Rashidah Shuib
School of Medical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia
Islam, in Malaysia, is a world sensitively guarded by those who are considered or who consider themselves “qualified” to talk about it and therefore, the guardians of the religion. In Malaysia, Islam is not merely a religion of an individual’s relationship with God, but is intricately fused with issues of nationalism, ethnic identity, ethnic-based politics, the politicisation of religion and culture, the perceived threat and excitement of modernisation and the global rise of political Islam. Set against this background, the story of Sisters In Islam (SIS), a controversial NGO which challenges the “exclusive” control of Islam in Malaysia, represents not only women’s activism at work, but more importantly, the intellectual contribution to a re-thinking and re-interpretation of women’s issues and women’s position as defined by those “qualified” within the Islamic framework. Over the years, SIS’s focus has gone beyond its initial issues of problems of Muslim women with the court system, and has expanded to issues of freedom of speech about religion (Islam); freedom of religion, freedoms in and from religion; women's and human rights in Islam; gender equality, and gender justice that are found in SIS's intellectual perspective, its advocacy and activism work on Islam and Islamic laws (shariah) – personal (Islamic Family Law) and public (SCOA) laws. This paper traces the growth of SIS, analyses its writings and the various discourses and reactions that SIS has received. This paper also highlights the work of two important personalities in SIS; Zainah Anwar and Norani Othman, whose work and writings continuously formed a strong intellectual backbone in the organisation. From a local NGO, SIS gave birth to MUSAWAH, which is a global women’s movement premised on seeking justice within the framework of Islam. In negotiating boundaries for voice and space within the Islamic thoughts in Malaysia, what was once local has its offshoot as a global movement in the Muslim world.
(Presented in the 2013 Chulalongkorn Asian Heritage Forum: The Emergence and Heritage of Asian Women Intellectuals, 10-11 September 2013, Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel, Bangkok, organized by Institute of Thai Studies, Institute of Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Indian Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University)