Wahhabism the new McCarthyism

By Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

“Umno people have overplayed their hand. Firstly, Asri was just being diplomatic and trying not to be blunt in rejecting their very public overtures. But he knows very well it would be suicidal for him to join Umno now and even PAS for that matter but a little later when the commotion fades, he will enter PAS,” PAS’ strategist Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told Malaysia Chronicle. 

“You see, on the surface Asri appears to very moderate and relaxed but when it comes to the crunch on Islamic issues, such as the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims, he won’t compromise. He won’t allow the politicians in Umno to dictate his line of thought or his sermons.”

Keen to recruit him at any cost, including thinly-veiled threats if he refused, Umno officials unwitting put the former Perlis mufti in a bind. They accused him and even PAS president Hadi Awang of being followers of Wahhabism, a dogma that has been maligned as being extremist and the sect that follows it a  breeding ground for terrorists.

But Muslim scholars point out that Wahhabism, which is the dominant form of Islam in Saudi Arabia, actually refer to the brand of Islam advocated by 18th century scholar Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, who believed that Islam should be purged of practices that did not exist during the time of Prophet Muhammad.

“But Umno is using the word Wahhabi to label anyone they do not like or want to attack. They put so much negative connotation on the word Wahhabi that it has now become like McCarthyism in the U.S. in the 50s when anyone who did not conform to what the establishment wanted was called a communist and persecuted for it,” Dzulkefly said.

READ MORE HERE: http://malaysia-chronicle.blogspot.com/2010/06/d-day-for-dr-asri-umno-and-najib.html