Islamic Law in Malaysia

This book examines the challenges of the implementation of Islamic law in Malaysia. There are three main reasons that make Malaysia an interesting jurisdiction to explore. Firstly, Malaysia is often referred to as a model Islamic country. Islamic law is the law of the land (a source of law) in Malaysia. The Islamic law legal system in Malaysia operates in parallel with the common law legal system. The two systems of law seem to be in harmony with one another to a large extent. However, occasional cross-jurisdictional issues do arise and when they do, the Malaysian judiciary has been quite efficient in solving those issues. The Malaysian experience in maintaining the harmony between the two legal systems is certainly worth studying. Secondly, Malaysia has a developed Shari’ah court system that interprets and applies Islamic law predominantly based on Shafi’s school of thought. While for the most part, the implementation has been smooth, there have been times when the implementation has caused a public outcry and raised concerns as to the compatibility of Islamic law with modern principles of human rights and common law-based values. Thirdly, there have been a few cases where Islamic law implementation in Malaysia has gained global attention. This book examines specific case studies in Malaysia. The insights into these cases will be provided by scholars who have the necessary competence and expertise in Islamic law and its implementation in Malaysia. This book provides direction for other countries that operate a dual system of secular and Islamic laws.