Ex-mufti slams extremist Islamist groups, says Christianity and Islam closely related

Islam is not under attack in Malaysia, and extremist Islamist groups that constantly warn of alleged Christianisation are only shaming their own religion, says prominent Islamic scholar Dr Asri Zainul Abidin (pic).

The former mufti of Perlis said efforts by any religious community to spread their teaching was a natural phenomenon in all countries, and it did not merit knee-jerk reactions from Muslims in Malaysia‎.

"I want to remind Muslims not to be shocked if there are people who invite them to join Christianity. Of course religious leaders will feel that theirs' is the true religion, and would want to invite others to join them.

"Some Muslims are so shocked by this, as if it's the end of the world... (but) Muslims in the UK, the US and Europe also campaign for Christians to join Islam.

"So the same is being done here. It is a normal phenomenon that does not require us to react in such a chaotic manner, as if our country is in a state of emergency," Asri told The Malaysian Insider.

"The closest people to the Muslims are Christians. The Quran‎ says you will find that the people who love Muslims the most are Christians."

Asri was responding to the controversial seminar on Christology and the use of the word Allah, held‎ last week at the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

Several speakers had warned Muslims against the threat of Christianisation and belittled the Bible as containing "tales‎", while copies of a book titled "Exposing the Christian agenda" were distributed among the students.

The recent events had strained ties between the two biggest religious communities in Malaysia, which were already in conflict over the decades-long tussle over the use of the word Allah.

Christians make up 2.9 million of Malaysia's 30 million population, with two-thirds of the adherents residing in Sabah and Sarawak.

Asri reminded Muslims in Malaysia that they had no reason to be worried about the fate of their religion, as no attack had been launched against Islam.

The Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) had fanned the flames of religious intolerance when it called Chinese migrants brought to Malaya as "trespassers", and warned of "foreign races" and Jewish Zionist evangelists who were intent on burying Islam.

The groups' remarks have triggered outcry among Malaysians‎, but Putrajaya ‎has remained silent over Isma's statements.

Asri said extremist Islamist non-governmental organisations (NGOs) were tarnishing the image of Islam and spreading confusion among Muslims over the true teaching of the faith.

"We must not be so extreme. There are NGOs‎ which want to promote themselves, but are over the top in doing so," said Asri.

"They make Islam look as if it is so weak. Islam has strong arguments that proves it is the true religion. ‎(The NGOs) should not be so worried. We are worried because we are not doing our work properly," he said, although he did not mention the name of such groups.

Asri added that while Islam does not stop its adherents from criticising other religions, it should be done academically and not be based on emotions or simplistic arguments.

"If we spark enmity in a peaceful environment, eventually people will fight one another, despite the fact that they were originally living in harmony.

"This is not allowed in any religion, unless someone has initiated a war," said the scholar.‎