Hudood laws are laws of what is forbidden (haram) and permitted (halal) in Islam, and the prescribed punishments: stoning for adultery, amputation for theft, etc. And here a hardline Muslim leader in Pakistan says that initiatives to reform these laws must be resisted — because such initiatives are…un-Islamic. An update to this story: “Changes to Hadood laws are not acceptable: Fazl,” from the Khaleej Times, with thanks to Sr. Soph:
ISLAMABAD “” Maulana Fazlur Rehman, secretary-general of the MMA and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, has said the government is determined to change the country’s Islamic laws in the name of Women Protection Bill, which would never be permitted.
Talking to newsmen in home town Dera Ismail Khan, Fazl said a particular lobby supporting the Western norms is campaigning for the women’s bill. He said the country was achieved in the name of Islam and the Constitution clearly lays down that no un-Islamic laws would be enacted. About the controversial Hasba Bill whose many sections were struck down by the Supreme Court, Fazl said the law has been duly amended in the light of the court’s objections. It is an Islamic document drafted in the best interests of the people. The federal government was creating hindrances in the passage and implementation of this bill for no reason. He said the NWFP government was redrafting the Hasba Bill, which would soon be tabled in the assembly.