In Malaysia, a coalition of several non-governmental organizations called "Article 11", has been actively organizing forums to discuss freedom of religion. The discussions have created such tensions that the government has asked the group to end the forums and has told the media to stop printing articles and broadcasting about religious issues. The New Straits Times yesterday reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said that the sensationalization of religious issues would bring about "unwanted situations".
Meanwhile, Malaysia's National Fatwa Council has ruled that women may be appointed by State religious authorities as Syariah judges . However, according to the New Straits Times, the women judges will not be allowed to preside over hudud and qisas cases, i.e. those that deal with offences and punishments that are interpreted by Muslim juristic scholars to be derived from the Quran and the Sunnah. In Malaysia these offenses are found in the Syariah Criminal Code Enactment.
