If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t: An adage as old at least our grandparents, and one that rang particularly true over the weekend for some when news broke that khalwat raids were to be a thing of the past.
Khalwat is defined in Islam as excessive closeness between unmarried persons of the opposite sex, or illicit contact with the opposite sex. While zina refers to extramarital affairs, or sex outside of marriage, khalwat could be something as simple as holding another person’s hand, giving them a hug, or liaising with them behind closed doors.
Seen by some as necessary to enforce the rules, others believed that it was a drain of public resources that could be used to help the needy. Also, there were those pesky, and embarrassing cases that continued to crop up of Islamic Authorities bursting into hotel rooms guns a-blazing, only to arrest married couples who would later, rightly, complain of the indignation of it all.
However, no one could have anticipated the weekend announcement via The Star that the country was going to do away with khalwat raids. Shocking? To say the least. Welcome? Well, it was widely shared on social media as an unexpectedly progressive move.
Alas, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, had his remarks clarified today in The Star. The paper originally ran the headline: “No more khalwat raids or intrusion into Muslims’ private life, says Mujahid;” however, the local daily has now said that the Minister never said those words exactly.
Replying to the question: “Let’s say someone commits adultery behind closed doors, which is khalwat. Now your officers can break down the door and arrest them. Will this change?”
The Minister’s exact words were: “This issue of enforcement of what you call khalwat has been misused – not all of it, but there have been times where it has been exploited and misused.
“The enforcement of khalwat falls within the state judiciary and is not exactly under my jurisdiction, but we can have a platform where we meet all state directors of departments of Islamic affairs and share the concerns of the federal government on these issues.”
He has also said that authorities will need substantial evidence, and not merely hearsay, before taking action, adding that the first stage was to always for the offended parties to “give advice,” and to explain “what they are doing is wrong.” If all other efforts have been exercised, and “their actions continue to encroach the public sphere,” only then should members of the public take their grievances to religious authorities.
Alright, well that settles that – not quite the end to raids some of us were looking for, but certainly a move to tone down the busting down of hotel room doors, only to find a married couple trying to sleep inside.
