Malaysia permits text message divorce

2003-07-28 10:36

Forwarded from: Stany Vardomskiy Comment: There are plenty of web based SMS gateways that ask one for the originating and the receiving phone number (Check your local GSM provider's web page), or e-mail to SMS gateways (and we all know how to spoof e-mail From: header, right?). Sadly, as the SMS message is unauthenticated (and likely more complex things then a web based gateway can be done by a disgruntled technican of a wireless service provider) it can cause confusion at the very least. --------------------------- http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3100143.stm Getting a quickie divorce has taken on a whole new meaning in Malaysia after it was decided that a man can divorce his wife with a text message. The government's adviser on religious affairs, the man who counsels Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, said as long as the message was clear and unambiguous it was valid under Islamic Sharia law. "SMS is just another form of writing," Dr Abdul Hamid Othman was quoted by the New Straits Times daily newspaper as saying. The decision follows a Malaysian court's ruling on Thursday in favour of a man who served divorce on his wife via a text message. Sharia judge Mohamad Fauzi Ismail declared that the divorce declaration was valid and that as such the marriage between the plaintiff Azida Fazlina Abdul Latif and defendant Shamsudin Latif was annulled, the Utusan Malaysia newspaper reported. Mr Shamsudin was said to have sent Ms Azida a text message saying: "If you do not leave your parents' house, you'll be divorced". Although such a notification of divorce may seem astonishingly brief to some, under Islamic law men are allowed to divorce their wives simply be saying the word 'talaq' - I divorce you - three times. Signed: //Stany -- +-------+ Stanislav N Vardomskiy - Procurator Odiosus Ex Infernis[TM] +-------+ | "Backups we have; it's restores that we find tricky." Richard Letts at ASR | | This message is powered by JOLT! For all the sugar and twice the caffeine. | +-+ 10570 + My words are my own. LARTs are provided free of charge + 10533 +-+ - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomo () attrition org with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3100143.stm