Malaysian Government hit over Prophet slur case

17.02.2012

Days after deporting a Saudi journalist accused of insulting Islam, Malaysia continued to attract criticism for caving in to Saudi government pressure in what some say is a bid to burnish its own Muslim credentials.

Among those to chime in is former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad. He said Malaysia should have weighed the consequences before sending Hamza Kashgari back to Saudi Arabia to a possible death sentence.

"If it may cause the loss of life, we have to see the justification," Mahathir said this week.

Kashgari, a 23-year-old newspaper columnist, had fled Saudi Arabia after he was accused of insulting Prophet Muhammad through his Twitter posts. He was detained in Malaysia on Thursday last week, at the request of Saudi Arabia, while on his way to New Zealand to seek asylum.

He was sent back to Saudi Arabia on Sunday, despite objections from human rights groups, who fear he will face persecution and the death sentence upon his return.

Indeed, the speed with which Kashgari was extradited, despite the lack of an extradition treaty between the two countries, was likely due to pressure from Saudi Arabia, said political analyst Johan Saravanamuttu. A Saudi Facebook page demanding his execution has received tens of thousands of members.

"Malaysia has good ties with Arab states in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia. As a Muslim-majority state itself, it would be difficult - and seem insensitive - for Malaysia not to repatriate this person," he said.

The government was likely also eyeing its Malay-Muslim base, with the general election widely expected to take place soon, said political analyst Joseph Liow, an expert on regional Muslim issues.

"In this case, I believe the imperative was to secure this base by not coming across as condoning a crime as serious as blasphemy against the Prophet," Liow said. "Even the opposition would not risk too vocal condemnation of this action, especially those banking on their religious credentials."

A Saudi committee of top clerics has branded Kashgari an "infidel" and wants him tried in an Islamic court.

Malaysia's government-appointed Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) said it was "greatly disappointed with the hasty deportation" of Kashgari.

Prior to the extradition, Suhakam said, it had written to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to consider this case according to human rights principles - that a person facing persecution in his country should not be returned to that country.

"Kashgari's deportation will have a severe negative impact on the country, as it violates international human rights laws," Suhakam vice-chairman Khaw Tee Lake said.

Prominent local non-governmental organisation Sisters In Islam said the government has failed to live up to its talk of being a moderate Muslim country.

"Do we not have any autonomy in deciding our own policies, or do we, as Hishammuddin implies, adhere to the whims of countries we perceive as more powerful?" it said in a statement.

Kashgari has been under the Saudi Home Ministry's custody since returning home on Sunday and has not had access to a lawyer appointed by his family, said Afiq Noor, a Malaysian lawyer who represented the Saudi journalist here.