The symposium on “Law and Morality” was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 17-18 October 2011. The conference was hosted by Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyah of Laws (of International Islamic University Malaysia) and Malaysia-Turkey Cultural Association.

The conference commenced with a welcoming adress by Prof. Dato’ Dr. Zaleha Kamaruddin, Rector of IIUM. In his opening remarks Prof. Zaleha highlighted the importance of Bediuzzaman Said Nursi`s views in relation with Shariah. After the opening ceremony, first keynote adress was presented by Prof. Dr. Ahmed Akgunduz, Rector of the Islamic University, Rotterdam, Netherlands. The topic was “Human Conscience in the Development of Law and its Restrictions with Revelation and Moral Norms.”

The following presentations were made by Prof. Emeritus Tan Sri Dr. Khoo Kay Kim (Visiting Research Fellow, KIRKHS, IIUM), Prof. Muddathir Abdel Rahim Eltayeb (International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization), Prof. Juvanni Cabellero (Iligant Institute of Technology Midano State University, Philippines), Prof. Dr. Abdul Haseeb Ansari (AIKOL, IIUM), Prof. Dr. Ibrahim Mohamed Zein (International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization), Prof. Dr.Andi Faizal Bakti (Universitas Islam Sharif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia), Prof. Dr. Abdul Aziz Berghout (KIRKHS, IIUM), Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abu Lais (KIRKHS, IIUM), Dr. Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz (AIKOL, IIUM).

And for the second day, Prof. Tan Sri Dr. Kamal Hassan (ISTAC), Prof. Dr. Aziz Bari (AIKOL, IIUM), Associate Prof. Dr. Khairil Azmin Mokhtar (AIKOL, IIUM), Mr. Mehmet Riza Dalkilic Derendag (President, Risale-iNur Institute of Philipines), Prof. Dr. Hunud Abia Kadouf (AIKOL, IIUM), Dr.Mohd Iqbal Abdul Wahab (AIKOL, IIUM) and Dr.Muhbib Abdul Wahab (Universitas Islam Sharif Hidayatullah, Jakarta, Indonesia) were the speakers.

The two days of symposium adressed the issues below:

Law is a system of rules a society adopts to maintain order, protect persons and property from harm to promote an orderly society. It is fact, that even in the simplest of societies, some form of legal rule and guidance is needed to control the anarchist like environment, which ironically counteracts the entire purpose of a lawless society. From the Islamic perspective, law is an essential part that constitutes the ‘path’ towards realising human’s goal in life and, ultimately, towards achieving mardatillah – please the Almighty. The relationship between Law and Morality has always been a debate amongst jurists. At first there seems to be no distinction between law and morality. What should be legal roughly corresponds to what is really right or just, that is, what we would call morally right. For instance, the distinction between what is legally or conventionally right and what is morally right.

The existence of laws that serve to defend basic values such as laws against murder, rape, malicious defamation of character, fraud, bribery and others prove that the two can work together. Laws can state what overt offenses count as wrong and therefore, punishable. Although, the law do not always ignore a person’s intention or state of mind, it cannot normally govern, at least not in a direct way, what is in a person’s heart, because often morality passes judgment on a person’s intentions and character, it has a different scope than the law. Laws govern conduct at least partly through fear of punishment.

Morality, when internalized and when it has become habit-like or second nature, governs conduct without compulsion. The virtuous person does the appropriate thing because it is the fine or noble thing to do. Morality can influence the law in the sense that it can provide the reason for making whole groups of immoral actions illegal. Law can be a public expression of morality which codifies in a public way the basic principles of conduct which a society accepts. In that way it can guide the educators of the next generation by giving them a clear outline of the values society wants taught to its children. Thus, the theme of this conference “Human Conscience in the Development of Law” is apt and a timely discourse to brainstorm the need to relate law and morality as a means to address social woes.

Bron: http://www.malaysianur.com/law-and-morality-symposium-in-uia/