| Marina Mahathir says climate of fear over discussion of Islam |  |  |
 KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 - A climate of fear surrounds discussion of Islam in Malaysia, the daughter of former premier Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday after making a scathing attack on the treatment of Muslim women in her country.Leading social activist Marina Mahathir said it was becoming difficult for anyone other than men with religious backgrounds to speak about Islam in Malaysia, where majority Muslims live alongside ethnic Chinese and Indians. "This goes against the spirit of Islam. This sort of thing is what worries us, where the conservative voice is dominant and everyone else is afraid," she told AFP. "So it's very scary," she added. "But if it's all shut up we'll find there's no more space at all and our lives will be taken over by some very conservative people." Marina's comments came after delays in the publication of an article in which she compared the situation of Muslim women in Malaysia to that of South African blacks under apartheid. "In our country, there is an insidious growing form of apartheid among Malaysian women, that between Muslim and non-Muslim women," she wrote for her regular Wednesday column in The Star daily, which has not yet published it. Marina said she was prompted to write the article amid outrage over legislation passed last year which critics say will help Muslim men to take multiple wives and claim property after divorce. Faced with a storm of protest, the government has agreed to put the Islamic Family Law on ice and subject it to a review. "We are unique in that we actively legally discriminate against women who are arguably the majority in this country, Muslim women. Non-Muslim Malaysian women have benefited from more progressive laws over the years while the opposite has happened for Muslim women," the article said. Marina said her editors were concerned over the sensitive nature of the column, but that she expected it to be printed in Friday's newspaper. "The main thing for me is that newspapers seem to be running a bit scared on any issue relating to religion, especially with all the issues relating to the cartoons," she said, referring to the Danish caricatures controversy. "Islam is a religion that allows for a lot of dialogue and discussion but what's happening is thet the space for dialogue and discussion is narrowing all the time." The Star said that the editor responsible for handling Marina's article was too busy to deal with it at the time. Malaysia's population of 25 million is dominated by some 60 percent Muslim Malays. Chinese and Indians make up 26 percent and 8.0 percent respectively and they are free to practice their religion and culture. Related stories Muslimat minta Marina henti tuduhan melulu Malaysian Muslim women suffer "apartheid" - Marina Mahathir |
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