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Towards a Malaysian Criminology pp 117–140Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Case Study 2: The Detention of Sharī’ah Offenders in Pusat Pemulihan Akidah (Islamic Rehabilitation Centres) in Malaysia

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Abstract

As with case study 1, the increasing Islamisation of Malaysia has produced increasing application of Islamic law including detention in Rehabilitation Centres. This chapter explores the source of authority in the Federal Constitution for the Islamic legal system and jurisdiction for sentencing offenders. The controversial penalties of whipping and caning are explored as well as highlighting the wide discretionary powers granted to the Islamic judiciary. The case study illustrates a lack of consistency in judicial interpretation and an absence of guidelines on what constitutes minimum sentences. The case study outlines the key offences which could be subject to detention as well as their reach to juveniles. The draconian nature of the sentences puts them at odds with international commitments and directions in many nations which have decriminalised corporal punishment and public displays of humiliation.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Arabic, plural of Hadd, prevention, restraint or prohibition.

  2. 2.

    Arabic, law of equality or equitable retaliation. Derived from ‘qassa’-meaning he cut or followed his track in pursuit.

  3. 3.

    Arabic, compensation.

  4. 4.

    Approximately £900 or $1500.

  5. 5.

    Arabic, creed or belief system of Islam.

  6. 6.

    Arabic, Muslim behaviour, ethics, virtue, morality and manners.

  7. 7.

    Arabic, literally meaning deterrence, crimes for which there are no specified penalties in the Qur’an or sunnah (model behaviour as set by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW)). The power of discretionary and variable punishment, essentially corrective as opposed to the hadd punishments which are retributive.

  8. 8.

    Arabic, plural for faqih, experts in Islamic Jurisprudence.

  9. 9.

    Malay, the laws accepted by the established Schools of Islamic Jurisprudence Shāfi’ī , Hanafī, Mālikī , Hanbalī and Shī’a (Zaidiyyah and Jaafariyah) sects.

  10. 10.

    The offence of an unmarried Muslim being in the private company of a member of the opposite sex.

  11. 11.

    Praying throughout the night.

  12. 12.

    Arabic, almsgiving.

  13. 13.

    Arabic, recipients of zakat.

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  1. School of Health and Society, University of Salford, Salford, UK

    Muzammil Quraishi

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Quraishi, M. (2020). Case Study 2: The Detention of Sharī’ah Offenders in Pusat Pemulihan Akidah (Islamic Rehabilitation Centres) in Malaysia. In: Towards a Malaysian Criminology. Palgrave Advances in Criminology and Criminal Justice in Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49101-5_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49101-5_6

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-49100-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-49101-5

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