The legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in Nigeria and Malaysia

This paper examines the legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in against the background of the administration of Islamic affairs in Malaysia and Nigeria. Both countries experienced British colonialism. Both countries are Muslim-majority states with substantial non-Muslim populat...

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Main Authors:	Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin, Oba, Abdulmumini A.
Format:	Conference or Workshop Item
Language:	English
Published:	2011
Subjects:	KBP Islamic Law KPG Malaysia
Online Access:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/16704/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/16704/2/STATUS_OF_RELIGON_AND_ADMINISTRATION_OF_ISLAM_UNDER_THE_CONSTITUTION_OF_MALAYSIA_AND_NIGERIA.pdf

id	iium-16704
recordtype	eprints
spelling	iium-167042012-01-26T01:32:36Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/16704/ The legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in Nigeria and Malaysia Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin Oba, Abdulmumini A. KBP Islamic Law KPG Malaysia This paper examines the legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in against the background of the administration of Islamic affairs in Malaysia and Nigeria. Both countries experienced British colonialism. Both countries are Muslim-majority states with substantial non-Muslim populations. Both are based on the concept of modern Muslim states rather than Islamic conception of states. However, there are differences in the legal status of Islam and the administration of affairs of Islam in both countries. In Malaysia, the constitution declares that Islam is the official religion. However this does not mean that Islam is the supreme law of the land or the source of all laws in the country. Rather, the constitutional status of Islam provides the basis for state intervention in, and assistance to, the affairs of Islam. Thus, in Malaysia, there are state institutions charged with administration of various aspects of Islam. In the states where there is a Ruler, the Ruler is also the Head of the religion of Islam in that state. Islamic matters are within the jurisdiction of the state and there are variations in the administration of Islamic affairs across the states in the federation. However, in recent times there have been some successes in the harmonization effort. In Nigeria, there is no official religion. The constitution recognizes religions but the state does not interfere in their administrations. The affairs of Islam in Nigeria are administrated by private bodies outside statutory. The decisions of these bodies do not have the force of law. However, there are Islamic courts administering Islamic law as personal law to all Muslims, and aspects of Islamic muamalat as laws binding between Muslims who so wish. In some states in northern Nigeria, civil courts administer the Shariah Penal Codes as the criminal law binding on Muslims in those states. 2011 Conference or Workshop Item NonPeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/16704/2/STATUS_OF_RELIGON_AND_ADMINISTRATION_OF_ISLAM_UNDER_THE_CONSTITUTION_OF_MALAYSIA_AND_NIGERIA.pdf Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin and Oba, Abdulmumini A. (2011) The legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in Nigeria and Malaysia. In: World-Islam2011 Conference on Islamic Law Systems (CILS), , 28th – 30th November 2011, Holiday Villa Hotel & Suites, Subang Jaya, Selangor. (Unpublished)
repository_type	Digital Repository
institution_category	Local University
institution	International Islamic University Malaysia
building	IIUM Repository
collection	Online Access
language	English
topic	KBP Islamic Law KPG Malaysia
spellingShingle	KBP Islamic Law KPG Malaysia Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin Oba, Abdulmumini A. The legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in Nigeria and Malaysia
description	This paper examines the legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in against the background of the administration of Islamic affairs in Malaysia and Nigeria. Both countries experienced British colonialism. Both countries are Muslim-majority states with substantial non-Muslim populations. Both are based on the concept of modern Muslim states rather than Islamic conception of states. However, there are differences in the legal status of Islam and the administration of affairs of Islam in both countries. In Malaysia, the constitution declares that Islam is the official religion. However this does not mean that Islam is the supreme law of the land or the source of all laws in the country. Rather, the constitutional status of Islam provides the basis for state intervention in, and assistance to, the affairs of Islam. Thus, in Malaysia, there are state institutions charged with administration of various aspects of Islam. In the states where there is a Ruler, the Ruler is also the Head of the religion of Islam in that state. Islamic matters are within the jurisdiction of the state and there are variations in the administration of Islamic affairs across the states in the federation. However, in recent times there have been some successes in the harmonization effort. In Nigeria, there is no official religion. The constitution recognizes religions but the state does not interfere in their administrations. The affairs of Islam in Nigeria are administrated by private bodies outside statutory. The decisions of these bodies do not have the force of law. However, there are Islamic courts administering Islamic law as personal law to all Muslims, and aspects of Islamic muamalat as laws binding between Muslims who so wish. In some states in northern Nigeria, civil courts administer the Shariah Penal Codes as the criminal law binding on Muslims in those states.
format	Conference or Workshop Item
author	Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin Oba, Abdulmumini A.
author_facet	Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin Oba, Abdulmumini A.
author_sort	Mokhtar, Khairil Azmin
title	The legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in Nigeria and Malaysia
title_short	The legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in Nigeria and Malaysia
title_full	The legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in Nigeria and Malaysia
title_fullStr	The legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in Nigeria and Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed	The legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in Nigeria and Malaysia
title_sort	legal status of religion and the administration of islam in nigeria and malaysia
publishDate	2011
url	http://irep.iium.edu.my/16704/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/16704/2/STATUS_OF_RELIGON_AND_ADMINISTRATION_OF_ISLAM_UNDER_THE_CONSTITUTION_OF_MALAYSIA_AND_NIGERIA.pdf
first_indexed	2023-09-18T20:25:28Z
last_indexed	2023-09-18T20:25:28Z
_version_	1777408386564882432

The legal status of religion and the administration of Islam in Nigeria and Malaysia

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