Muslims against rights for transgenders
Muslims are generally against recognising transgender rights, a straw poll by KiniTV has found.
Muslims are generally against recognising transgender rights, a straw poll by KiniTV has found.
This is despite a Court of Appeal verdict which last week found a Negri Sembilan anti-cross dressing syariah enactment unconstitutional.
"God has ordained that a female is a female and a male is a male. There is no such thing as transgender.
"Is a bapuk (transvestite) originally male or female? He must be male, so the ruling should be to go back to their original gender," said a respondent who only wanted to be known as Khairul.
All approached by KiniTV in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, this week preferred not to disclose their full names in the interest of privacy.
Some believe that it is only wrong if the person is Muslim.
“It (transgender rights) depends on the individual. As a Muslim, we need to refer back to syariah law,” Izam said.
Another respondent, Shahril, said fundamental rights can only apply to transgenders if they are not Muslim.
“But as a Muslim myself, we need to follow the determined laws. Why would anyone want to fight our Creator?
“I am only referring to Muslims, I don’t care about the non-Muslim transgender people,” he said.
For Ida, the Court of Appeal verdict “shouldn’t have been so”.
“We all know that it is forbidden in Islam,” she said.
Another respondent, who wanted to be known as Shahrul, said the appearance of a transgender is “embarrassing”.
“It’s inappropriate. If a man is allowed to wear women’s garb, even other men would feel embarrassed.”
On Nov 7, the Court of Appeal found in favour of transgender make-up artists Muhamad Juzaili Mohamad Khamis, 26, Syukor Jani, 28, dan Wan Fairol Wan Ismail, 30, who applied to declare Section 66 of the Negeri Sembilan Syariah Enactment 1992 as unconstitutional.
The government has urged the religious authority to appeal the decision, while the PAS Ulama Council said the decision puts in doubt the position of Islam in the country.
The Muslim Lawyers Association said anti-cross dressing laws are not discriminatory, while the Muslim Youth Movement (Abim)'s legal bureau raised concerns that the ruling could lead to similar applications that undermine Islam.
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