic finance is a sham.” They don’t see the difference between Islamic banking and conventional banking and cannot differentiate between conventional and Islamic products. Some of this criticism is unfair and due to a lack of understanding of the difference in the actual risk profiles between the two (e.g. in an Islamic ijara project/property finance transaction, the financier assumes the risk of loss of the asset, which is markedly different than a conventional mortgage situation where the mortgagee (bank), as lender rather than owner, does not assume such risk of loss).
However, in other products such criticism is warranted. A case in point is the term “Islamic bond” — this oxymoron, used so commonly by practitioners and the media, suggests Islamic finance can offer a debt instrument that generates an interest-based return — a complete absurdity. A study of some market sukuk structures, however, reveals the term “Islamic bond” is correctly applied to such “market” structures (for greater detail on sukuk structures and “defaults”, please see Oliver Agha et al, Sukuk: Default or No Default?, Credit: The Magazine for Bond Investors, Jan. 2010).Some of the structures relied upon to solve the “problem” of “uncertainty” in an insurance transaction are a prime example of fundamentally unenforceable structures.
To obviate the uncertainty (lack of knowledge of the actual date of occurrence of a risk of loss) in an insurance transaction, structures were devised where the premium payer “gifts” the premium (with no expectation of return) to the credit of the takaful fund and then the takaful fund (while having no obligation to pay) “gifts” back the proceeds (assuming enough of a balance remains in the fund) upon the occurrence of an event of loss. This way the parties are just making the gifts and “not really getting into a contract”. But they are and expect it to serve as an enforceable obligation! However, based on Shari’ah precepts, once a gift is made there can be no expectation of a return. Thus, the entire construct is built on a false premise and the contract is invalid (this excludes those contracts where conditional contributions are made to a pooling arrangement). This sort of circumvention (hila), by making two unilateral “gifts”, effects the seemingly proscribed transaction through a sham arrangement.
Ironically, the “uncertainty” inherent in such transactions is not even of the proscribed type (Oliver Agha, Tabarru in Takaful: Helpful Innovation or Unnecessary Complication? 9 UCLA J. Islamic and Near E.L. 101 (2010)).Such constructs demean the Islamic finance industry and spur the hackneyed adage that “Islamic finance is a sham.” In truth, there is substantive basis for the development of Islamic insurance (which should be based on mutual arrangements and a commitment to refund premia on certain events upon non-occurrence of events of loss).Legal and regulatory frameworks in countries are generally severely deficient (with some exceptions e.g. Malaysia and Pakistan) and do not provide a framework for the fluidity required for efficacious transactions; nor does the system envisage the requisite Islamic procedures/laws/dispute resolution systems Islamic finance is not understood and in some instances (and in Islamic jurisdictions) is not even treated on a par with conventional finance.
More needs to be done at the governmental levels, including formulating legal and regulatory frameworks that (i) delineate standards applicable to the products/constructs in the industry (AAOIFI guidelines are helpful though not necessarily dispositive, and in some areas need review and revision to reflect consistency and cogency); (ii) develop substantive laws on property/real estate transactions that detail the rights and obligations of Islamic financier vs. developer vs. customer (clearly mortgage laws have little application in an Islamic ijara financing as the financier/property owner cannot properly be granted a mortgage on property that it owns); (iii) otherwise “level” the playing field between conventional and Islamic banking (e.g. reduce transfer fees in Islamic banking that need to occur twice, where in conventional banking there is just one property transfer); and (iv) simultaneously address the issue of transactions that have Shari’ah Board approval but are in stark contravention of the law of the country (e.g. beneficial ownership is not dispositive while registered ownership is when pursuing a defaulting customer).
Not surprisingly, the relevant authorities have little understanding of how to handle Islamic disputes — in some instances authorities have sent ijara disputes to rent committees to sort out. This completely misses the picture, as the underlying transaction requires careful consideration as an overall Islamic lease to purchase transaction with a fine understanding of the other elements that such a transaction contain, including complex (and sometimes tenuous) purchase undertakings and in some cases, deeply problematic “forward lease constructs” that are neither forward leases nor necessarily enforceable from a Shari’ah or a legal perspective. Nor is there much consideration of how courts will manage liquidations of Islamic banks in particular the treatment allotted to unrestricted investors vs. shareholders.Our experience in litigating complex Islamic transactions reveals that judges may be at a loss to properly adjudicate complex modern-day Islamic transactions. As a result, there is confusion among Islamic financiers, consumers and other stakeholders about exactly what they can expect in court when things turn sour.
This in turn does not augur well for the development of the Islamic finance industry, if left unchecked.Assuming there is a judicial system that is capable of dealing with Islamic disputes/ arbitrations, there are a host of complex enforceability issues at play in Islamic transactions that seem to be lost on issuers and banks and more importantly not highlighted to consumers.A case in point is a deal where parties elected to subject English law to “Shari’ah” in a contract as per their agreement. In other words, the Islamic instrument was to be enforced in accordance with English law, but always in accordance with applicable Islamic law precepts.
However, English courts in such a situation have not applied Shari’ah because it was deemed not to be a governing body of law but a mere embodiment of Islamic religious principles. In the Shamil Bank case, the court noted that the Rome Convention 1980, scheduled to the Contracts (Applicable Law) Act 1990, only contemplated and sanctioned the choice of the law of a country, not a religious principle. Furthermore, the court held that “the reference to Shari’ah law was repugnant to the choice of English law and could not sensibly be given effect to.” One can surmise then that when extraneous law is clear and specified, it will still not be applicable if there is a conflict with English Law.Given such pronouncements, Islamic jurists will invariably revisit English judgments on a “de novo” basis to determine whether there is genuine compliance with Shari’ah principles.
Had this critical nuance regarding the impact of conflict of laws (in of itself a highly complex subject) been highlighted to the scholars when such deals were being approved, I am sure such structures would never have been sanctioned in the first place.The lack of standardisation in Islamic finance creates confusion across the world over the dependability of structures and consistent application of principles.
While AAOFI, IFSB and World Islamic Finance Institute are Islamic bodies that work on developing standards, uniformity and developing communications among stakeholders, there is much work to be done on a faster track and with a deeper involvement of the stakeholders from different realms of the industry. There is, unfortunately, a lack of an overall vision and such disparate endeavors lack a cohesive, cogent and comprehensive approach to tackle the key issues facing the industry. Closer coordination must occur between these bodies and a comprehensive approach developed.Shari’ah scholars have largely done well in handling the inexorable demands placed on them and heavy pressure to yield to structures that are cleverly crafted to appear compliant but lack substantive compliance.
However, they need to make some clear strides in certain areas. Their opinions need to be published and clearly set forth with their legal reasoning. Individual diktats that lack basis in Islamic law must be questioned — the doctrine of necessity, which was used sparingly and mostly in life and death situations (e.g. permissibility to eat pork to survive if starving), is not appropriate to sanction instruments that serve economic convenience and would never independently be acceptable under Shari’ah. The fee arrangements under which the scholars operate need to be transparent to avoid any suggestion of undue compensation or perception of conflict of interest.
There needs to be consistency in methodology and approach and acknowledgement of precedent; the hackneyed phrase that “Shari’ah does not acknowledge precedent” is overly simplistic. Islamic Law simply gives the judge greater discretion in determining whether to apply a previous judgment, based on a broad consideration of whether there are any different factors present in the current case. When an Islamic judge (Qadi) applies analogical reasoning (Qiyas) and reviews an earlier case, the earlier ruling is applied if the underlying cause (‘illa) of the old case is present in the one before the court. A judge is not bound to blindly apply precedent, but it would be very unusual for a judge to disregard precedent capriciously and without any ameliorating circumstances.
There is a dearth of human capital in the Islamic finance industry. At the core, there are few western-style Islamic institutions that attract and educate the best and brightest in the Islamic world. Generally, many lawyers practicing as Islamic finance lawyers have little knowledge of Islamic law and have just worked on a subset of transactions without an independent study of the core sources of Islam or Islamic law.
Imagine a securities lawyer practicing securities law in the U.S. without having read the securities acts, or a tax lawyer who has never studied the tax code!Conventional bankers largely seem enthused about the market opportunity which exists, but in most cases without a due appreciation for the spiritual principles that underlie Islamic finance. When you go through the challenges confronting the Islamic finance market, it is a wonder that it has survived at all; in fact, it continues to grow despite the endemic and extraneous pressures. Islamic finance has survived and grown despite the mistakes/inadequacies of stakeholders/practitioners.The solutions are relatively simple to enumerate — but harder to implement:–
The Islamic world needs visionaries that take on the mantle of ethical finance and seek to develop it along the lines originally intended i.e. a spiritual system of finance that builds partnership and risk-sharing constructs rather than exploitative or adversarial contracts which leave no room for accommodation in a downturn. There is a crying need for prominent magnates to show that money can be made (and success achieved) in this world while preserving spiritual principles.
Governments need to establish Islamic finance task forces in their countries to critically assess the state of Islamic finance; such groups need to comprehensively review regulatory and legal structures, promulgate laws that fill in gaps, and create proper dispute-resolution centers.– Governments need to devote significant amounts of funds to developing fine institutions that offer Harvard-, Yale- or Oxford-style educations and train sophisticated and integrated Islamic jurists as well as financiers, lawyers and accountants.– Conventional dispute resolution centers need to be recalibrated to handle Islamic disputes with a rework of the applicable rules/procedures.
Corporations, Islamic banks and insurers need to reflect best practices as suggested by AAOIFI, by having at least three scholars on their boards as well as a financial advisor and a lawyer who is well versed in Shari’ah. Otherwise, opinions/fatwas may reflect problematic gaps. As importantly, individual consumers need to examine what they are offered and ask questions if anything seems to be in basic conflict with Shari’ah principles. Islamic finance is not rocket science; it is a simple discipline made unnecessarily complicated, sometimes to achieve impermissible ends. Consumers should make their opinions known and write to Islamic banks and institutions in an effort to help develop the industry, and failing that to the quasi-regulatory bodies mentioned above.
Perhaps the greatest philosopher in Islamic history, Ghazali, noted when asked about his quest to discern truth from error:(M)y daring in mounting from the lowland of servile conformism to the highland of independent investigation…what I found loathsome among the methods of the devotees of ta’lim, who restrict the truth to uncritical acceptance of the Imam’s pronouncements…what I seek is knowledge of the true meaning of things…sure and certain knowledge is that in which the thing known is made so manifest that no doubt clings to it, nor is it accompanied by the possibility of error and deception, nor can the mind even suppose a possibility. (Abu Hamid Muhammad al-Ghazali, Al-Ghazali’s Path to Sufism 17-20 (R.J. McCarthy trans., Fons Vitae 2000)).
So, is Islamic finance a failure? No; it is never fair to blame a discipline for the failures and shortcomings of its adherents. However, for it to continue to grow in a correct way, it must come back to its spiritual underpinnings best reflected by the motto: “Principle before Profit”.
Regards

ZULKIFLI HASAN
Lake District, England
Islamic finance news
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January 25, 2012
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
More Jewish acts of terrorism within the United States than Muslims
All Terrorists are Muslims, Except the 94% that Aren’t
Available at:
http://www.loonwatch.com/2010/01/not-all-terrorists-are-muslims/
CNN recently published an article entitled Study: Threat of Muslim-American terrorism in U.S. exaggerated; according to a study released by Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, “the terrorist threat posed by radicalized Muslim-Americans has been exaggerated.”
Yet, Americans continue to live in mortal fear of radical Islam, a fear propagated and inflamed by right wing Islamophobes.  If one follows the cable news networks, it seems as if all terrorists are Muslims.  It has even become axiomatic in some circles to chant: “Not all Muslims are terrorists, but nearly all terrorists are Muslims.” Muslims and their “leftist dhimmi allies” respond feebly, mentioning Waco as the one counter example, unwittingly affirming the belief that “nearly all terrorists are Muslims.”
But perception is not reality.  The data simply does not support such a hasty conclusion.  On the FBI’s official website, there exists a chronological list of all terrorist attacks committed on U.S. soil from the year 1980 all the way to 2005.  That list can be accessed here (scroll down all the way to the bottom).
Terrorist Attacks on U.S. Soil by Group, From 1980 to 2005, According to FBI Database
According to this data, there were more Jewish acts of terrorism within the United States than Islamic (7% vs 6%).  These radical Jews committed acts of terrorism in the name of their religion.  These were not terrorists who happened to be Jews; rather, they were extremist Jews who committed acts of terrorism based on their religious passions, just like Al-Qaeda and company.
Yet notice the disparity in media coverage between the two.  It would indeed be very interesting to construct a corresponding pie chart that depicted the level of media coverage of each group.  The reason that Muslim apologists and their “leftist dhimmi allies” cannot recall another non-Islamic act of terrorism other than Waco is due to the fact that the media gives menial (if any) coverage to such events.  If a terrorist attack does not fit the “Islam is the perennial and existential threat of our times” narrative, it is simply not paid much attention to, which in a circuitous manner reinforces and “proves” the preconceived narrative.  It is to such an extent that the average American cannot remember any Jewish or Latino terrorist; why should he when he has never even heard of the Jewish Defense League or the Ejercito Popular Boricua Macheteros?  Surely what he does not know does not exist!
The Islamophobes claim that Islam is intrinsically a terrorist religion.  The proof?  Well, just about every terrorist attack is Islamic, they retort.  Unfortunately for them, that’s not quite true.  More like six percent.  Using their defunct logic, these right wingers ought now to conclude that nearly all acts of terrorism are committed by Latinos (or Jews).  Let them dare say it…they couldn’t; it would be political and social suicide to say such a thing. Most Americans would shut down such talk as bigoted; yet, similar statements continue to be said of Islam, without any repercussions.
The Islamophobes live in a fantasy world where everyone is supposedly too “politically correct” to criticize Islam and Muslims.  Yet, the reality is the exact opposite: you can get away with saying anything against the crescent.  Can you imagine the reaction if I said that Latinos should be profiled because after all they are the ones who commit the most terrorism in the country?  (For the record: I don’t believe in such profiling, because I am–unlike the right wing nutters–a believer in American ideals.)
The moral of the story is that Americans ought to calm down when it comes to Islamic terrorism.  Right wingers always live in mortal fear–or rather, they try to make you feel that way.  In fact, Pamela Geller (the queen of internet Islamophobia) literally said her mission was to “scare the bejeezus outta ya.” Don’t be fooled, and don’t be a wuss.  You don’t live in constant fear of radicalized Latinos (unless you’re Lou Dobbs), even though they commit seven times more acts of terrorism than Muslims in America.  Why then are you wetting yourself over Islamic radicals?  In the words of Cenk Uygur: you’re at a ten when you need to be at a four.  Nobody is saying that Islamic terrorism is not a matter of concern, but it’s grossly exaggerated.
Regards

ZULKIFLI HASAN
Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. More than 8000 Muslims were killed here by the Serb.
Islamic finance news
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January 25, 2012
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
From Turbo Capitalism to Popular Capitalism
David Cameron pledges era of ‘popular capitalism’
Prime minister blames Labour for ‘turbo-capitalism’ of recent decades and says Tories are best placed to lead new type of capitalism
Nicholas Watt, chief political correspondent Available at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jan/19/david-cameron-pledges-popular-capitalism#history-link-box
David Cameron has marched onto territory staked out by Ed Miliband by promising that there would be no return to the “turbo-capitalism” of recent decades.
In the third new year intervention by the main party leaders on what is being described as “responsible capitalism”, the prime minister revived a signature theme of his time in opposition when he said he would preside over an era of “popular capitalism”.
“I want these difficult economic times to achieve more than just paying down the deficit and encouraging growth,” he said. He also announced a co-operatives bill to give public sector workers a greater chance to create mutuals to deliver public services.
“I want them to lead to a socially responsible and genuinely popular capitalism,” he said.
Miliband publicly welcomed the prime minister’s decision to address issues he marked out in his Labour conference speech last year when he promised to champion “producer” businesses and to crack down on “predator” businesses. But in private, the Labour leader dismissed the speech as a “doughnut” – attractive on the outside, but with nothing in the middle.
In a parallel speech to the Which! consumer rights organisation, Miliband said: “I frankly don’t believe that this prime minister is serious about this agenda. Why? He attacked me last year when I talked about irresponsible capitalism, and I’m afraid it’s never going to work if your basic view is that government should just get out of the way.”
The prime minister, whose pollsters say Miliband’s ideas for forging a new form of capitalism are resonating with voters, challenged two Labour claims – that it is best placed to reform the free market and that the Tories are disqualified from contributing to the debate because they are the party of capital.
Cameron said New Labour was to blame for the excesses of recent years, adding: “Three years ago, I argued that the previous government’s turbo-capitalism turned a blind eye to corporate excess while we believed in responsible capitalism and would make it happen.
“The last government claimed to have got rid of boom and bust. What it really did was allow a debt-fuelled boom to get out of control.
“The result was a series of lethal imbalances in our economy, between north and south, between financial services and manufacturing, between the people who got huge rewards at the top, or welfare at the bottom, while everyone else seemed to be left out. The truth is that the last government made a Faustian pact with the City.”
He said the Tories had a record for promoting social responsibility that dated back to the era of Edmund Burke, who insisted on public accountability for the East India Company.
This spirit led to the Factory Acts under Benjamin Disraeli, which began to set working conditions, and continued into the modern era asConservatives forged a “genuinely popular capitalism” by opening up markets, he said.
“A consistent Conservative theme has been the ambition of building a nation of shareholders, savers and homeowners,” Cameron said. “Macmillan championed this through home ownership, giving people an asset of their own. Margaret Thatcher did the same with privatisation and share ownership.”
The Conservative party had shown that progress was not achieved by abandoning the free market, which actually promoted morality, he said, adding: “I believe that open markets and free enterprise are the best imaginable force for improving human wealth and happiness. They are the engine of progress, generating the enterprise and innovation that lifts people out of poverty and gives people opportunity.
“I would go further: where they work properly, open markets and free enterprise can actually promote morality. Why? Because they create a direct link between contribution and reward, between effort and outcome. The fundamental basis of the market is the idea of something for something – an idea we need to encourage, not condemn. So we should use this crisis of capitalism to improve markets, not undermine them.”
The prime minister said the Tories were best placed to reform the free market because the party understood its failing and strengths, unlike Labour which either promoted the economics of socialism or “let capitalism rip” under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. “No true Conservative has a naive belief that all politics has to do is step back and let capitalism rip,” he added.
Aides say Miliband is confident that Cameron will fail because he has no understanding of the difficulties many people are experiencing or the role the government should play in changing the rules. The Labour leader believes he will trump Cameron in three key areas:
• Changing the rules. Miliband wrote in the FT on Thursday about introducing new rules for takeovers to prevent a repeat of the “unedifying spectacle” of the Kraft takeover of Cadbury.
• Standing up for people suffering in the downturn. Miliband says his pledge to break up the big six energy companies is an example of this.
• Understanding that the world has utterly changed. “We are no longer in the politics of ‘and’ but are now into the politics of ‘or’,” one source said. “Tough choices will have to be made. But in Ed’s case they will be informed by his values. David Cameron just thinks the government should get out of the way.”
Regards

ZULKIFLI HASAN
Cambridge University
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January 23, 2012
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
Islamists look to shake up Egypt stock exchange
Islamists look to shake up Egypt stock exchange
Available at:
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/609331
Last month, Mahmoud Abbas, a member of the Salafi-led Nour Party, addressed newly elected members of Egypt’s lower house of parliament and journalists in a conference at the Egyptian stock exchange, in an effort to reassure investors that markets will be safe under an Islamist-dominated parliament.
“I am an investor in the Egyptian exchange since 1996,” said Abbas, whose party has garnered about a quarter of the seats in the People’s Assembly.
But as he spoke, it also became clear that the stock market might be seeing some changes in Egypt’s more Islamic-oriented political environment, such as an Islamic index on the country’s stock exchange.
It remains unclear what exactly an Islamist-controlled government could mean for the Egyptian economy, which is heavily dependent on tourism. In recent months, talk from Islamist politicians about limiting alcohol sales and dictating conservative beach attire have spurred fears that an Islamic government may toe a conservative line and crack down on industries they consider in contravention of Islamic Sharia law.
Representatives from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party, which will control about 40 percent of the incoming parliament, and the Nour Party have both expressed a desire for a list of stocks for Sharia-compliant companies on the Egyptian market and the introduction of policies that would eventually foster a stock market that would be entirely religiously acceptable.
In Islam, interest is forbidden, as are other banking practices that are deemed usury or as taking advantage of a person’s financial need. Though interpretations of what is acceptable Islamic banking vary, with many transactions resembling widely accepted practices, profits in alcohol, pork and entertainment that features scantily clad women are unanimously considered prohibited.
Experts and party representatives have said that in the near future, the stock market might include both the market’s regular index of companies and a parallel index for companies with Islamic-certified practices in permitted industries.
Difficult implementation
For a company to make it onto the Islamic index, it must have adopted Islamic financial operations. Experts say that means very little of their investments can be locked up in interest-bearing activities or in industries not allowed in Islam.
Thus, an Islamic stock index must be in part predicated on the existence of a strong Islamic banking system in the country.
Egypt is lagging behind the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and much of the rest of the Arab world when it comes to Islamic banking. According to a 2009 report by the McKinsey consulting firm, Islamic banking only accounts for 3 to 4 percent of the US$193 billion banking industry in Egypt.
But that doesn’t seem to be due to a lack of demand on the part of Egyptians.
In the past, Islamic banking practices were discouraged by the Mubarak government, said Walid Hegazy, managing partner at the Hegazy Associates law firm and vice president of the newly founded Egyptian Society for Islamic Finance. Hegazy hopes his group will gather experts in the field and help connect them to Egyptian banks looking to cater to the Islamic-banking market.
Under Mubarak, he said, the political climate was so anti-Muslim Brotherhood that many feared that endorsing Islamic banking would boost the opposition group’s funding.
“We would hear rumors before the revolution, but deep inside we knew that the Central Bank and senior officials were not very sympathetic,” he said.
Now, Hegazy said, Egyptian companies are finally free to choose the kind of banking systems they prefer, and bankers see the market as full of customers who had previously refrained from using banks for religious reasons. FJP and Nour representatives said they saw this as a way to engage potential investors excluded by the corrupt economic policies of Mubarak and his cronies.
Even before Mubarak stepped down, many banks in Egypt were already looking to tap into the Islamic financial services market. Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt, Bahrain’s Al-Baraka Bank and HSBC’s Amana bank have extensive operations growing here.
Hegazy said his group has been approached by representatives from Egypt’s biggest banks, many of whom are looking to expand into Islamic financial services.
“I think we have a chance, I’m very optimistic,” he said.
Who will be the authority?
In December, Adel Hamid, an FJP representative, said that Al-Azhar might emerge as an economic authority through which companies are Sharia-sanctioned.
The formation of such a board would give the religious institution great economic power. Hussein Hassan, a consultant on Islamic banking who has worked in the past with numerous Gulf financial institutions, said that he’s not sure the scholars are well-enough educated on how the modern international economy functions.
“There are some scholars so conservative they don’t understand the nature of the economy,” he said.
As for the process of certifying companies, Hegazy is also not sure if Al-Azhar would be the best authority, though he thinks an Egyptian body should rule on Egyptian companies.
“Although I’m concerned the process of companies converting will be long process,” he warned.
Getting too caught up on labeling companies and banks is not important to the development of a more Islamic economy, according to Hassan. He said it is the Muslim investor’s responsibility, if he wants to invest in Islamic stocks, to examine a company’s balance sheet to see where its money is coming from and where it goes.
“We don’t have to have the label of Islamic,” he said.
Many large companies that are not overtly religious conduct their business according to similar precepts found in Islam, he said. Shifting to an Islamic-certified designation would be relatively simple for them.
The important point, Hegazy said, is that Egypt’s international standards do not lag under the development of its own authority, or else the stock exchange could lose further ground.
“The regulation cannot fall behind,” he said. “That would be disastrous.”
He also warned against any authorities forbidding entire industries in the country for purely Islamic reasons. He says he hopes Egypt’s economy will remain free and Egyptians will still have the right to make their own consumption decisions.
“We’ll still have tobacco and alcohol companies in Egypt, hopefully.”
An unclear timeline
Whatever happens, experts agree that the changes won’t be quick.
“I see the first four years as showing why this system is better,” said Hegazy, who has also served as an advisor to the Brotherhood’s economic committee on Islamic banking.
“What I think will happen is we’re going to keep the stock exchange as it is, little by little developing Sharia-compliant investments.”
But some say politicians’ hopes of a completely Sharia-compliant stock exchange are unrealistic.
Even countries such as UAE and Malaysia that have Islamic-compliant components of their stock market have parallel indices of conventional, non-Islamic companies. In these economies, even Islamic-certified companies are still allowed to have a small amount of their holdings tied up in interest-earning debt.
They also use very liberal interpretations of Islamic financial law, according to Hegazy, especially Malaysia.
Given the interwoven nature of modern international finance, the goal of an Islamic stock market is not a political or economic reality for Egypt, or any country for that matter, according to Hassan.
“I don’t think there will be any changes to make the Egyptian stock market an Islamic stock market,” said Hassan. “After all, it’s related to stock markets all over the world.”
“Until we have an Islamic central bank, then we cannot have 100 percent Islamic financial laws.”
Regards

ZULKIFLI HASAN
Amsterdam, Netherland
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BLOG OF KNOWLEDGE (Shari'ah, Law, Islamic Finance and Muslim News)
Shari'ah, Law, Islamic Finance and Muslim News
Monthly Archives: November 2011
November 28, 2011
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
Rang Undang-undang Perhimpunan Aman 2011: Transformasi atau Anti-tranformasi
Rang Undang-undang Perhimpunan Aman 2011:Transformasi atau Anti-tranformasi
Zulkifli Hasan
1.0	Pendahuluan
Komitmen kerajaan Barisan Nasional untuk memansuhkan tiga proklamasi darurat iaitu  Proklamasi Darurat 1966, Proklamasi Darurat 1969 dan Proklamasi Darurat 1977 amatlah dialu-alukan. Ini seharusnya membuktikan komitmen kerajaan terhadap transformasi politik yang mampu menarik kembali sokongan rakyat. Semua pihak sama ada individu, institusi, badan-badan bukan kerajaan termasuk parti pembangkang perlu meraikan dan memuji langkah kerajaan ini.
Sementara teruja dengan inisiatif kerajaan di atas, melalui pemerhatian, penulis berpandangan bahawa transformasi yang sedang cuba dilaksanakan tidak bersifat menyeluruh, kabur, tidak jelas dan tidak konsisten. Umpamanya, tatkala kerajaan telah mengumumkan ingin memansuhkan Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri 1960 pada 16 September yang lalu, 11 warganegara Malaysia di Sabah telah ditangkap di bawah undang-undang ini hanya selepas beberapa bulan pengumuman tersebut dibuat. Ini secara jelas menunjukkan bahawa kerajaan tidak konsisten dengan agenda transformasi yang ingin dilaksanakan. Perkara yang sama juga berlaku pada aspirasi kerajaan pada seksyen 15 Akta Universiti dan Kolej Universiti (AUKU) apabila kerajaan telah membuat keputusan untuk meneruskan rayuan ke atas keputusan Mahkamah Rayuan pada 31 Oktober lalu yang mengumumkan bahawa Seksyen 15 tersebut bercanggah dengan Perlembagaan Persekutuan.
Begitu juga dengan pengenalan undang-undang terbaru yang dibentangkan pada 22 November lalu iaitu Rang Undang-Undang Perhimpunan Aman di Dewan Rakyat. Walaupun Rang Undang-undang ini bermatlamat untuk membenarkan orang ramai berhimpun secara aman tetapi setelah diperhalusi isi kandungannya terdapat beberapa peruntukan yang memerlukan penilaian semula sebelum ianya boleh dilaksanakan ataupun diluluskan. Berdasarkan perkembangan yang meragukan ini, penulis ingin mengambil kesempatan untuk membuat analisa ringkas Rang Undang-undang Perhimpunan Aman 2011 ini dengan mengkhususkan perbincangan terhadap beberapa peruntukan yang menimbulkan banyak persoalan yang signifikan.
2.0	Rang Undang-undang Perhimpunan Aman 2011
Rang Undang-undang Perhimpunan Aman ini mengandungi 27 seksyen yang dibahagikan kepada enam Bahagian iaitu Bab I: Permulaan, Bab II: Hak Untuk Berhimpun Secara Aman, Bab III: Tanggungjawab Penganjur, Peserta dan Polis, Bab IV: Kehendak Dalam Menganjurkan Perhimpunan, Bab V: Penguatkuasaan dan Bab VI: Pelbagai. Secara umumnya, undang-undang ini kelihatan menyediakan peruntukan yang boleh diterima bagi memastikan setiap perhimpunan yang diadakan mengutamakan keamanan dan ketenteraman awam. Namun begitu, setelah diperhalusi terdapat beberapa peruntukan yang menimbulkan banyak persoalan dan membuka ruang yang amat besar kepada pihak tertentu untuk memanipulasikannya.
2.1	Tiada Wacana Awam
Di antara faktor kelemahan Rang Undang-undang ini ialah tiadanya wacana awam untuk membincangkan peruntukan yang terkandung dalamnya. Seharusnya kerajaan menganjurkan sesi perbincangan dengan masyarakat umum atau wakil badan-badan berkaitan sebelum meneruskan penggubalan undang-undang ini dan seterusnya dibacakan di Parlimen untuk kelulusan. Kegagalan untuk meninjau dan membuat kajian terhadap ruang lingkup dan pendekatan yang ada di dalam undang-undang ini sedikit sebanyak menjelaskan bahawa ianya tidak mendapat mandat yang sewajarnya dari masyarakat umum bahkan menidakkan pandangan dan pendapat mereka terhadap sesuatu undan-undang yang bakal dilaksanakan.
2.2	Terlalu Banyak Sekatan dan Syarat
Seksyen 9 memperuntukkan bahawa penganjur perhimpunan mesti membuat permohonan dalam tempoh 30 hari sebelum perhimpunan. Kegagalan berbuat demikian boleh mengakibatkan didenda tidak melebihi RM10,000. Kekurangrelevanan peruntukan ini kemudiannya dipersetujui YAB Perdana Menteri yang mana kemudiannya menyatakan tempoh 30 hari ini dikurangkan kepada 10 hari. Peruntukan ini perlu diperhalusi dan disemak semula. Ini memandangkan tempoh 30 atau 10 hari ini agak lama dan kadangkala tidak relevan. Bayangkan sekiranya isu yang ingin diketengahkan dalam perhimpunan tersebut merupakan respons yang perlu diberikan serta merta seperti isu keganasan Israel, maka seksyen ini bakal menimbulkan permasalahan. Ini memandangkan pihak berkuasa mempunyai kuasa penuh untuk menentukan sama ada perhimpunan boleh diadakan atau sebaliknya.
Walaupun peruntukan ini membolehkan pihak berkuasa untuk memberikan kebenaran berhimpun kurang dari 10 hari, ianya juga menimbulkan keraguan. Ini kerana pihak polis memerlukan masa untuk mengadakan rundingan dengan komuniti di kawasan tersebut. Ini juga tidak jelas dari aspek rundingan yang bagaimana, siapakah yang dirundingkan, adakah kesemua penduduk akan dilibatkan atau sebahagian dan berapa lamakah rundingan tersebut? Hal ini bukan sahaja boleh dipersoalkan bahkan menimbulkan keraguan dari aspek perlaksanaan. Malahan membuka ruang yang lebih luas untuk ianya dimanipulasikan oleh pihak tertentu.
Disamping itu, jika dirujuk kepada syarat-syarat dan prosedur untuk mengadakan perhimpunan, terlalu banyak perkara yang perlu dipatuhi bahkan melibatkan ramai pihak yang akan melambatkan proses permohonan dan seterusnya membantutkan sebarang usaha untuk berhimpun. Keperluan menampal notis, memaklumkan orang mempunyai kepentingan, perjumpaan dengan penganjur, rundingan dan sebagainya di antara perkara-perkara yang dimaksudkan.
2.3	Kuasa Budi Bicara Pihak Berkuasa
Rang Undang-undang ini memberikan kuasa budi bicara yang amat luas kepada pihak berkuasa. Ini membuka ruang yang besar dan sangat berpotensi untuk ianya dimanipulasikan. Sebagai contoh, seksyen 15 memberikan kuasa penuh kepada pihak berkuasa untuk mengenakan sekatan dan syarat ke atas sesuatu perhimpunan dan barangsiapa yang gagal untuk mematuhinya boleh dikenakan denda sehingga RM10,000. Sekiranya ini berlaku, mana-mana pihak yang ingin menganjurkan perhimpunan bukan sahaja boleh dinafikan hak mereka untuk berbuat demikian bahkan boleh dikenakan denda sekiranya gagal mematuhi syarat dan sekatan yang dikenakan.
Begitu juga dengan peruntukan yang lain di mana pendekatan yang terkandung dalam undang-undang ini memberikan kuasa yang luas kepada pihak polis sedangkan sepatut ianya menganjurkan model kerjasama pihak penganjur dan pihak berkuasa untuk berbincang dan memperoleh kata sepakat mengenai perkara-perkara yang berkaitan dengan perhimpunan. Ciri-ciri yang ada pada beberapa undang-undang terdahulu seperti Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri 1960 yang memberikan kuasa penuh pihak polis masih lagi ingin diperkenalkan. Ini sedikit sebanyak menunjukkan kegagalan untuk menterjemahkan aspirasi kerajaan bagi melaksanakan transformasi pada undang-undang yang ingin diperkenalkan. Seharusnya peruntukan undang-undang yang ada lebih memberikan penekanan dari aspek pendekatan yang lebih bersifat kerjasama untuk memastikan perhimpunan yang bakal diadakan berlaku dalam situasi yang aman damai. Perkara ini bersesuaian dengan hak kebebasan bersuara yang dijamin oleh Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan ini termasuk hak untuk berhimpun secara aman.
2.4	Rayuan kepada Kementerian Dalam Negeri
Rang Undang-undang ini bukan sahaja memberikan kuasa yang luas kepada pihak berkuasa bahkan ianya juga tidak mempunyai peruntukan yang jelas dan relevan mengenai rayuan terhadap sekatan dan syarat-syarat yang dikenakan oleh pihak polis. Sudahlah sekatan dan syarat ini budi bicara mutlak pihak polis, pihak penganjur juga hanya boleh merayu atau berunding untuk mengurangkan atau menggugurkannya kepada Kementerian Dalam Negeri. Ini menimbulkan persoalan daripada aspek ketelusan, kesesuaian dan kerelevanannya. Seperti yang difahami, pihak polis beroperasi dan menjalankan tugas di bawah pemantauan Kementerian Dalam Negeri (KDN) bahkan terikat dengan arahan KDN. Dalam konteks sudah tentu rayuan kepada KDN berkenaan dengan sekatan dan syarat dikenakan adalah tidak sesuai dan meragukan.
Memberikan hak untuk merayu terhadap sesuatu keputusan yang dibuat merupakan perkara yang perlu diberikan perhatian. Sewajarnya pihak penganjur diberikan peluang untuk merayu terhadap apa-apa sekatan dan syarat yang dikenakan untuk tujuan perhimpunan aman terhadap institusi yang lain yang lebih sesuai dan kredibel. Aspek ini membuktikan bahawa Rang Undang-undang ini mempunyai pelbagai kelemahan dari aspek teknikal dan juga substantifnya.
2.5	Kekaburan Undang-undang
Terdapat pelbagai kekaburan undang-undang yang terkandung dalam Rang Undang-undang Perhimpunan Aman ini. Umpamanya, tidak terdapat sebarang perbezaan yang jelas mengenai takrifan “perhimpunan” sama ada ianya merujuk kepada sebarang perarakan atau mana-mana protes jalanan atau piket atau demonstrasi. Rang Undang-undang ini juga tidak menjelaskan sama ada bukan warganegara Malaysia juga diberikan hak untuk berhimpun secara aman.
Peruntukan seksyen 19 juga adalah tidak jelas di mana merujuk penganjur sebagai seseorang yang menggalakkan, menaja, mengadakan atau menyelia perhimpunan, atau menjemput atau merekrut peserta atau penceramah bagi perhimpunan. Ini bermakna penganjur perhimpunan merangkumi definisi yang amat luas dan ini termasuk sesiapa sahaja yang terlibat. Terminologi ’merekrut’ juga tidak mempunyai sebarang pendefinisian yang jelas menimbulkan lagi kekaburan dan kekeliruan.
2.6	Penggunaan Kekerasan Dibenarkan
Agak mengejutkan apabila merujuk kepada seksyen 21 yang membenarkan pihak polis menggunakan kekerasan untuk menyuraikan perhimpunan. Walaupun peruntukan ini merujuk kepada “kekerasan yang munasabah”, kebenaran untuk membolehkan pihak polis menggunakan kekerasan tanpa ada apa-apa definisi dan skop bakal membuka ruang yang luas untuk ianya digunakan sewenang-wenangnya. Bukan itu sahaja, denda yang dikenakan kepada mana-mana pihak yang gagal untuk mematuhi seksyen ini ialah denda tidak melebihi RM20,000.
Peruntukan seumpama seksyen 21 ini yang memberikan kuasa ekslusif kepada pihak polis untuk menggunakan kekerasan bagi menyuraikan perhimpunan dan denda yang tinggi kepada sesiapa yang gagal mematuhinya membuktikan bahawa terdapat ketidakadilan dan ketidakrelevanan sebahagian besar ruang lingkup dan pendekatan Rang Undang-undang Perhimpunan Aman 2011 ini. Aspek ini sewajarnya diberikan perhatian serius oleh pihak kerajaan selaras dengan hasrat transformasi yang ingin dilaksanakan.
2.7	Akses Munasabah Kepada Media
Di antara aspek yang juga boleh dipertikaikan ialah peruntukan mengenai akses kepada media. Seksyen 24 memperuntukkan bahawa mana-mana wakil media hanya boleh mempunyai akses yang munasabah kepada tempat perhimpunan dan menggunakan apa-apa kelengkapan untuk membuat laporan tentang perhimpunan itu. Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan ‘akses munasabah’ ini? Pihak manakah yang menentukan kemunasabahan akses ini?. Apakah sekatan-sekatan yang boleh dikenakan kepada media untuk menentukan kemunasabahan akses tersebut?
Peruntukan ini secara umumnya boleh menyekat media untuk mendapatkan maklumat secara adil dan bebas terhadap perhimpunan yang diadakan dan seterusnya boleh menafikan kebebasan media serta menidakkan laporan sebenar yang berlaku. Walaupun kebebasan media tidak boleh diberikan secara mutlak, tetapi menidakkan kebenaran dan fakta yang tepat melalui peruntukan sedemikian rupa umpama menafikan hak rakyat atau masyarakat untuk mengetahui kebenaran dan apa yang sebenarnya berlaku. Media perlu diberikan akses yang sewajarnya dan masyarakatlah yang perlu berperanan untuk mengadili sebarang laporan yang tertera di media massa.
3.0	Kesimpulan
Hasrat kerajaan untuk melakukan transformasi yang menyeluruh dalam sistem pentadbiran termasuk perundangan adalah sesuatu yang sewajarnya diraikan. Keputusan untuk memansuhkan beberapa undang-undang yang tidak lagi sesuai dilaksanakan menunjukkan sedikit sebanyak komitmen kerajaan untuk merealisasikan transformasi ini. Namun begitu, setelah meneliti dan membuat pemerhatian terhadap beberapa keputusan dan tindakan kerajaan akhir-akhir ini, polisi dan pendekatan transformasi ini menimbulkan pelbagai keraguan.
Di antara keraguan yang dizahirkan merujuk kepada pengenalan Rang Undang-undang Perhimpunan Aman yang telah dibentangkan di Parlimen November lalu. Setelah diteliti, Rang Undang-undang ini mempunyai pelbagai kelemahan dan terdapat beberapa persoalan signifikan  yang perlu diberikan perhatian. Penulis telah menggariskan beberapa aspek penting yang menimbulkan seribu persoalan dan ini termasuk tiada wacana awam, pelbagai sekatan dan syarat, kuasa budi bicara pihak polis, kuasa Kementerian Dalam Negeri, Kekaburan undang-undang, penggunaan kekerasan dan akses munasabah kepada media. Senarai ini tidak berhenti setakat ini sahaja. Masih terdapat banyak lagi persoalan dan keraguan yang timbul mengenai undang-undang ini. Rang Undang-undang ini juga sebenarnya boleh menidakkan hak umum berhimpun dan menyatakan pendirian mereka terhadap sesuatu isu yang relevan dan signifikan. Oleh kerana ianya mempunyai lebih banyak kelemahan berbanding kelebihan dan kekaburan dari aspek ruang lingkup undang-undang serta memberikan kuasa budi bicara yang amat luas kepada pihak berkuasa, penulis cenderung untuk menolak Rang Undang-undang ini melainkan dianjurkan terlebih dahulu secara menyeluruh wacana awam untuk meneliti dan memperkemaskan lagi isi kandungan dan pendekatannya.
Regards

ZULKIFLI HASAN
Statue of Liberty, New York, USA
My Thought
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November 24, 2011
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Rock Star in the Muslim World
TIME Meets Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Available at:
http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/09/26/exclusive-time-meets-turkish-prime-minister-recep-tayyip-erdogan/#ixzz1ebvkKPxn
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the international statesman of the moment. Greeted as a rock star in Egypt and other countries transformed by the Arab Spring, the Turkish Premier looms like a colossus over the Middle East. In recent weeks, he has been one of the most vocal world leaders to back the Palestinian statehood bid at the United Nations. Popular at home, Erdogan has held his position since 2003, and was recently re-elected to a new term. All the while, both Turkey’s economy and geopolitical footprint have been growing noticeably. Erdogan sat down with TIME’s Jim Frederick, Bobby Ghosh, Tony Karon, Matt McAllester and Ishaan Tharoor on the sidelines of U.N. meetings in New York City. The following are excerpts from the conversation, touching upon Turkey’s deteriorating relationship with Israel, the failures of the Middle East peace process, Erdogan’s support for the Arab Spring and frustrations with the U.N., and whether anybody in Ankara still cares about joining the E.U.
TIME: You’ve been outspoken in support of the Palestinian cause and statehood. There are people who say all the drama at the U.N. has not helped the peace process. How do you think it has gone?
Erdogan: First and foremost, what is required is for the U.N. Security Council to say yes to the legitimate demands of the people in Palestine. If anything else should be discussed at this moment, it should be between two states. And there’s another fact we need to consider, primarily the borders of 1967. Israel first seems to have accepted going back to the borders of 1967, but somehow seemed to have got distanced from this ideal. They need to get closer back to it. Palestine is in a form of a maze right now.
Through TIME, I’d like to make a call out to humanity: [The Palestinians] are there to exist. They are not there to be condemned to struggle in an open-air penitentiary. Israel’s cruelty in that regard cannot be continued any longer. And, of course, the legitimate demands for Palestine to be a recognized state should be catered to and considered both in the U.N. Security Council and General Assembly. Those who approach these demands negatively will never be able to settle their accounts with history.
Four, five years ago, it seemed that relations between Turkey and Israel were very close and could change the dynamic of the whole region. Now ties appear to be irrevocably broken.
Our mutual relations with Israel would have been reinforced even further only if Israel hadn’t victimized the positive relations of two countries with [its 2010 raid] on the Mavi Marmara, which was navigating in international waters. The flotillas in question were bearing nothing but humanitarian aid, including toys, food and other sorts of materials. They were holding over 450 citizens from 32 countries. One of the casualties is an American citizen of Turkish descent. And right now the Israeli Prime Minister still alleges that the flotillas were actually loaded with weapons. Had they possessed the weapons that were alleged, why didn’t they fire back? There are reports issued by both the U.N. Security Council and U.N. agencies in Geneva about this incident, and you never see the slightest trace that the flotillas were carrying guns. The Israeli government is not being honest at all. Right now, as long as they refuse to apologize for the nine people of Turkish descent who lost their lives on the flotilla, so long as they refuse to pay compensation to the families, and of course as long as the embargo on Gaza has not been lifted, the relations between the two countries will never become normalized.
You and French President Nicolas Sarkozy both made the point at the U.N. General Assembly that the approach the U.S. took to the peace process had failed. What would you do differently to make the peace process work?
Here’s your headline: You need to take a sincerity test before you even think of accomplishing this. [Ask yourselves the question], Do we really want to resolve this issue or not? Unfortunately, I do not even see the traces of this within the Quartet. Because if the Quartet was so willing to resolve this issue, they would have imposed certain issues on Israel today. Until today, the U.N. Security Council has issued more than 89 resolutions on prospective sanctions related to Israel, but they’ve never been executed. And furthermore, there were about 200 resolutions issued by the General Assembly, and neither have those been complied with.
One might wonder why no sanctions have been imposed on Israel. When it’s Iran in question, you impose sanctions. Similarly with Sudan. What happens with Israel then? Had these sanctions been imposed in this day and age, the Palestine-Israel conflict would have been resolved a long time ago. That’s why I’d like all the parties involved to be sincere and stand behind those resolutions. And that is actually also where a need for reform is needed in the U.N. What’s the deal with these permanent-seat-holding members in the Security Council? They should be eliminated. The entire world is literally a slave to the decisions of these five permanent seat holders.
You had a successful trip across the countries of the Arab Spring and many of the people who have removed dictators there seem to look to the Turkish model of democracy. Does your help then become subject to the same types of criticism that the U.S. faces when talking about democratic change around the world?
Unlike others, I didn’t just go there to see a few people on the streets. I intentionally wanted to talk to the candidate presidents, the new political parties there, and I had the opportunity to get together with lots of people in order to grasp the situation. At my meetings, I said, all right, Turkey is a model of democracy, a secular state, a social state with the rule of law upheld. We are not intentionally trying to export a regime — we couldn’t care less. But if they want our help, we’ll provide any assistance they need. But we do not have a mentality of exporting our system.
One country that doesn’t seem to be inclined to follow the Turkish model is Syria. Like with Israel, you worked very hard trying to develop your relationship with President Bashar Assad. Now it appears that relationship is also broken. Is there any kind of prospect for peace in Syria that keeps Assad in power. Or does he have to go?
I am a person who is inclined to define relations between individuals based on principles. It is impossible to preserve my friendship with people who are allegedly leaders when they are attacking their own people, shooting at them, using tanks and other forms of heavy weaponry. Even when we had warm contacts with some of Syria’s leading figures, we could see that they had no intention of replicating our democracy model. We’ve always voiced our recommendations; they never actually listened to them. In our previous correspondences, he has told me has liberated most of the political offenders. Assad told me “we only have about 83 political offenders in prison.” But actually there are thousands and thousands. Those individuals have never been involved in violent attacks or uprisings. They’ve been unfortunately incarcerated based on their faith or their expressions. And you are probably aware of the fact that we have about 7000 guests [refugees] fleeing the Syrian regime hosted in the province of Hatay.
But you didn’t answer our question. Is there a future for Assad in Syria?
In order for me to be able to comment on this, I need to first visit the camps in Hatay where the refugees are being kept. But in terms of aspirations and hopes, I have previously stated that I am not very optimistic.
Regarding Turkish relations with the U.S., has there be any change over the last few years, particularly with the new administration?
In the last nine years, relations between the U.S. and Turkey have never recessed, never gone back, but they have not improved as much as we’d like. The relationship especially between Obama and us has always been very positive. Whenever we speak to each other, we talk about negotiations of certain processes whether in the region or more globally — we always talk about matters quite frankly. But of course what we want to see is relations getting reinforced at the upmost extent possible, particularly in the realms of the economy and commerce. Because Turkey has great potential to take advantage of.  We’re really willing to see more and more U.S. entrepreneurs conducting investments in Turkey. I’m optimistic for the future. I should tell you honestly, there are no tensions between us.
What about over Israel?
There might be different points of view. We agree to disagree on certain issues. But these disagreements are not reasons for disconnecting relations. Turkey is a sovereign state, just like the U.S. We might go to different directions, in terms of our impressions and ideas, but we’ll always remain friends.
As Turkey’s role in the Middle East has grown, has it given up on its earlier ambition of joining the E.U.? Is integration into Europe now a closed chapter?
When [former French President Jacques] Chirac or [former German Chancellor Gerhard] Schroder were there, Turkey would be involved in all of the European leaders’ summits. But when [current Chancellor Angela] Merkel or [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy took over their offices, the ambience changed dramatically. Despite their attitudes, we were determined to continue this path toward E.U. membership. But unfortunately the trust among my people in E.U. membership started to shake and turn. We’re still determined, because no leader in the E.U. will be there forever. They’ll be replaced one day. We might be replaced one day. But Turkey is getting stronger as time goes by, and the situation of many European states is quite obvious.
Regards

ZULKIFLI HASAN
The Tomb of Hadrat Ayub al Ansari in Istanbul. (From Medina to Istanbul.

“When Prophet Muhammad arrived in Medina (during Hijrah) he was offered accommodations by many, but he wished to stay with the Banu Najjar, whom he was distantly related to. Amongst the member of Banu Najjar, Prophet Muhammad had chosen Abu Ayyub al-Ansari and stayed with him for seven months”.
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November 23, 2011
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
Islamic Banks Get a ‘Libor’ of Their Own
Islamic Banks Get a ‘Libor’ of Their Own
By KATY BURNE Available at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204443404577054150155788364.html
A group of 16 banks resolved a quandary that has dogged the $1 trillion Islamic financing market for nearly three decades: how to represent rates on interbank funding when Islamic principles prohibit firms from charging interest.
The banks—working with industry associations and data provider Thomson Reuters—created a reference rate called the Islamic Interbank Benchmark Rate, or IIBR, which was put into use for the first time Tuesday. The banks say the solution, which complies with Islamic moral codes, known as Shariah, lies in considering money flowing between banks as investments that depend on the performance of underlying assets, rather than as interest-bearing loans.
Scholars and bankers involved in the project say it is an industry milestone akin to the first globally issued Islamic corporate bond in 2001, or the first Islamic sovereign bond in 2002. They say the rate brings transparency to the Islamic financing process and could encourage broader use of Islamic banks.
“The establishment of the IIBR marks an important milestone in the maturation of Islamic money markets by providing an international reference rate for interbank transactions,” said Nasser Saidi, chairman of the Islamic Benchmark Committee and chief economist at the Dubai International Financial Centre, in a statement.
Islamic banks aren’t allowed to earn or pay interest, yet have been using an international interest-rate benchmark—the London interbank offered rate, or Libor—since 1986. While Libor isn’t compliant with Shariah, religious leaders permitted its use because there was no alternative benchmark based on socially ethical investing.
Rather than measuring interest on loans as Libor does, IIBR uses expected profits from short-term money and a forecasted return on the assets of the bank receiving funds. Both are considered investments rather than loans, and therefore interest-free.
Sheikh Yusuf Talal Delorenzo, chairman of Thomson Reuters’s Shariah committee, said the significance of IIBR is that it allows firms participating “to see the interbank market in their own terms.”
“Earnings are lawful,” he said. “What is unlawful is earnings from interest.”
Hassan Demirhan, director in the treasury department at the Islamic Development Bank, added that the introduction of an “indigenous Islamic benchmark” will prove to be a “major milestone in the growth and sustainability of the industry.”
IIBR on everything from overnight to one-year funding will be determined from rates the member banks contribute each day. The data will go through a type of cleaning called a “fixing,” where the top and bottom rates are removed and an average of the middle eight contributions is taken.
The results are blessed by a panel of Islamic banks and approved by a committee of Shariah scholars. Also involved in the launch were the Islamic Development Bank, the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, the Bahrain Association of Banks and the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia.
As of Nov. 16, the theoretical overnight IIBR would have been 0.1%, which was slightly below overnight Libor of 0.14%. Libor was cheaper over one year, however, at 0.91% versus 1.01% for IIBR.
Such differences could encourage corporate borrowers to use Islamic banks when IIBR is lower than Libor, on the theory that banks could pass savings on to customers.
“It will facilitate liquidity into the Islamic banks,” said Rushdi Siddiqui, global head of Islamic finance at Thomson Reuters in New York, who helped launched the first Islamic equity index in 1999 for Dow Jones.
Islamic banks have attracted liquidity from outside investors interested in diversification, said Mr. Siddiqui, and this will provide those funding sources with “a transparent, visible benchmark” that will encourage increased funding flows, helping to finance a wave of infrastructure projects in the region.
The development of a Shariah-compliant benchmark rate also comes amid regulatory investigations into the way the Libor rate is fixed by investment banks. Regulators have opted not to specifically endorse IIBR over other benchmarks, preferring to remain neutral, but they are aware of its creation and have supported it.
Regards

Zulkifli Hasan
Swiss Alps, Grindelwald, Switzerland
Islamic finance news
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November 20, 2011
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
Untapped potential in Islamic finance
Untapped potential in Islamic finance
By LIZ LEE Available at:
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/19/business/9928900&sec=business
WHETHER it is the Occupy Wall Street movement in America or the threat of a meltdown in the European economy, the ongoing economic turbulence may have ignited in many the desire for a more decorous financial system.
Among the melange of solutions provided by conventional financial institutions, perhaps Islamic finance may just be a viable option for ways to deal with money.
During the IFN 2011 Issuers & Investors Asia Forum in October, the finance minister of Luxembourg Luc Frieden made an observation that Europe could learn and gain from Islamic finance as financial institutions under it have remained stable in the furore of the eurozone debt crisis.
Frieden says despite the credit crunch that has impacted Europe’s banks, Islamic financial institutions have been the most well managed. He notes that what the financial world needs today are stability, financial partnership, provision of excessive risk and speculation and ethical principles, all of which are found in Islamic finance.
However, despite growing global foothold, Islamic finance is still alien to many whom, due to the word Islamic, view the financial system as a religious expression rather than an alternative way to manage funds.
This was a misconception the leaders in the local Islamic finance industry sought to correct when they met last week during the International Investor Islamic Finance Roundtable organised by International Investor, a niche publication targeted at the business and investing community.
Perception challenge
International Centre for Education in Islamic Finance (Inceif) president and chief executive Daud Vicary Abdullah says that there is a real challenge in both education and perception towards Islamic finance.
“People are not looking at it as other than a religious decision (and the question) do I have to be a Muslim to participate? still surfaces even though less frequently now compared with 10 years ago,” Daud says.
“There is still confusion among the non-Islamic world or in countries with non-Muslims majority (that creates) a deep-seated suspicion of what Islamic finance is and education can help change this,” he acknowledges.
Daud believes that in terms of changing mindsets, Malaysia can do a great deal by pioneering some form in the standardisation of terms.
Daud: ‘People are not looking at it as other than a religious decision.’

“There is a lot we can do by gaining consistency in language, terminology and interpretation. I think this is essential. What do we really mean by the product, cross-border liquidity, syariah interpretation and the processes as well as handling risk the syariah-compliant way,” he elaborates.
He says that there was a vacuum of explanation for the facets of Islamic finance globally and that Malaysia can be the platform to standardise terms in this financial system.
He notes that to change people’s mindset, effort must go back to primary school education and when introducing basic financial literacy.
“It is about going back through history to the things the Ottoman used in the middle ages. Perhaps what our doctorate students can do is suggest the redesigning of some of the financial literacy programmes that run on e-books or tablets so that primary school children can get the fundamental concepts of Islamic finance and know the alternatives (for financing) that are out there,” he says, adding that the change of this mass would probably need generations to instil.
“There is a lot of work to be done not just in this environment but also globally to change mindsets,” he says, adding that people are starting to look at Islamic finance from the perspectives of risk-sharing but that is no more than skimming the surface.
“It’s not just about risk-sharing, it’s about Islamic monetary policies using different tools,” he says.
Bank Negara Islamic scholar and Shariah Advisory Committee member Dr Aznan Hasan notes that it is time practitioners and regulators promote Islamic finance as a mainstream financial system.
“If we can see it as mainstream, we can change the mindset. We will start to think of what business model it works on and find the best way for it not just to co-exist with conventional finance but be a better alternative in some ways,” he says of the opportunities to harvest in Islamic finance.
While there was an overall congruence that Islamic finance should be depicted as a mainstream financial system rather than a niche option, the leaders recognise that that was a change could not be achieved overnight.
Risk-sharing model
HSBC Amanah Malaysia chief executive and executive director Rafe Haneef says the matter at hand is not just a mindset issue but is also incentive-driven.
“We have moved to limited-liability approach since a long a time ago where (for) the investing community, they do not want to share risk knowing that they get lesser return,” he says.
In order to move towards the more stable risk-sharing financial concept, he says everyone will have to “relook the corporate entity concept and business model that facilitates maximising shareholders’ return”.
“The existing conventional model gives less return when times are good but massive risk when times are bad which makes capitalists grow richer (but) the risk-sharing approach gives a greater distribution of wealth so you get greater reward through sharing when times are good as you get a greater share of the economics but when the times are bad, you share in the downturn as well.
“Investors are not prepared to share risk as they want to have their fixed income. They need to be, through tax, allowed to take more risk,” he says, citing the need to change the incentive in order to encourage risk-sharing.
He adds that risk-sharing is a better model for whole societies over the long term even though the initial stages of introducing it on a broad spectrum would incur a lot of social costs.
He adds: “The world is quite uniform in their taxing system so if you are the only country changing your system, you may find that you become less competitive in the short to medium term.”
There is much about Islamic finance in Malaysia that could still be moulded to be a leading hub.
“What we have not discussed thoroughly is the model we are working on. MIFC ( Malaysia International Islamic Financial Centre) is very good to allow international players to come in and these are usually bankers and asset managers. However, the liberalisation for other segments under IF are not well thought out,” he says.
Aznan refers to areas under the banking system like the legal fraternity and accountancy which have not been moderated to follow any Islamic models. “Are we going to adopt the UK model, or the Singapore model or have our own model (for all these areas) because Islamic finance is not only about bringing money in or out.”
To further grow Malaysia as an Islamic finance hub, local institutions have to venture out as well.
While we have had many foreign players come in to set up a base in Malaysia, the question Maybank Islamic chief executive Muzaffar Hisham asked is: “When we get people to come in, can we also go there?”
Whether the introduction of foreign players have made notable impact on the growth of Islamic finance locally, Daud believes that the only way to move forward is through reaching out.
“(The international players) have not made as much difference as everybody wanted or they haven’t done it quickly enough and we can complain about it,” he said, “but this is also about us going out there (through) reciprocal arrangements on a regulatory level.”
He says that from a business standpoint, there is more that the local Islamic finance industry can do in terms of taking the expertise and products here abroad.
“We have grown from 6% to 23% (but) growing any further is outcome-based and part of that outcome is what we have to define (such as) the business model, legal system, regulatory structures and so on,” he says, adding that Malaysians should not be afraid of defining new global measures and standards for Islamic finance.
He remarks that Malaysia has the “perfect right to do that because it has been doing it. It has been on the front curb and continuous improvement is going on”.
The roundtable also gathered the participation of Ernst & Young contry managing partner Abdul Rauf Rashid, CIMB-Principal Islamic Asset Management chief executive Datuk Noripah Kamso, legal firm Shook Lin & Bok partner Jalalullail Othman, Securities Commission Islamic Capital Markets executive director Zainal Izlan Zainal Abidin and International Investor country publisher Cory D’Abreo.
Regards

ZULKIFLI HASAN
Melbourne University Law School
Islamic finance news
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November 10, 2011
DR. ZULKIFLI HASAN
Rachid Ghannouchi, a Reformist
Ghannouchi…Tunisia’s Reformist Islamist
Available at:
http://www.onislam.net/english/news/africa/454636-ghannouchitunisias-reformist-islamist.html
TUNIS – Seen as a reformist and a champion of public freedoms, Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of Tunisia’s Islamic-leaning Ennahda, sees himself on a mission to advocate “an applied version of Islam”.
“There is some confusion in the West about Islamism,” Ghannouchi told Reuters.
“Some confuse it with fundamentalism and link it to violence, extremism and takfir” — the practice of declaring other Muslims infidels.
Ghannouchi’s Ennahda party won 41.7 percent of votes in last month’s election, the first poll since the ouster of president Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali in a popular revolution earlier this year.
The election will result in an assembly that will draw up the country’s new constitution.
The party says it will not write religion into the country’s laws and will focus instead on jobs for the unemployed and justice for all.
Ghannouchi says Ennahda will guarantee individual freedoms, including women’s rights.
He compared its approach to that of the Christian Democrats in Europe or United States politicians who invoke God and Christian values while working in a secular democracy.
“We are against the state trying to impose any particular way of life,” he said.
“There shouldn’t be any law to try to make people more religious. We believe in freedom of religion, including the freedom to change religion.”
Ghannouchi was forced into exile in Britain for 22 years because of harassment by Ben Ali’s police.
A softly spoken scholar, he dresses in suits and open-necked shirts while his wife and daughter wear the hijab.
Reformist
Ghannouchi’s pragmatic policies are often described as being inspired by the moderate Islamists in Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), but they seem to have been just as influenced by him.
“Tunis has been a center of reformist Islamic thought since the 19th century,” said Mustafa Akyol, Turkish author of the recent book “Islam Without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty.”
“The AKP doesn’t have a Ghannouchi,” he said, using the name of the ruling party of Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Neither Erdogan nor (President Abdullah) Gul has written books about reform theology.”
A rare theoretician among Islamist politicians, Ghannouchi’s reformist writings were translated from Arabic into Turkish and read there as early as the 1980s.
His 1993 book “Public Liberties in the Islamic State” is “better known in Turkey than Tunisia,” he said.
It was banned until Ben Ali was ousted by Tunisia’s Arab Spring protests in January.
Ghannouchi believes that Islam and democracy fit together as all Islamic laws aim to preserve the universal values of life, religion, property, reason and family.
“When we establish democracy, we see that it achieves many of these aims,” Ghannouchi said.
“Anything that promotes these aims is Islamic, even if it is not called Islamic.
“That’s why we say that Islam and democracy are compatible.”
Radwan Masmoudi, Tunisian-born director of the Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) in Washington, said democracy was the most suitable political system for putting Ghannouchi’s interpretation of Islam into practice.
“There are Islamic values that are universal and the state should uphold, such as justice, freedom and equality,” he told Reuters.
“For that you need a separation of powers and an independent judiciary. Those are secular values.”
Another pillar of Ghannouchi’s thinking — ijtihad, or reasoned interpretation of Islamic texts — needs freedom to operate effectively, Masmoudi said.
“You can’t practice ijtihad in a dictatorship,” he said.
“People used to think we needed to reform Islam to have a democracy. I think we need democracy first, then we can reconcile Islam with modernity.”
Regards

ZULKIFLI HASAN
With Yvonne Ridley, award-winning journalist, former taliban captive, revert to Islam
Muslims News
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