Shariah battle decided out of court

Malaysians have recently gone to the polls to choose how Islamic they want their state to be

(CNN) -- Muslim factions in Indonesia and Malaysia have made a concerted push in recent months to implement Shariah law, the Islamic legal and moral code derived predominantly from the Holy Koran.

The sight of 5,000 people marching on parliament in Jakarta, and the electoral success in Malaysia of a fundamentalist party espousing laws that include stoning, whipping and amputation, have led to suggestions of Shariah law gaining a major foothold in Muslim countries of Southeast Asia.

In Indonesia, the government has accommodated Shariah law in one small province, Aceh, as part of an autonomy package designed to defuse independence demands on the staunchly Muslim island.

But despite the placard-wielding, political rhetoric and isolated concessions, the prospects of Shariah law usurping current legal systems -- even a more modest Shariah system than that applied in the Middle East -- appear more remote than ever in Southeast Asia.

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While some conservative Muslims believe Shariah law could eradicate corruption, drug use and family breakdowns, there is still only minimal support for it, even in a country in which some 85 percent of the 210 million people are Muslim.

And among those in the world's largest Muslim country who support a return to Shariah law for the first time in half a century, few Indonesians favor the drastic measures carried out in parts of the Middle East, such as the amputation of thieves' limbs.

Support fading

Speaking in the wake of the protests in early August, Indonesian political analyst Rizal Mallarangeng said the influence of those urging the adoption of Shariah law into the Indonesian constitution was diminishing rather than growing.

"What you may be witnessing in Indonesia is a group of people (those supporting Shariah law) getting louder as they get smaller," Mallarangeng told CNN.

"While the protesters are getting more vocal, the actual parliamentary representation of these groups is diminishing.

"The PPP (National Unity Party) and PBB (Star and Crescent Party), who support this measure, control less than 15 percent of seats in parliament. They seem to be in long-term decline because in 1955, when last there was democratic representation, comparable party support was just under 50 percent," Mallarangeng said.

Thousands have taken to the streets demanding Shariah law in Indonesia

But among those striving to have Shariah law recognized as the primary national legal reference in Indonesia, there is still optimism electoral support will be forthcoming.

"We want to save Indonesia with Shariah law," said Ismail Yusanto, a spokesman of Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia or the Indonesian Liberation party. Claiming membership of tens of thousands, Hizbut Tahrir says it is not militant and vows to run in the 2004 general election to grab seats in parliament.

"For more than 50 years of independence, we have seen secularist leaders destroy the country," Yusanto told The Associated Press.

Indonesia's founding fathers wrote a constitution in 1945 for a secular government based on religious tolerance between the Muslim majority and Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and other minorities.

However, economic and social turmoil since the ousting of former dictator Suharto in 1998 has sparked the growth of Muslim militancy, accompanied by bloody sectarian conflicts in Maluku province, Sulawesi and Aceh. (Protests).

Parallel systems

In Malaysia, where just over half the 23 million people are Muslim, Shariah law has for many generations been enacted in the Muslim-dominated northeastern state of Terengganu.

Marriage, inheritance and property laws have been interpreted and decided by Shariah courts operating parallel to the constitutional federal system that dictates matters of criminal law.

But the PAS (Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party) is now engaged in a political battle to extend Terengganu's version of Shariah -- or hudud -- laws, providing for punishments of stoning, whipping and amputation in place of the current criminal law doctrine.

Under the country's consitution, Islam is the official religion of Malaysia

The new leader of PAS, hardliner Abdul Hadi Awang, has also vowed to implement hudud throughout the country if his party takes national power.

But like Indonesia to the south, Malaysia's exposure to the Islamic doctrine is likely to remain limited at best.

Acknowledging the party was not in immediate contention to gain national control of Malaysia, PAS acting president Dr Mohamed Hatta said the challenge centered on having the criminal component enacted in Terengganu (Elections).

"The government of Terengganu has imposed Shariah criminal law, arguing that as it is an Islamic affair, it falls under state jurisdiction. (Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's) national government claims criminal law is a federal matter and that is where the political debate is at the moment," Dr Hatta told CNN.

"Politically speaking, it is almost impossible for PAS to gain control on a federal level. But at a state level, we can have a reasonable impact in Muslim-controlled states," he said.

Threat of unrest

In Nigeria, the introduction of Shariah law in the Muslim-dominated northern states led to thousands being killed in subsequent ethnic violence between Muslims and the Christian majority in the south.

Similarly in Southeast Asia, there are fears of the same debate sparking violence between fundamentalist Muslims and those opposed to a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Indonesia's grassroot support for Shariah law

Small militant groups in Indonesia have regularly raided gambling halls and shops selling alcohol -- which are deemed against the tenets of Islam.

There are fears Muslim vigilante groups, currently operating in big towns, may boost their actions.

In Malaysia, women's groups have opposed Shariah law on the grounds they are treated as inferior to men in the eyes of the law.

The Women's Crisis Center based in Penang is an umbrella organization representing many lobby groups and is a staunch opponent of hudud and Shariah.

"Under this Bill, a woman who reports she has been raped will be charged for qazaf (slanderous accusation) and flogged 80 lashes if she is unable to prove the rape. A woman cannot be a witness ... and must have no less than four male witnesses if she is to prove she was raped," the group's website proclaims.