DAP are ‘belligerent infidels’, but MCA, MIC accept Islamic rule, say scholars

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 — The Pahang mufti has backed a growing campaign among Umno-aligned religious leaders, declaring it “haram” (forbidden) for Muslims to support the DAP after several Islamic scholars called the secular party “kafir harbi” or belligerent infidels, distinguishing it from the MCA or MIC as parties that have accepted the faith’s supremacy in multireligious Malaysia.

Datuk Abdul Rahman Osman was reported by Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia as saying it is “haram’ and a sin for Muslims to support a party that has openly stated it is opposed to an Islamic state and the enforcement of hudud, the Islamic penal code that provides for harsh penalties for crimes such as the amputation of hands for theft.

File photo of a DAP fund-raising dinner. Several Muslim scholars had declared it ‘haram’ to support the party.

“If non-Muslims say they oppose, disagree, will not be loyal, therefore it is not an obligation to help them.

“In the context of a party, if it openly states that it is opposed to Islam, it is a sin for Muslims to support. If we support it, it is as if we are supporting a movement to oppose our own religion,” the mufti was quoted as telling the Malay broadsheet in a report published today.

Yesterday, an Islamic religious scholar, Abdullah Sa’amah, declared it “haram” for Muslims to support the DAP, according to a front-page report in Utusan.

But the founder of the Pondok Geting religious school in Tumpat, Kelantan said it was acceptable for Muslims to support the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition’s Chinese and Indian parties — the MCA and MIC respectively — because they recognised Islam’s pre-eminence.

Abdullah said Muslims must not vote for the DAP and its two allies PAS and PKR in the federal opposition pact of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the 13th general election that must be called by April next year.

“DAP’s fight does not accept the country’s (Federal) Constitution, they want equality (for) Islam and non-Islam, temples and mosques (they) also want equality,” Abdullah was quoted as saying by Utusan.

“(It is) compulsory for the Muslims in PAS, Umno, and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to reject DAP that is looking for ways to take power by voting in election,” he was quoted saying.

In today’s Utusan reports, Fathul Bari Mat Jahaya, from the Young Ulama secretariat, said the DAP could be harmful to Muslims.

“DAP’s agenda is different from that of MCA and MIC because they (the two Barisan Nasional parties) are not kafir harbi and therefore will not bring harm to Islam’s status,” he told Utusan.

The Malay-Muslim community is the single largest grouping in Malaysia’s population.

The religion’s right-wing faction, including within Umno, the ruling BN’s main party, has made its presence more pronounced in recent years with several Umno politicians in its Johor stronghold proposing hudud be enforced in the southern state.

To date, only Kelantan and Terengganu had passed hudud as laws but have not been enforced as they run counter to the Federal Constitution.

A recent survey by independent pollster Merdeka Center has shown that Malay voters’ satisfaction with BN dropped from 65 per cent in May to 58 per cent in June.

The approval ratings for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also BN president, among the Malay community had dipped from 79 per cent to 75 per cent in the same period.