“The punishment must be more educational rather than causing hurt to a woman to make her reform… So far nobody, not even a male, has been whipped under the Syariah in Malaysia.”
PAS central working committee member and Titiwangsa Member of Parliament Dr Lo’ Lo Mohamad Ghazali, on the Kuantan Syariah Court’s whipping sentence on Kartika Sari Dewi Shukarnor for drinking alcohol. Lo’ Lo also called the punishment “very harsh”. Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil also said she was shocked over the sentence. (Source: Shock over whipping sentence, The Malay Mail, 22 July 2009)
“Any unhappiness with the Syariah Court decision must be made via procedures provided by law… Although the two leaders’ intention was to defend women, they should understand the whipping methods according to Islam.”
Syariah Lawyers Association deputy president Musa Awang, chastising Shahrizat and Lo’ Lo for what he said was a challenge and insult to the Kuantan Syariah Court. (Source: Syariah Lawyers Association regrets Shahrizat’s statement on whipping of model, Bernama, 22 July 2009)
“When the Syariah court passed the sentence I was shocked not because of the decision but by the boldness of the judge. I congratulate him for it.”
Lo’ Lo‘s about-face, after being publicly chastised by Musa. In her full statement, Lo’ Lo also recommended that the Barisan Nasional government “whip” the management of Malaysia Airlines for making “all passengers on any one flight a party to alcohol, from the flight attendants serving alcohol to the pilots steering the aircraft”. She also recommended “whipping” authorities who allow Muslims to be in “direct contact with alcohol in hotels, 7-Eleven outlets, shopping centers and Carlsberg factories which employ Muslims”. (Source: Is whipping the answer?, The Star, 26 July 2009)
“Drinking alcohol is wrong in Islam but it is a personal offence. It is not like an offence against the state or others, like stealing or snatching someone’s bag… So I would prefer for those who drink to plead their case before Allah on the Day of Judgment (rather than be caned on earth for the offence). They will have to answer to Allah.”
Syariah lawyer Sa’adiah Din, on her understanding of how Islam deals with Muslims who drink alcohol. (Source: Is whipping the answer?, The Star, 26 July 2009)
“[T]here’s no penalty in the Quran or the hadith for the consumption of alcohol, the consumption of wine.”
Feisal Abdul Rauf, imam of Masjid Al-Farah in New York City and head of the American Society for Muslim Advancement (Asma), on what the central texts of Islam say about drinking alcohol.
Feisal elaborates that the account from seventh century Arabia which talks about how the Prophet Muhammad’s companions punished an individual with 80 lashes has been misinterpreted by contemporary Muslims. The individual was punished for committing slander while under the influence of alcohol, much the same way individuals who drink and drive are punished by secular, Western laws. (Source: Islamic crime and punishment, The Nut Graph, 24 Dec 2008) 
