PAS MPs question fatwa ruling
Taking Mais to task over its apparent lack of muzakarah (discussion) with the concerned parties, the MPs said PAS was ready to help hold such dialogues in accordance with the commands of Allah.
(The Star) – Three PAS MPs have questioned whether the Selangor Fatwa Committee had provided any recourse for groups that allegedly practise pluralism and liberalism to state their stand, before ruling they had violated Islamic teachings.
The MPs – Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa (Parit Buntar), Hanipa Maidin (Sepang) and Khalid Samad (Shah Alam) – were of the opinion that any edict passed by the committee cannot be used to ban any particular organisation and any fatwa is to be decided only after adequate discussion and scrutiny.
The three parliamentarians, in a joint statement here, contend that a fatwa is not to be made for the banning of a particular organisation and doing that would actually mean going against the spirit of the fatwa.
The joint statement followed a move on Oct 31 by Sisters In Islam to file for a judicial review on a gazetted fatwa in Selangor titled Pemikiran Liberalisme dan Pluralisme Agama, which suggested that SIS had deviated from Islam.
The group filed the review at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, naming the fatwa committee, the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais) and the Selangor government as respondents.
The fatwa, which was gazetted in July, also allows for any publication deemed liberal and plural to be banned and seized.
In addition, it calls for any form of social media that promotes such content to be monitored and restricted by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commissions.
The PAS MPs said the edict did not clarify what “liberalism” and “pluralism” meant.
“Would it be saying that all religions are equal or that truths are only relative when comparisons are being made of the different faiths?
“Does ‘liberalism’ and ‘pluralism’ denote a belief that all aspects of religion are inclusive in the context of inter-faith relations or inclusive only in the moral aspect, but exclusive within each religious belief?”
The MPs also wondered what the implications would be if the different religious beliefs are misconstrued to be pluralism and liberalism as there is neither any solid definition nor room for discussion to hear differing views within permissible limits.
Taking Mais to task over its apparent lack of muzakarah (discussion) with the concerned parties, the MPs said PAS was ready to help hold such dialogues in accordance with the commands of Allah.
