MAQSOOD AHMAD & ORS v. KETUA PEGAWAI PENGUATKUASA AGAMA & ORS [2022] 2 CLJ 259
HIGH COURT MALAYA, SHAH ALAM
VAZEER ALAM MYDIN MEERA J
[JUDICIAL REVIEW NO: 25-56-10-2015]
25 OCTOBER 2021
Abstract – (i) Members of the Ahmadiyya sect are generally not Muslims and are not to be subjected to the dictates of Islamic law or statute, or any Syariah investigation or prosecution. However, to properly determine their constitutional and legal status, a differentiation must be made between those who were adherents of the faith by origin, and those who were professing the religion of Islam before embracing the doctrinal beliefs of the Ahmadiyya sect. The Civil Court is seized with jurisdiction to deal with those in the first category but not in the second; for the latter category, the tight to determine belongs exclusively to the Syariah Court. (ii) The Ahmadiyya worshippers in this judicial review application are made up of those who were born into Ahmadiyya families and were Ahmadiyya adherents by origin, and Muslims who had subsequently come to adopt the Ahmadiyya faith. Clearly, the applicants in the second category who are Malaysians fall squarely within the ‘renunciation’ cases and would therefore come within the jurisdiction of the Islamic Authorities respondents, and be subject to the two fatwas herein, until and unless they obtain an order from the Syariah Court that they are followers of the Ahmadiyya sect.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgzGmthnkPqpFDqMzfnfdFXKjpqSC
KETUA PEGAWAI PENGUATKUASA AGAMA & ORS v. MAQSOOD AHMAD & ORS AND ANOTHER APPEAL [2020] 10 CLJ 748
COURT OF APPEAL, PUTRAJAYA
BADARIAH SAHAMID JCA; ZABARIAH MOHD YUSOF JCA; NOR BEE ARIFFIN JCA
[CIVIL APPEALS NO: B-01(A)-468-07-2018 & B-01(A)-513-08-2018]
25 AUGUST 2020
The Syariah Court's jurisdiction is circumscribed by law and what is spelt out in s. 74(1) of the Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003 is merely a restatement of a trite principle of law that a Syariah Court has no jurisdiction over non-Muslims. This said, the presumption in s. 74(2) thereof has no application to members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at religious group ('the Ahmadiyya') in the State of Selangor, because, following the 1953 trial before HRH the Sultan of Selangor and the subsequently gazetted 1998 and 2000 fatwas, an Ahmadiyya in the State of Selangor is not considered a Muslim, and he is also not, constitutionally speaking, a person 'professing the religion of Islam'. Indeed, for that matter, the 1998 and 2000 fatwas themselves have removed the legal status of the Ahmadiyya community as persons 'professing the religion of Islam'. It follows therefore that the actions of the Majlis Agama Islam Selangor in raiding the Ahmadiyya's place of worship and prohibiting them from performing their prayers thereat upon a purported violation of s. 97(2) of the Enactment ought to be subjected to a review before the High Court; and if the respondents herein have, by cogent and credible supporting evidence, showed that they are actually Ahmadiyya, then the High Court has the discretion to grant them the relief sought for, including to prohibit all syariah investigation and prosecution against them.
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
Fundamental liberties - Freedom of religion - Jurisdiction of Syariah Court - Matters related to Syariah as defined in Item 1, List II of Ninth Schedule of Federal Constitution - Whether confined to persons 'professing the religion of Islam' - Persons of Ahmadiyya religion - Fatwa removing legal status of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at religious group as persons 'professing the religion of Islam' in Selangor - Whether fell within jurisdiction of civil court - Federal Constitution, arts. 11(1) & 121(1A)
JURISDICTION
Courts - Jurisdiction - Offence under s. 97 of Administration of the Religion of Islam (State of Selangor) Enactment 2003 ('ARIE') - Proper forum - Whether Syariah Court or Magistrate's Court - Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at religious group - Fatwa removing legal status of Ahmadiyya community as persons 'professing the religion of Islam' in Selangor - Whether s. 74(2) of ARIE applicable to Ahmadiyya in Selangor
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?tab=rm&ogbl#inbox/FMfcgxwKkHXKmWFDzTmKvKVzHFFtBbrM
No comments:
Post a Comment