Putrajaya uses Islam as political tool, scholar says

(MM) – Islamic conservatism is prevalent in Malaysia because the federal government uses religion as a tool to retain power, a senior law lecturer said during a forum on freedom of expression today.

Dr Azmi Sharom, an associate professor from Universiti Malaya, noted that it was convenient to employ religion to get the public “excited”, claiming that religious authorities had been working in tandem with the government.

“It’s not about the religion, it’s not about the faith, it’s not about the principles and ideologies behind the religion. It’s about maintaining political status quo and power. That’s all it is.

“Nothing is more disgusting than when you use faith in order to maintain earthly power,” Azmi told a crowd of around 30 people at a public forum titled “Is Islam a threat to freedom of expression?”

He was agreeing with a forum participant’s suggestion that Islam itself did not curb freedom of expression but was used as a cover for the government’s efforts to curtail civil liberties.

In his reply, Azmi cited as example Perak Mufti Tan Sri Harussani Zakaria’s alleged attempt early this year to use so-called religious statements in order to suppress opposition towards the government.

Harussani had controversially issued a religious edict saying that it was halal (permissible) to shed the blood of those who joined the rally protesting price increases, an opinion which Azmi found “extremely disturbing”.

Earlier in the forum, Azmi listed down examples of curbs on freedom of expression in Malaysia, including the banning of books such as “Islam Dan Pluralisme” (Islam and Pluralism) and a local translation of Canadian Muslim author Irshad Manji’s “Allah, Love and Liberty”.

Pointing out that both books were published in the Malay language, Azmi said the ban showed the suppression of alternative views that discourages intellectual discussions.

“This leads to severe curtailing of any sort of intellectualism in this country,” he said.

He also criticised laws such as Section 13 of the Shariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act and Section 7 of the Printing Presses and Publication Act, under which publications “contrary to Islamic laws” and “undesirable” are made illegal, saying that these gave authorities extraordinary powers to decide what Malaysians may read.

Azmi also claimed that Section 9 of the same law on criminal offences under Islam supports an “undemocratic” practice where religious edicts issued by the National Fatwa Council cannot be questioned, pointing out that the council’s decisions are only made by a small group of men without going through the usual law-making process.

Although he noted such laws are not often enforced, he said their existence was already a concern.

“I don’t think in a democratic society, we should live with these kind of threats hanging over our heads,” he said.

Azmi’s fellow panellist, Mustafa Akyol, later noted that governments should be responsible to citizens and go through democratic processes.

“We should follow the law but we should be able to challenge the law and campaign for the removal of laws especially if it violates human rights, freedom of speech, freedom of conscience,” said the Turkish writer and political commentator.

Malaysia was recently found to set “very high” restrictions on religion that are on par with Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Afghanistan, according to a report by Washington-based research organisation, Pew Research Centre.

Although the Federal Constitution provides for “freedom of religion”, there is a “substantial contradiction” and only some religious practices are protected, the report said, adding that the government prohibits worship or religious practices of one or more religious groups as general policy.

The government also limits public preaching, the spread of religious texts, proselytising, and conversion from one faith to another, the report said, adding that minority non-approved religious groups in the country have come in for harassment or intimidation.

Today’s forum was jointly organised by the Islamic Renaissance Front and the Penang Institute, with the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation providing the venue.