Sodomy II prosecutor Muhmmad Shafee Abdullah must be investigated for the syariah crime of qazaf, said the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim).

Scholars say unsubstantiated accusations of sodomy still considered qazaf in syariah, Abim president Amidi Abdul Manan said, despite what minister Jamil Khir Baharom claims.

“Any discussion about the matter outside of court not for the purpose of a trial is qazaf, if no four witnesses are produced (to substantiate the accusation).

“(The roadshow) only involves one side of the case and is aimed at shaming someone, an act which is condemned by Islam,” Amidi said.

Responding to preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin, Minister in charge of Islamic affairs Jamil Khir last week said those crying qazaf over Shafee’s roadshow should study the law.

Wan Ji reported Shafee to the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department for disclosing graphic details of the sex act between Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and sodomy complainant Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan in a talk in Kelana Jaya.

 

Qazaf is the crime of accusing someone of illicit sex without substantial evidence or witnesses.

Consensus among scholars

According to Amidi, scholars of Islamic jurisprudence from all four Islamic schools of thoughts agree that the act of sodomy is the same as illicit sex between heterosexuals.

As such, the same rules apply for those wanting to make accusations of sodomy, he said.

He said that Shafee’s roadshow is professionally “unethical” and un-Islamic and should therefore be investigated for qazaf to safeguard the sanctity of the religion.

“Our call is not limited to the Anwar case but to any case which involves sex exposes. This is something immoral and is a crime,” he said.

Amidi said that even if Jamil Khir meant that the qazaf enactment does not explicitly use the word “sodomy”, this should be up to the courts to deliberate and not to be debated in the media.

The enactments should also be amended to suit the accepted views of scholars, he said.

“The definition for illicit sex should also include sodomy,” he said.

“It is time for such amendments to be made to truly reflect the syariah, given that the federal government seems to be very keen towards the hudud (Islamic penal code),” he said.