Islam bans illegal rally, says pro-Umno scholars

KUALA LUMPUR - Muslims who intend to participate in the July 9 illegal rallies are advised to repent because such rallies are prohibited in Islam as they bring more harm than good, says Islamic academicians.

According to these scholars, Islam is against violence and such rallies, even if they start peacefully, will end with violence as what happened during the Reformasi 1998 gathering and Bersih 1.0 gathering in 2007.

Dr Fadlan Mohd Othman, a lecturer at the Department of the Quran and Sunnah Studies, Faculty of Islamic Studies, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), said there was no proof or argument based on the verses of the Quran which allowed such a rally.

"Our advise to Muslims who have heard of the police warning (on the rallies), but still intend to go, abort it because of the risks.

"According to Feqah (law of Muslim theology), any road, with tendency to bring harm, has to be closed," he told Bernama.

Fadlan said the statement by the police that such rallies could be dangerous should be taken into account.

"What is said by the police is something that has happened in illegal demonstrations held before," he added.

He urged the organisers of the rallies to take into account the rights and safety of members of the public who did not want to be involved.

Ahmad Fauzan Yahaya, head of the Islamic Studies Department, International Islamic College, said Muslims who intended to participate in the rallies should weigh the pros and cons of their action before doing so.

As Muslims, he said, they should look at something which could bring more good and to avoid anything could bring harm, including such rallies.

"These rallies, they do not have permit, people gather along the streets, there will be provocations and hurling of abuses, so the good is less than the bad.

"We cannot imagine what happens if there is a provocateur among them. Before, during Bersih 1.0, there was a Syiah group who raised the PAS flag and pictures of the Syiah leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, despite Syiah movement being banned in Malaysia," he added.

Ahmad Fauzan said he could not understand why the organisers of one of the rallies accused the Election Commission of not being transparent.

"When they win, they say it is with God's help. When they lose, they say it is a lesson from God, not that they feel the need to do soul-searching of themselves because they have to realise that in the government, everything belongs to God.

"God has the right to give and take away the power from anyone He wants," he added.

The National Fatwa Council's committee on Islamic Affairs also advised those intending to participate in the rallies against doing so.

Its chairman, Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dr Abdul Shukor Husin, said Malaysia had strong economy and if there was anything that could jeopardise its growth or damage the country, like the rallies, then they (rallies) had to be stopped.

- Bernama