Singapore’s Shari’ah Court is Only a Tribunal

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

For those idiots calling for Singapore’s Shari’ah Court to handle “hard” cases, such as criminal complaints within the Muslim community, please note that Syariah Court is actually only a tribunal originally established under the 1957 Muslim Ordinance in 1958.  Its jurisdiction is strictly defined by the Administration of Muslim Law Act. 

It does not make sense for a secular state to have two parallel court systems, particularly one for a minority.  Even to contemplate the establishment of such a system requires amendments to the Constitution, the Criminal Law Act and dozens of legislations.  How do we determine legislative precedence, for example?  How many steps do we have to take to have a critical mass of competent lawyers, judges and support staff to manage the expanded scope? 

Now, what if there is a case involving a Muslim and a non-Muslim?  Where is it heard?  What if it involves someone who used to be a Muslim, or was once not a Muslim during court action?  Putting all that aside, what is the political cost of such an action?  Like many calls for creeping Islamisation, this one is obviously not well thought out.