Back to the Middle Ages

Yes, in Mekah and Medina there is no banned sect of Islam. In Mekah and Medina everyone is just plain Muslim and we are allowed to pray side-by-side with them and behind imams who are Salafis or Wahhabis. But when we come back to Malaysia, we ban them, arrest them and declare that they are deviant Muslims and terrorists whom Malaysians must not follow.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Malaysia appears to have many enemies of the state. The colour yellow. Words such as ‘Reformasi’, ‘Hindraf’, ‘Bersih’, ‘Altantuya’, etc. Shiah and anything at all within the scope of non-Sunni Islam. Communists. Jews. Gays. Democracy. Gatherings. Marches. Rallies. Free speech. Bahasa Malaysia Bibles. Proportional representation in Parliament and the State Assemblies. Opposition political parties.

You name it and they are all enemies of the state as far as Malaysia is concerned.

The Malaysian government is scared of its own shadow. And now Wahhabism is the latest addition to the list of ‘banned items’.

The article ‘The Wahhabi Myth’ addresses the fallacies connected to Wahhabism or Salafism as follows:

The ‘Wahhabi’ Myth by Haneef James Oliver clarifies many of the gross inaccuracies and outright lies that have been attributed to the belief of the Salafi Muslims (often referred to as “Wahhabis”).

Karen Armstrong speaks about the difference between Osama bin Laden’s sect (Qutbism) and Salafism/”Wahhabism” in a Guardian article entitled “The label of Catholic terror was never used about the IRA”:

“Bin Laden was not inspired by Wahhabism but by the writings of the Egyptian ideologue Sayyid Qutb, who was executed by President Nasser in 1966. Almost every fundamentalist movement in Sunni Islam has been strongly influenced by Qutb, so there is a good case for calling the violence that some of his followers commit “Qutbian terrorism.” Qutb urged his followers to withdraw from the moral and spiritual barbarism of modern society and fight it to the death.

Read more here: http://sinningslave.wordpress.com/

The bottom line is, anything that does not comply with my beliefs, standards, ideology, doctrine and whatnot is just not on and is haram.

That was how things were back in the Middle Ages. Either you are with me or you are against me. And if you are against me then you are my enemy and you must die a violent and painful death.

The problem is, while the civilised world has abandoned these old Middle Ages ways and beliefs, in the developing world -- such as in Malaysia -- we are still living in the Middle Ages and still adopting what the civilised world has long abandoned.

In short, as the previous Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said: Malaysia is a country with First World infrastructure but Third World mentality. And this statement came from the Malaysian Prime Minister himself.

And do you need me to quote what one-time Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said about the mentality of Malaysians? No, I thought not. I better not quote anything from Dr Mahathir lest you all froth and foam at the mouth like rabid dogs.

Tens of thousands of Malaysians go to Mekah and Medina every year for their Haj and Umrah. To date, millions of Malaysians have performed both the main and ‘small’ pilgrimages.

And what do they do in Mekah and Medina?

They pray side-by-side with the Shiah, Wahhabi, and many other sects of Muslims -- behind an imam of the Grand Mosque in Mekah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina who are Salafis or Wahhabis.

Yes, in Mekah and Medina there is no banned sect of Islam. In Mekah and Medina everyone is just plain Muslim and we are allowed to pray side-by-side with them and behind imams who are Salafis or Wahhabis. But when we come back to Malaysia we ban them and arrest them and declare that they are deviant Muslims and terrorists whom Malaysians must not follow.

I watched a movie last night about a gang of robbers that the FBI was trying to track down. They had some suspects but could not get a warrant to put them under 24-hours surveillance. It would be very difficult to convince the court, said the FBI boss, unless one of them converts to Islam.

What does that tell you? It tells you that Islam is dangerous and Muslims are terrorists. If one of the bank robbers were a Muslim then the court would readily waive his fundamental rights.

That is of course a made-in-America movie where anything Islam is bad and Muslims are terrorists. I suppose they are not that wrong when even the Malaysian government labels Wahhabis or Salafis as terrorists. And is not Malaysia a perceived Islamic country and did not Umno say it is the largest Islamic party in the world?

When the Christians and Jews call Muslims terrorists, they are prejudiced. When Muslims call Muslims terrorists, this is a statement of fact and proves what the West suspected of Islam -- that it is a terrorist religion.

And did I not say many times that Muslims are Islam’s greatest enemy?

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Wahhabi alert will damage ties with Saudi Arabia, says PAS

By Shannon Teoh, Malaysian Insider

PAS said today that Putrajaya was damaging ties with key Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, home of the religion’s two holy cities of Mecca and Medina, by placing ulamas suspected of practicing Wahhabism on a terror watchlist.

PAS vice president Datuk Mahfuz Omar told reporters today that the move by the National Security Council (NSC) to monitor scholars such as influential former Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin was an overreaction that could jeopardise ties with the country where Wahhabism is the dominant form of Islam.

“This will hurt ties with Saudi Arabia and give a negative perception towards Malaysia,” the Pokok Sena MP said.

About 26,000 Malaysian Muslims travel annually to perform the Haj in Mecca, one of the largest national quotas given by the kingdom.

Malaysia has asked for another 10,000 places as nearly 700,000 are on the waiting list.

Deputy president Mohamed Sabu also mocked the Najib administration’s move, calling it a “fiction and propaganda.”

The Malaysian Insider reported yesterday that the NSC met and ordered state muftis and religious agencies to monitor and take action against the traditionalist Islamic practice that has been linked to terrorism.

Maverick scholar Asri was first linked to Wahhabism and the terrorists group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) early last year, along with PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, former Perlis mentri besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim dan Perlis Mufti Juanda Jaya.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Abdul Hadi and Shahidam Kassim have been omitted from the watchlist.

Two Umno lawmakers have come to the defense of Dr Mohamed Asri Zainul Abidin, insisting that the Najib administration has wrongly labelled the maverick former Perlis mufti as a potential terrorist threat.

Both Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said that the NSC had overreacted over a difference of opinion by raising a terror alert over fears that Wahhabism was being revived.

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Asri not a terrorist, say Umno MPs

By Shannon Teoh, Malaysian Insider

Two Umno lawmakers have come to the defence of Dr Mohamed Asri Zainul Abidin, insisting that the Najib administration has wrongly labelled the maverick former Perlis mufti as a potential terrorist threat.

Both Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin and Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said that the National Security Council (NSC) had overreacted over a difference of opinion by raising a terror alert over fears that Wahhabism was being revived.

The Malaysian Insider reported yesterday that the NSC met and ordered state muftis and religious agencies to monitor and take action against the traditionalist Islamic practice that has been linked to terrorism.

“Asri is not a terrorist,” Saifuddin said on micro-blogging site Twitter yesterday.

The Temerloh MP told The Malaysian Insider later that “I disagree with labelling someone as a Wahhabi, leading to calling him a terrorist. This only divides Muslims.”

Khairy also said in a statement that reports that Asri and other Muslim scholars have been placed on a watchlist for as “Wahhabis and terrorists... is an overreaction.”

“I see no subversive action or effort by Asri that qualifies him as a terrorist,” the Rembau MP added.

The Malaysian Insider also reported that the NSC meeting listed several prominent leaders as Wahhabis including a group of young Islamic scholars who joined Umno last year.

Although he did not follow suit in joining the senior partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, Asri, who has been linked to Wahhabism in the past, is said to wield considerable influence over young Muslim scholars.

Saifuddin also told The Malaysian Insider that Wahhabism was practiced in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

“Does this mean that Malaysian Muslims should no longer perform the Haj (in Mecca)? We can have differences of opinion in Islam. We should not let this bring us to labelling others as Wahhabi or terrorists,” he said in a text message.

Khairy also agreed that it was unacceptable that someone was accused of terrorism without being allowed to offer an explanation.

Asri was first linked to Wahhabism and the terrorists group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) early last year, along with PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, former Perlis mentri besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim dan Perlis Mufti Juanda Jaya.

The Malaysian Insider understands that Abdul Hadi and Shahidam Kassim have been omitted from the watchlist.