As such, Sisters in Islam (SIS) said Muslims should support the ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) by Malaysia early next year.
In a statement, SIS noted that Prophet Muhammad had said that an Arab had no superiority over a non-Arab and vice versa, while “a white has no superiority over black nor does a black have any superiority over a white, except by piety and good action”.
“The prophet’s message essentially underscores verses in the Quran which point out that all human beings as creatures with dignity and are intentionally created of various colours.”
SIS went on to say that the fact that most of the Muslim-majority countries, including OIC countries, have ratified the ICERD clearly showed the convention does not contradict or threaten Islam’s sovereignty.
In fact, it argued, Article 11 (A) of the OIC Charter 1972 clearly identifies its primary institutional objective as “to eliminate racial segregation and discrimination”.
“In ratifying the ICERD, Malaysia will not only show its commitment to a harmoniously diverse community but also celebrate the fact that Islam is the official religion of this country and Islam is against racism.”
Yesterday, PAS said it would organise a rally to protest Putrajaya’s plan to ratify the ICERD on grounds that the convention posed various threats, including to the Federal Constitution.
The Islamist party’s information chief Nasrudin Hassan said the ratification would lead to apostasy and affect the special privileges of the Malays.
However, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department P Waythamoorthy said the ratification of the ICERD would not affect Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.
Article 153, which gives preference to the Bumiputeras, is said to go against Article 2.2 of the ICERD, which states any measure taken for the development or protection of a particular racial group, as in the current practice for the Bumiputeras, shall cease after due course.
The minister, who is in charge of national unity and social wellbeing, explained that it was meant to “make our human rights record respected by the world”.
“The Pakatan Harapan government is committed to safeguarding all provisions contained in the Federal Constitution. Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has assured that Pakatan Harapan will defend the Bumiputera agenda and protect the Malay rights as enshrined in the Federal Constitution,” he said.