Penal Code is not in conformity with Quran- Committee

The Chair of the Peoples' Majlis Committee on review of the Penal Code, Biledhhoo constituency MP Ahmed Hamza has said that the the Maldivian Penal Law and Sentencing Codification is not in conformity with the “Hadd” punishments prescribed in the Quran.

Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, MDP, member Hamza made this remark in yesterday's meeting of the committee with Sheikh Ilyas Hussein, the President of Adhaalath Party's scholarly committee, who was summoned by the Committee on review of the Penal Code for stating in one of his sermons that the Penal Law is in opposition to Islamic Shariah.

Hamza aknowledged that the Penal code is not in conformity to the Quran when Sheikh Ilyas repeatedly asked the committee whether the Penal code was in conformity to the Quran and Islamic Shariah.

Hamza defended why the Penal code was not in conformity to the Quran and said that the Judiciary of the Maldives is not mature and capable enough to carry out the hadd laws prescribed by the Islamic Sharia.

Hamza said that all raise doubts regarding the capabilities of the existing Maldivian judiciary to implement the hadd punishments as prescribed in the Islamic Sharia. He said that the committee thus believes that the judiciary is incapable.

In addition to this Hamza noted that there is disagreement among the scholars of different schools of thoughts regarding some of the subsidiery matters of the Islamic Sharia.

Sheikh Ilyas rebutted the claim of Hamza by saying that no man made law can replace the divinely revealed law. He said that he is very happy that the committee aknowledged the fact that the Penal code was in fact in opposition to the Quran. He requested the committee to continue their work by making amendments to the bill in accordance to what is prescribed in the Islamic religion.

Moreover, the Committee played some of the recordings of the sermon of Sheikh Ilyas and asked whether he said that the Penal Code was against the Islamic Shariah. Sheikh Ilyas aknowledged that he said that in his sermon and continues to say that.