Significant growth of the halal economy warrants increasing efforts to develop syariah-compliant legal frameworks and harmonisation of syariah and civil law, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Datuk Dr Mohd Na’im Mokhtar.
He said efforts to harmonise the two judicial systems were needed as the law, may it be syariah or civil, had been increasingly impacted by the influence of international trade and treaties, transnational arrangements as well as fast-paced developments in automation and digitalisation.
“Technologies like fintech (financial technology) and blockchain have tested and expanded the boundary of laws and regulations. In the context of muamalah, the development of products and industry based on halal and Muslim-friendly principles as a new economic sector is a major push factor in the development of new legal norms and governance.”
Mohd Na’im said this in his opening remark, read by his Political Secretary Dr Muhamad Razak Idris at the 5th International Conference on Harmonisation of Syariah and Civil Law held at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) here today.
The minister said the ongoing process of harmonisation of laws in Malaysia, which aims to elevate the position of Islam as the religion of the Federation, faces a battery of challenges and oppositions, albeit being relevant in the context of the Malaysian legal system, as clearly outlined under the Federal Constitution.
“Conflicts of law are bound to happen, for example, the debate concerning the use of the word ‘Allah’, the recurring civil and syariah court jurisdictional disputes plaguing Malaysia for decades, issues on implementation of Islamic criminal law, the ongoing debate on the basic structure doctrine in constitutional interpretation, to name a few,” he said.
Elaborating on his aspiration for the future of harmonisation, Mohd Na’im said the ultimate purpose was to dignify syariah law to its rightful sovereign position whilst converging on the areas of compatibility between syariah and civil law.
“Certainly, the quest is to manifest the objectives of the Maqasid-al-Shari’ah that guarantees to protect the religion, the lives of humankind, the mind, progeny and property.
“We may not live long enough to see the ultimate realisation of this but I believe that one day, it will surely become apparent that harmonisation is the means to achieve development of a community of people who stand up for equity and justice,” he said
Source: BERNAMA News Agency
