Chairman of the Committee appointed to make recommendations for the amendment of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA), former Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Saleem Marsoof has announced that his Committee is in the process of finalizing its report, while assuring that the recommendations will benefit the Muslim community at large.
Justice Saleem Marsoof
Issuing a statement, Marsoof said, “The Committee is now in the process of finalising its Report, and would like to announce to the general public with utmost responsibility that it is working unitedly to make its recommendations for the amendment of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act in such a manner that will benefit the Muslim community at large.”
The Committee headed by Marsoof was appointed in July 2009 by former Minister of Justice and Law Reform Milinda Moragoda with the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers, to consider and recommend amendments to the MMDA No 13 of 1951.
“In view of the extremely sensitive nature of the issues involved, this Committee called for representations form the public through notices published in English, Tamil and Sinhalese newspapers. Apart from the very respected Quazis, theologians, lawyers, scholars, and researchers, who have sent their views and suggestions, detailed representations were also received from associations such as the Council of Muslims of Sri Lanka, the All Ceylon YMMA Conference, The Muslim Lawyers’ Association, the All Ceylon Muslim Marriage Registrars’ Association, the Quazi Judges’ Forum of Sri Lanka, the Muslim Women’s Research and Action Forum, the Kandy Forum, the Galle Muslim Cultural Association and the All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulema, to name only a few,” the statement said.
Marsoof said that Committee had to necessarily take time to examine in great depth all the views, proposals and other representations received from the public, and in order to facilitate the process, had several public sittings to clarify and verify these representations. The Committee also had several consultations with the Fathwa Committee of the All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulema as well as the Director and staff of Jamiah Naleemiah. “This Committee has given anxious consideration to the problems faced by the public and their many concerns, in the context of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh), Sri Lanka’s Constitution and the applicable laws and procedures, and has attempted to evolve solutions to some serious social and legal problems and issues in harmony with the law of the country,” he said.
“As you may be aware, this Committee consists of erudite personalities in the caliber of reputed scholars, renowned lawyers and other professionals, who are conscious of the need to bring about urgent and appropriate reforms to both the substantial and procedural laws constituting the Quazi Court system consistently with the principles enshrined in the Holy Quran, Hadis, Ijma and Qiyas,” Marsoof assured.
Members of the Committee appointed by the former Minister of Justice Millinda Moragoda comprises:
Mr. Justice Saleem Marsoof P.C (Chairman)
Ms. Dilhara Amerasinghe (Secretary)
Mr. Justice Abdus Salam, member of the Right to Information Commission
Mr. Justice Mackie Mohamed Judge of the Civil Appellate High Court
Mr. Shibly Aziz P.C
Mr. Faisz Mustapha P.C
Deshabandu Jezima Ismail
Ash Sheikh Rizwe Mufthi, Chairman of the Jamiathul Ulema
Prof. Sharya scharenguivel, former Dean of the Law Faculty of the University of Colombo
Mr. Razmara Abdeen, Attorney-at-law
Ms. Safana Gul Begum, Attorney-at-law
Ms. Fazlet Shahabdeen, Atorney-at-law
Ash Sheikh M.M. Mubarak, Secretary of the Jamiathul Ulema,
Ms. F.B. Juranpathy, Member of the Mediation Commission
Dr. M A M Shukri, former Director of Jamiah Naleemia
Mr. Nadvi Bahudeen, Chairman of the Quazi Board of Review
John / February 7, 2017
Why do Muslims want their own laws? How many Muslim men have 4 wives these days? Put the MMDA in the bin.
At a time the whole world is concerned about Muslim marriages, here are some more suggestions: no Muslim woman should get married under the age of 50, no Muslim man should marry another Muslim woman, these will stop breeding Jihadi terrorists.
Anyhow, His Holy Highness Gnanasara thero the great will have the final say on MMDA.
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Sinhala_Man / February 7, 2017
Justice Saleem Marsoof, you are quite right about this:
“In view of the extremely sensitive nature of the issues involved, this Committee called for representations form the public through notices published in English, Tamil and Sinhalese newspapers.”
Let’s hope that the Muslims manage to sort all this out so satisfactorily that no other community decides to start saying communal-minded things. There were many articles by Muslim women on this MMDA issue in Colombo Telegraph in December 2016. This was one:
https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/mmda-personal-laws-at-the-expense-of-fundamental-rights/
Some of the responses from Muslim men were terrible. Absolute MCPs they were. Some may not know the acronym:
http://womenshistory.about.com/cs/60s70s/g/gl_mcp.htm
It is best for each community to sort out its own problems, but the world at large cannot be indifferent. There are universal moral laws that are superior to those of any religion or the mores of ethnic groups. NGOs may make hay out of the Human Rights that have been codified from various and varying perceptions of what these “categorical imperatives” (Immanuel Kant’s jargon!) are, but each person affected by MMDA is a human being before being a Muslim.
And as far as the legislative enactments of Sri Lanka are concerned, each of these persons is a Sri Lankan Citizen before being a Muslim. “Debatable” – many a Muslim would say; and I’d like to think that I will try to extend understanding. However, Muslims are faced with the mess they are in because they don’t try even to understand what guys like us are saying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfOSmXTaH1A
PLEASE click on that link; the civilised behaviour that you see there is incredible.
Lastly, I will certainly study the new MMDA, but I realise that it must not be for me to say irresponsible things about a code of conduct and belief that has over a billion followers.
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Amarasiri / February 7, 2017
Sinhala_Man
“but each person affected by MMDA is a human being before being a Muslim.”
They evolved from Primates, irrespective of whatever garbage spills out of the lips of Ulama, Mullahs, Imams and others of lesser knowledge, and those who lack common sense, sometimes called “Theologians” or Islamic “Scholars”.
The Age of Reason and Enlightenment has not yet arrived for the Ulama, Mullahs, Imams and others of lesser knowledge. For them, the Earth is spread out like a carpet, and the Sun goes around a stationary Earth.
The Ulama, Mullahs, Imams and others of lesser knowledge, and those who lack common sense, evolved from primates with 48 chromosomes.
MMDA on trial.
Ken Miller on Human Evolution
Uploaded on Feb 14, 2007
Dr. Ken Miller talks about the relationship between Homo sapiens and the other primates. He discusses a recent finding of the Human Genome Project which identifies the exact point of fusion of two primate chromosomes that resulted in human chromosome #2.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi8FfMBYCkk
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Amarasiri / February 7, 2017
Justice Saleem Marsoof
RE: Justice Marsoof Commission Finalizing Recommendations For MMDA Amendment
1. “Issuing a statement, Marsoof said, “The Committee is now in the process of finalising its Report, and would like to announce to the general public with utmost responsibility that it is working unitedly to make its recommendations for the amendment of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act in such a manner that will benefit the Muslim community at large.”
Thank you, finally after 71/2 years. Better late than never! Remember those interested in maintaining the Ulama, Mullah, Imam, Quazi hegemony will try their best to scuttle or water down the reforms. No Sri Lankan Muslim woman should have lesser rights than their fellow Sri Lankan women in the other communities, as per equality before the constitution.
2. “As you may be aware, this Committee consists of erudite personalities in the caliber of reputed scholars, renowned lawyers and other professionals, who are conscious of the need to bring about urgent and appropriate reforms to both the substantial and procedural laws constituting the Quazi Court system consistently with the principles enshrined in the Holy Quran, Hadis, Ijma and Qiyas,” Marsoof assured.
Amarasiri respectfully disagrees. How do you know Ash Sheikh Rizwe Mufthi, Chairman of the Jamiathul Ulema, Ash Sheikh M.M. Mubarak, Secretary of the Jamiathul Ulema, and Mr. Nadvi Bahudeen, Chairman of the Quazi Board of Review are erudite personalities?
Do they know what the well-known Islamic Scholars and Philosophers of the past, like Hamid-Al Ghazali and Ibn Rashd concluded? Di they know that Inv Rushs showed that Al-Galzali was incorrect in 17 of of this 20 arguments in the Incoharence of the Phiulosophers?
Do you know what Ibn Rushd said about the Theologians, Ulama, Mullah, Imams etc? They are Literalists, and they adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense, and interpret the “the Precious Book”, the Quran, without understanding and instead of treating it as a book of knowledge.So according to the Theologians, the Earth was spread out like a carpet, and the Sun goes around the Earth.
How can you call such people erudite personalities, when they lack comprehension. They were properly classified by Ibn Rushd, Averroes, 900 years ago.
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Mallaiyuran / February 7, 2017
This law was brought with holistic concern of protecting the dominance of Sinhala Buddhism, with bribing the corrupt Muslims leaders. Recycling MMDA, with additional restrictions on Muslim women is important to Yahapalanaya to get back GSP+ while retaining the wedge between Tamils and Muslims. Yahapalanaya is tipping the Justice Saleem Marsoof “Hey Guys you want to survive or lose? Come out with something like the 6 subcommittee recommendations, so that we can show that to EU fools and keep negotiating with them. Don’t you see we are giving Federal States for Tamils from 1957 Banda Chela pact?”
Maximum or the best Yahapalanaya will do is another MMDA/13A.
So now Saleem Marsoof is rubbishing that he has come out with the world best MMDA. Marriage is common man’s affairs of lives. What this so called erudite justice has been cooking for a decade with it? Where is the quality of the JR’s constitution stands? How many days JR’s team brainstormed to consider legal matters of it? Then this one single act needed 10 year and now after EU’s condition started appears this gimmicky one is trying to impress the Mass he has achieved Utopia MMDA?
If Yahapalanaya is really ready to give up Sinhala Buddhism and travel into Secular Democracy, they will just wipe out the MMDA first and free the Muslims women. They will not do that because the “Sinhala Muslims” governments’ unity from 1948 will be gone. So Muslim women will have to pay to keep the “Sinhala – Muslim government “intact with their life like Tamils are paying to the $18 sent out to foreign banks by sending the need foreign exchange.
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jim softy / February 8, 2017
Anyway, Muslims Marriage laws and practices in Sri lanka are very primitive, abusive to women than many other majority muslims countries. It is the govt which should be responsible for treating some factions of the Sri lankan society unfairly.
It is always the weak who are affected.
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AJ / February 10, 2017
Haha Budhist oppress women more than Muslims. Budhist don’t need any law to oppress women , they just do it. Inequality in pay is higher among Sinhala area than in the north and east according to policy analysis. Sinhalese don’t want to talk about them.
Stupidest race in the world
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sarrij / February 8, 2017
Interesting.
Look at the commission. Mostly political hacks. There are really no religious scholars of note; only tribalists and political oppertunists of sorts, which seems to be the norm in SL. Better to restart the process again with additional input from university affiliated impartial foreign scholars on Islam from abroad.
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Amarasiri / February 8, 2017
sarrij
“Look at the commission. Mostly political hacks. There are really no religious scholars of note; only tribalists and political oppertunists of sorts..”
and it took 7 years to assemble them…
“…As you may be aware, this Committee consists of erudite personalities in the caliber of reputed scholars, “
So thee is a dispute here. are they .erudite personalities or tribalists?
If you get Foreign Wahhabies and Salafies, it will be worse.
Get some from Turkey or Bangla Desh..or Tunesia
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sarrij / February 10, 2017
Amarasiri.
“…As you may be aware, this Committee consists of erudite personalities in the caliber of reputed scholars, ”
Name one.
As usual time and money wasted.
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Hamlet / February 10, 2017
About time Women were not considered Appendages of Men, under Muslim Marriage Laws!
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Pathmasiri / February 10, 2017
What other don’t understand is giving freedom to Muslim women is like asking double the troubles from a community where currently only men dominate and capable of giving us ‘shit’
Best way is to tackle like how we tackled Tamils when we got jealous seeing them prospering in education and grabbing our high paid posts and Govt jobs.
And we are half-way through to tackling Muslims with BBS, Halal and setting fire to their business properties when we got jealous seeing them being good business community.
Remember, that Singapore’s so called father, Lee Kuan Yew called us “Sinhalese Extremist” and “Less capable”? So we should not give it to Tamils and Muslims
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Sinhala_Man / February 11, 2017
Is it not possible that, in the long term, if Muslim women are given a greater say in their community, they will ensure that the next generation of Muslim men will give us less trouble? What I’m suggesting is that we do whatever we can to promote greater understanding and tolerance.
Doesn’t what you are suggesting amount to saying that we must cow other communities so that they fear to assert themselves? I’m not sure to what extent you are serious; it may be that yours is a tongue-in-cheek comment.
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Good Country / February 15, 2017
“Council of Muslims of Sri Lanka, the All Ceylon YMMA Conference, The Muslim Lawyers’ Association, the All Ceylon Muslim Marriage Registrars’ Association, the Quazi Judges’ Forum of Sri Lanka, the Muslim Women’s Research and Action Forum, the Kandy Forum, the Galle Muslim Cultural Association and the All Ceylon Jamiathul Ulema” & Justice Saleem Marsoof;
Good that MMDA is getting some practical aspects.
Still there are many fundamental rights violations taking place in our country. Please look into these matters as well asap.
Good luck
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F. N. Stein / February 16, 2017
How is that the great Izeth H got left out of this long list of
Muslim notables in a matter concerning the welfare of Muslims?
F.N. Stein
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