 |
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Ongkili
said the decision was part of university procedures and not a
religious decision.
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KUALA LUMPUR, October 26, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The
Malaysian government has backed a university decision requiring
non-Muslim female students to wear a traditional dress code, including
a quasi headscarf, on campus like their Muslim peers, a leading
Malaysian newspaper reported Wednesday, October 26.
The
minister in charge of national unity, Maximus Ongkili, said the
International Islamic University's decision to impose the tudung was
part of university procedures and not a religious decision, The
Star said.
"As
the rule was approved by the university senate, it is not religious in
nature but a matter of uniforms that must be followed. It does not
breach basic human rights," the minister said.
Shamsul
Azahar, the university spokesman, said the female students' dress code
on campus has existed in its regulations since the university was
opened in 1983.
"Every
university has its own system of conducting a convocation. Some
require students to wear mortar boards," Shamsul was quoted as
saying by the Associated Press (AP).
A
songkok is a traditional round, brimless hat worn by male Malaysians.
The
government-funded International Islamic University has three campuses
around Malaysia.
Its
board includes representatives from the governments of
Pakistan, Libya,
Egypt, the
Maldives,
Bangladesh
and Turkey, as well as the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
Rules
Respected
Ongkili
told parliament that rules issued by the government and other
institutions must be respected by the Malaysian people to avoid
fueling social unrest, according to Agence France Presse (AFP).
"In
a multi-racial country each community must respect one another. But at
the same time we must respect the laws of the country, institutions
and organizations to ensure there is no disturbance to the
community," he said.
The
Malaysian minister was responding to opposition leader Lim Kit Siang,
who had read out an email from a non-Muslim undergraduate from the
university complaining she was forced to wear a headscarf to her
graduation ceremony.
Under
Islam, non-Muslim women are not obliged to adhere to the same
regulations as Muslim women with regard to the dress code.
Muslim
Malays comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia’s 26 million people, while ethnic Chinese and Indians - most of
them Buddhists, Hindus and Christians - make up about 35 percent. The
rest are indigenous people and Eurasians.
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