Malaysian Muslims who challenged sharia expansion in Kelantan hit out at death threats, ‘vitriolic campaign’

Tengku Yasmin Nastasha, who filed the legal challenge against the Kelantan legislature alongside her mother, lawyer Nik Elin Zurina Nik Abdul Rashid, said in a post on X that “the vitriolic campaign waged against us by adversaries manifested in baseless allegations, portraying us as threats to the sanctity of Islam in our nation”.

On Friday, the Federal Court ruled in favour of Nik Elin and Yasmin, saying that the state legislature of Islamist-ruled Kelantan state had indeed overstepped on federal jurisdiction and struck out 16 of 18 legal provisions from the state sharia code.

The basis of the ruling was over the separation of power between Malaysia’s federal government and its 13 states, rather than any question of faith.

Yet the case has sparked vigorous public debate across a nation where Islamist politicians scent electoral advantage in hot-button religious issues, while opponents – including among the Muslim majority – are seeking to pull the sting from the culture wars engulfing the country.

“If only they would take the time to read and understand the laws and the reasons behind the challenge, they would understand,” Nik Elin said in a podcast with Malaysian newspaper The New Straits Times on Saturday.

The opposition Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition has ridden a wave of Islamic issues and characterised the case as an attack on Islam and the sharia court in Malaysia.

Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who leads PN, said the ruling meant legal action could no longer be taken against Muslims in Kelantan for committing acts such as offering sexual gratification, incest and intoxication.

“I believe that this decision also saddens the majority of Muslims in this country,” the former prime minister said.

But his comments