Muslims: Part and parcel of this country

Speech made by A H M Azwer in Parliament on the Judicature (Amendment) Bill moved by Justice Minister Athauda Seneviratne on August 4

Justice delayed is justice denied. Today, in accordance with this axiom, the Justice Minister has done a very meritorious act in this House.

Not for decades but for centuries, people have paid scant regard to the dispensation of justice. The long delays in courts put the clients into grave hardships. People have to travel from the Eastern Province, the Northern Province, - from all over the island – to Colombo seeking justice spending large sums of money, which they can ill-afford.

I remember two great names, one was Justice M M Abdul Cader of Jaffna fame and Justice A M Ameen. Justice Abdul Cader at certain circumstances, fell into trouble when he was on the Bench in Matara.

The lawyers there almost waged war against him because he was so quick in entering judgments. They complained they were not afforded sufficient time to even prepare their briefs. The same thing was true of Justice A M Ameen of Ahadiya fame.

There are judges of this high calibre from all communities, Tamil, Sinhala, Muslim and even from the Malay and Burgher communities.

Successive Governments have failed to bring legislations to help litigants. Athauda Seneviratne has done a great service by bringing in this praiseworthy legislation. He seeks to establish 63 High Courts throughout the island.

Book of justice

Now, there is another aspect of judiciary in this country. I refer to the Quazi Courts.

The Holy Quran is a book of justice. The Hadees or the Teachings of the Holy Prophet is also part of Islamic law and jurisprudence. Then, there is a unique process of justice prevalent in Sri Lanka.

This must be remenbered, I remember even Dinesh Gunawardena once pointed out in this House, that the laws of the Holy Quran and Sunnah have been incorporated into the law of the land. Legislations have been enacted from time to time.

That is why I say our country is unique in this respect. In certain other countries, Islamic Laws exist separately from the established law of the land.

The Marriage and Divorce (Muslim) Act was passed in Parliament in 1951 but was implemented with effect from 1954.

It is common ground that a set of laws and procedures codified in this Act which was enacted 59 years ago need certain modifications in keeping with the changes in social and economic conditions, which the Muslim community has experienced since the latter half of the 20th Century.

It is recorded in history that despite severe religious persecutions during the period of the Portuguese and the Dutch suzerainty over the Maritime Provinces of Sri Lanka, people were being converted from one religion to another – Muslims never gave up their religion.

They fled to the hill country. What did the Sinhala kings do? They embraced the Muslims, gave them land and other gifts for them to live harmoniously and peacefully with the large majority of the Sinhala community in this country.

This is a fact that must be told to the whole world. It must be reminded and re-reminded that we are part and parcel of this country. We lived amicably and peacefully with the rest of the people, even in places like the Eastern Province and the Northern Province.

Recorded in history

It is recorded in history, that during the period of the Dutch and the Protuguese suzerainty over the Maritime Provinces of Sri Lanka, the Muslims continued to enjoy the freedom to follow the uncodified customary laws, and for this purpose the religious schools, more fully described as Madrasas, had been of great assistance.

These Madrasas have been given another connotation in the modern world by the Western powers. They call the Madrasas, the “dens of terrorists”. Definitely, it is not so. Madrasas are places of teaching religious laws. Only religious laws are taught there. Even I had been to a Madrasa.

Those days, when we were small, we were sent to a Lebbe in a Madrasa to study the Holy Quran: Lebbe Ummas - female teachers taught in these places. I was taught by a Malay Lebbe Umma - female teacher. They were not qualified Moulavis, but they taught the basic Principles of Islam and the Holy Quran to children.

Then, here is Dr. Lorna Devarja, who, in her book, The Muslims of Sri Lanka – One Thousand Years of Ethnic harmony 900-1915 though gives credence to this state of affairs, stresses that due to harassment at the hands of the uncompromising Portuguese and the Dutch – they were the people who harassed the Muslims. Even today, the Western power is doing this to us.

That is what we call, “Western conspiracy” which harms all the ethnic groups and even the elected Government of this country – the guidance from these Madrasas started dwindling and there was no proper implementation of Shariah Laws prior to 1770.

Since even the Muslim lawyers possessed very scant knowledge of the principles of Muslim Law regarding succession and obtaining opinions of experts also proved unreliable, in 1912 the Supreme Court decided to consult standard textbooks on questions of law when the code was silent.

Writing in the Ceylon Law Recorder 1919, Justice M T Akbar, one of the eminent Sri Lankans who even helped Lord Soulbury to find a picturesque place to build the Peradeniya University – even a Hall has been named in his honour in the Peradeniya Campus – however characterized it as a calamity from the point of view of the development of Muslim Law in Ceylon.

Then, the Government for fear of criticism of interfering with the Muslim laws

I would like to table a document titled History of Muslim Personal Law Reforms of Sri Lanka by Alhaj ex-Chairman of the Quazi Board of Review S M A Jabbar.

From time to time, there have been clarifications and modifications in the Islamic law and in the dispensation of justice as far as the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act of 1951, the Quazi Court and Wakf Boards are concerned.

I met the Special Commissioner of the Colombo Municipal Council, Omar Kamil. He handed over the Al-Ameen Law Report to me. In it, it is clearly mentioned that Muslim Mosques and Charitable Trusts or Wakfs Act, No. 51 of 1956 has been included in this codification.

It is helpful and is of assistance to the busy practitioners, judges, mosques trustees and administrators to keep abreast of the amendments that have from time to time been made to this Act since its enactment, says Supreme Court Judge and an enlightened Jurist in this country, who is also a President’s Counsel Saleem Marsoof.

That Report was written by A H Gouzul Ameen. It is well codified. What I would request from the Minister is the Quazi Courts – since they are now judicial appointments – be upgraded; their status be raised up.

They must be given proper clarical assistance like any other judges in any court in this country. Sometimes, they function in garages and places like that. It is not in keeping with the status of the law and the dignity of their office.

Therefore, I would also seriously urge the Minister to look into this aspect and help uplift the Quazi Courts, so the Quazis will also be on par with the officers who are dispensing justice in this country.