Muslim women caned in Malaysia - my view vs. Americans view

Mood : opinionated

Assalamualaikum, good afternoon awesome peeps!.. initially, I wanted to blog about my experience at Nuffnang HQ but I think that would have to wait a bit..

this morning while I was searching for pictures of poor Malaysian women for my part time job as a Research Assistant, I came across a picture related to 3 Malaysian women who were caned early this year.. and they were Muslims.. part of the article caught my attention so I clicked on the link to read the article in whole.. it wasn't an article per say, but was a question posted on a website called SodaHead, which is all about opinions.. and truth be told, it was quite opinionated.. it was written by an American guy regarding the canning done on the 3 women, and how he wondered if they were brainwashed.. what got me riled up to write this blogpost is not much coz of the guy, but of the comments left under the article..

printscreen from SodaHead

what was he talking about?.. read the article below from 'Malaysia-today'..

17th February 2010, (AFP) - Malaysia said Wednesday that three women have been caned under Islamic law for having extramarital sex, in a first for the Muslim-majority country.

Officials said the three women were caned on February 9 at a women's prison outside the capital Kuala Lumpur after being convicted of "khalwat" or "close proximity" between an unmarried couple.

"I hope this will not be misunderstood until it defiles the purity of Islam," Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said according to state media.

"The punishment is to teach and give a chance to those who have fallen off the path to return and build a better life in future," he said, adding that none of the three sustained any injuries.

Hishammuddin said the three women and four men were caned following a December decision in the religious courts -- which operate in parallel to the civil system in Malaysia.

He said one woman was released from prison last Sunday while another will be freed in several days and the third will be released in June.

and this is an article from another source which the writer took an article from MailOnline..

February 20th, 2010 - Three Muslim women who were the first in Malaysia to be caned for having sex outside marriage this morning claimed the punishment was an opportunity for them to repent.

Prison authorities caned the women last week after an Islamic Shariah court issued the penalty.

The caning has outraged rights groups and revived speculation that conservative Islamists, who advocate harsh punishment, are gaining influence in the country.

The three women, aged 17-25, said they turned themselves in after feeling guilty for sleeping with their boyfriends before marriage and getting pregnant.

Malaysian justice: Prison staff demonstrate to the media how the caning process was done at the Kajang prison outside Kuala Lumpur

The 17-year-old told reporters that she surrendered to Islamic authorities after her prematurely born child died.

She is now serving a six-month prison sentence.

‘I know I have sinned, and I have to be punished. Strangely however, I felt that the caning was not a form of punishment but was an opportunity for me to repent and return to the right path,’ she said.

She has already married her boyfriend, who has also been caned and jailed over the offence.

The other women, who have one young child each, are planning to marry their partners after they are released.

The men were also caned for having sex.

One woman, aged 25, said she was scared before the caning but knew she deserved the punishment.

All three women called on others not to make the same mistake and abstain from sex before marriage.

A Prison Department official confirmed the women’s comments, made at a news conference at the women’s prison outside Kuala Lumpur to local, government-linked media under the watch of authorities.

He said they were reluctant to speak to other media.

It could not be confirmed whether they were speaking voluntarily. request with the department for interviews is pending.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin defended the caning this morning, saying it was ‘far lighter’ than what some people might imagine.

‘The punishment is legitimate and in accordance with the law,’ Muhyiddin said.

Human rights groups have slammed the caning, saying it is a cruel and degrading punishment and discriminates against Muslim women because Malaysian civil law – which applies to non-Muslims – bans the caning of women.

The women, who were fully clothed and sitting on a stool, received between four and six strokes with a thin rattan stick on the back, lasting a few minutes.

Malaysia has a two-tier justice system.

Shariah courts deal with personal matters for Muslims, who account for about two-thirds of the country’s 28 million people, while non-Muslims – many of whom are ethnic Chinese and Indians – go to civil courts.

so now you know the story.. so let's go back to the question the American guy asked on SodaHead..

he didn't really degrade anyone for the punishment, and didn't really say his stand whether he agrees or oppose, just wondering if the women were brainwashed into thinking that the punishment was good for them.. so it's just a question.. and here are some of the response from other American people.. please note, they are talking about Malaysia, Islam, and its Shari'a Law in Islam as a whole and also the law in Malaysia, so some of the things they say are quite offensive.. not all are offensive, some even gave reasons and rebuttals regarding the punishment, but please keep an open mind, they are not accustom to our religion nor culture here in Malaysia, not like the other ethnic groups in Malaysia itself..

again, keep an open mind, and also, please mind your language if you decide to comment on this post.. no cursing or degrading other peoples religion either please.. you'll find my opinion and remarks under the comments posted, agree or disagree, I don't care.. but if my facts are wrong, please enlighten me as to why I was wrong, thank you..

this is wrong on so many levels..

this is quite interesting actually, SeaShell is a Jew, and she's defending Islam.. refreshing, don't you think?.. (^^,) and the NJ Ladybug is more of a feminist.. you'll see more of her comments later on and how she 110% oppose of the punishment, from the sexist and human rights point of view lah.. take note, they both are from the States..

all I have to say is, every country, every state have their own set of laws and cultures.. in Malaysia, our main religion is Islam but we do not oppose or limit other religion from being practiced here like Christians, Catholic, Buddhism, Hinduism and others since we live in a multiracial community with the Chinese, Indians, Kadazans, Dusuns, etc.. and we are Asians who are mostly conservative in maintaining our Eastern culture and traditions, be it Malays, Chinese or Indians..

and to add on that, Islamic views and values have been in Malaysia since wayyyyyyyyy before our independence.. believe it or not, these 3 women got off easy compared to the original punishment stated in the Holy Quran.. and both men and women are punished in the case of adultery and premarital sex, not just women so it's by far biased.. the reason of canning is for repentance of their sin and also to show to the public that the sin committed was wrong and to not commit it themselves.. there is a cause to every reason and action.. you do something bad, you get the punishment, simple as that.. whether their repentance is accepted or not by Allah S.W.T. is entirely up to Him, wallahua'lam..

in regards to NJ Ladybug, it's not a new law, it's in the Holy Quran since Prophet Muhammad S.A.W.s time.. it's the way of life for Muslims, for Islam.. and no one squealed, they came out themselves because they regretted what they did and wanted to repent, no one forced them.. it has nothing to do with karma, it's the Shari'a Law.. it's only applicable to Muslims tho, so you shouldn't worry if you committed adultery in the States.. no one would care anyway.. as for the comment by aebe, I have no idea what the guy is trying to say.. (-__-;;

like I said, not a sexiest issue, not biased.. both men and women got their punishment..

it is equal, both men and women got caned, so it's equal la kan.. no sexism at all in this case.. but it took a while for everyone to know that since the press FOCUSED on the WOMEN instead of the men.. reason?.. coz it's more controversial and sells faster, DUH..

truth be told, I didn't follow the case when it was a hot controversial and debated issue in Malaysia early this year, but I have read of the given punishment and the acceptance of punishment by the 3 women.. I just don't know why everyone is riled up about it and making it into an international issue.. Islam is barbaric?.. Malaysia is barbaric?.. human rights?.. pftttttttt!!!!~~ yeah, they chose to repent in that way, they're humans, they have the rights to chose that, what does it got to do with you?.. they want to be clean in the Islamic sense, they don't want to spend too much time in Hell, they chose that punishment, that's their rights as a human being la kan?.. paham?.. okay, suddenly I'm getting all emotional.. excuse me, this is sort of a touchy subject.. (-__-;;

and here are some response from a CNN article regarding this matter.. click to enlarge, and my response to the comment is also included.. agree or disagree, I don't really care.. but if you think I'm wrong, enlighten me without cursing please.. thank you..

in Islam, men are allowed to have up to 4 wives, but it comes with condition.. they cannot simply marry for a second, third or fourth time if they are unable to support or care for all the wives either monetary, physically or emotionally.. and they must split everything equally in terms of care, respect, time, money, etc. to all their wives and children.. and frankly, not all men can perform this..

and there are also reasons why women are not allowed to have more than 1 husband.. there might be confusion and complication as to whom the child of the woman belongs to if she was to marry 4 husbands which will then result in confusion when the daughter wants to marry, as in Islam, the father will pass the daughter to the future husband trough a ceremony called 'akad nikah'.. if the said 'father' is not the real biological father, the marriage will not be accepted by Islam and they will live a life of sin due to the mix up, even if they did not know it, - wallahua'lam - and this problem will be passed down to another generation and another generation.. it will also complicate the writing of the will in terms of distribution of assets from parents when they die..

and personally, I don't mind if my future husband marry another wife, but I have my conditions too la.. hehehe.. =P

yes, the men were also caned but the media chose to not publish much about that since it's not much of a hot issue as the Muslim women caned.. obviously the article was biased and choose to only publish this side of the story more, playing on the human rights, women rights, religious believe and all the other stuff.. frankly speaking, the article showed a bad side of Islam as a religion in the eyes of non Muslims who know very little about the teachings of the religion.. and no, a woman gave out the canning, not a man..

and women are put on a high pedestal for a reason, they are sacred, their honour and dignity should be preserved, that is why we, the women cover ourselves, because we believe that.. we are a rare diamond only for 1 man, which is the husband..it's what stated in our religion, and we believe in it.. and hey, you have your own religion and believes too, am I right?.. and I do respect your religion, and I'm hoping you would respect mine too..

wow, the statement 'Islam is an evil religion' is really looking to pick a fight.. but the latter input about the 12-year-old little girls is quite disturbing.. (-__-;;

I like muslimbeautys response.. yes, I'm also a proud Muslim woman as I know and understand in what I believe in, and I would love it if you could understand that.. and no, I don't think I will be treated as a property with my husband, and I don't think I'm a second class citizen, especially in Malaysia.. from the way Nisharenee commented, I think she converted into Islam when she married her husband but experienced something not to her liking.. all I have to say is, don't base a whole religion on what a man did.. all religion have great lessons to teach, just not all followers are good students..

and so, these were from Americans point of view.. it's a very touchy subject when it comes to religion, especially Islam, as not everyone understand what it's about and how the system works.. all the world know and seem keen on believing that Islam is a terrorist religion and unfair to its women, and boy, they're so wrong.. oh well, the only way to change the world is by changing yourself, so instead of lashing out to the world, stop and think how you can improve the situation for you first.. others will follow eventually.. (^^,)

OMG, this entry is so long, I just noticed.. hahaha.. sorry bout that.. and the comments on this blogpost is going to be moderated, in case someone decides to curse and use unnecessary words and vowels.. you may comment if you choose to, share with others about your thoughts regarding this subject, but please, you civilized words, and have decent manners please..

thank you! (^^,)