Islam Hadhari

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Islam Hadhari (Arabic الإسلام الحضاري) or "Civilizational Islam" is a theory of government based on the principles of Islam as derived from the Qur'an. It was originally founded by Tunku Abdul Rahman in 1957 (but under a different name), and is now being promoted by the current Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

It consists of 10 fundamental principles.

Faith and piety in Allah
Just and trustworthy government
Freedom and independence to the people
Mastery of knowledge
Balanced and comprehensive economic development
Good quality of life for all
Protection of the rights of minority groups and women
Cultural and moral integrity
Protection of the environment
A strong defence policy

1 Criticism of Islam Hadhari
2 Etymology
3 External links
- 3.1 Official Malaysian Government Websites
- 3.2 Unofficial

[edit] Criticism of Islam Hadhari

[edit] Redundancy of moderating Islam

Some Muslims believe that Islam is already moderate and encompasses life in every part of this world. To them, extremism exists in the form of misinterpretation and selective interpretation of the Qur'an and the Hadiths. Therefore, the word "Hadhari" is redundant, and may cause the misunderstanding that Islam by itself is not already moderate. However, Islam Hadhari has been welcomed by those who fear that PAS, the main Islamic opposition party in Malaysia is too extreme with its goals.

In June 2006, Mahathir bin Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia prior to Abdullah Badawi, criticised Islam Hadhari with this same opinion. [1]

[edit] Redundancy of the term "Hadhari"

Some Muslims also believe that Islam is a religion and philosophy that encompasses all types of lives including developed civilizations. Therefore, the word Hadhari (Civilization) is redundant.

[edit] Islam Hadhari as mere government rhetorics

On the other hand, the concept of Islam Hadhari as a moderate doctrine also came into question by examining Article 121 (1A) of the Malaysian Federal Constitution which is against Principle 7 of the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers which states that access to a lawyer must be granted "promptly" and in any case "not later than forty-eight hours from the time of arrest or detention" [2]. The involvement of several of its academicians in Jemaah Islamiyah and the frequent occurrences of moral policing seem to suggest that Islam Hadhari is mere rhetorics.

[edit] Etymology

The Arabic word حضارة ħadāra (from which "Hadhari" is derived) refers to both "civilization" and "settled life" or "sedentariness" (i.e. not being nomadic), so that the term Islam Hadhari implicitly contrasts itself with the Islam of nomads or bedouin.