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Islamic party accuses Malaysian judge of insulting Islam
Malaysia's opposition Islamic party on Friday accused a top judge of insulting Islam by ruling that a Muslim boy need not wear a turban _ as the Prophet Muhammad did _ to prove his faith. The Federal Court on Wednesday dismissed an appeal by three Muslim boys who unsuccessfully sued the government after their state school expelled them for refusing to remove their turbans.Federal Court Judge Abdul Hamid Mohamed said in the ruling that it isn't necessary for Muslims to do exactly as the Prophet Muhammad did. "Islam is not about turbans and beards. The pagan Arabs wore turbans and kept beards. It was quite natural for the Prophet, born into the community, to do the same," Abdul Hamid said. Even in Malaysia, very few religious clerics and hardly any Shariah Court judges wear a turban, he said, adding that the Prophet also rode a camel but "does that make riding a camel a more pious deed than traveling in an airplane?" The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, or PAS, said Friday that Abdul Hamid should have been more restrained in his comments as he is not an Islamic expert. "We regret his ruling that wearing a turban is not a big thing in Islam, especially for young boys. Parts of what he said insult and belittle Islamic teachings," PAS youth chief Salahuddin Ayub told The Associated Press. "We want the Federal Court judgment to be reviewed. According to our religious teaching, wearing a turban is part of the Islamic way of life," he said, adding they would lodge a police report against the judge soon. Abdul Hamid and court officials were not available to comment Friday. Malaysia's civil and criminal codes are based on secular laws, but its Muslim majority also must adhere to a separate set of Islamic laws covering issues such as inheritance, births and deaths, marriage and divorce. Posted by: ryuge 2006-07-14 |
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