Politics and religion a tinderbox of tension
Malaysia’s leaders and Islamic scholars are just using Islam to serve their own interests, says former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin
Anisah Shukry, FMT
Malaysia would be better off separating religion from politics, rather than using matters of the faith as a tool to crackdown on political dissent, said former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin.
Weighing in on Harussani Zakaria’s statement that those who protested at the New Year’s Eve anti-hike rally were bughah (traitors), Mohd Asri said he was disgusted at the blatant misuse of religion by “so-called scholars”.
“Religion has been used as a political weapon to the point that an announcement was made permitting the bloodshed of the weak. I’m not asking for separation of religion from politics, because that is not a habit of Islam.
“But at the same time, if religion is merely used as a weapon to serve political interests, it is better for the two to be separated,” the Islamic scholar wrote on his blog drmaza.com yesterday.
Harussani, who is the mufti of Perak, reportedly said yesterday that it was haram (forbidden) for Muslims to participate in the mass protest against the rising cost of living.
“…all the protestors should be arrested for being traitors to the government and accordingly in Islam, bloodshed is permitted on the bughah,” Harussani was quoted by Malay daily Berita Harian.
Similarly, Kelantan mufti Mohammad Shukri Mohamad said activities that upset the peace and security of the country were a violation of the Islamic code.
But going against the grain, Mohd Asri said that while certain quarters may disagree with the protest, it did not justify calling for innocent blood to be shed.
“They are supposedly bughah, and are allowed to be killed. When in fact, bughah is a term that has its own definition and context.
“You cannot label as bughah the people who gather without weapons. In this context, how can these people who pay taxes and follow the country’s laws be called bughah?” he asked.
