Rise of extremist groups shows moderation progressing, says Reza Aslan

Right-wing groups like Isma are afraid of diversity and plurality, says an American scholar whose interview with local radio station BFM landed in in hot water. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, December 24, 2014.

The rise of extremist voices is a good sign that diversity and plurality have advanced enough to make right-wing groups afraid of their progress, Muslim Iranian-American scholar Dr Reza Aslan said, in telling Malaysians that fanatical ideas would ultimately end up in "the dustbin of history".

Moderates in Malaysia should, therefore, take heart, even though Malay Muslim groups with their exclusive and "puritanical" brand of Islam were growing more strident, as this was a natural reaction to the progress that moderates have made, he told The Malaysian Insider.

Fundamentalism was a reactionary phenomenon to diversity, pluralism and forward movement in societies worldwide, and like everywhere else in the world, it would not last in Malaysia, he said in a phone interview.

“That’s why I would say to the people of Malaysia – Muslims, Christians, regardless – take heart.

“Because when you see these puritans and fanatics clamouring to retard the progress of society, it is because they are afraid of you and because you are ascending and they are reacting to you. That’s the same everywhere in the world.”

Reza was commenting on right-wing Malay groups which have warned against “liberalism” and other perceived threats to Islam in Malaysia, which they say include the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims.

In Malaysia, these groups like Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) have also dismissed universal human rights and basic civil liberties on the freedom of speech as threats to Malay special privileges, the position of Islam and the Malay rulers.

Last Thursday, several such groups lodged a police report against business radio station BFM, allegedly for airing talk shows on December 12 which discussed topics such as the “Allah” controversy, the Muslim headscarf, and sacrificial meat.

The groups said that BFM had challenged the sovereignty of Islam by discussing these issues, and accused the station of being part of a “liberal plot”.

“It reminds me of people who are too ignorant to be aware of the facts and, therefore, label facts as dangerous, or, in this case, liberal,” said Reza, who also told The Malaysian Insider that Putrajaya should not be dictating Muslims' beliefs.

“Facts are facts, they have no political agenda, they are just facts. Saying the sun is hot is not a conservative or liberal statement. 

"And indeed, saying 'Allah' is the word for God is as obvious as saying the sun is hot.”

He said such right-wing organisations were a result of an “insidious virus of Saudi Wahhabism” that spread across the world in the last century.

These groups were bent on telling Muslims around the globe that the only “true” Islam was what was practised by the Bedouins of the desert, he said.

“Well, guess what? Malaysians are not Bedouins, Malaysian people don’t live in the deserts of Saudi Arabia.

“The notion that they would allow this virus of Wahhabi puritanical ideology to infect one of the most cosmopolitan, diverse, modern and democratic Muslim-majority states in the world is, I think, a regret and a shame, not just to all Malaysians, but all Muslims.”

He said such organisations in Malaysia were betraying their own country and culture in subscribing to and pushing for the views of the Wahhabis.

“The future of Islam is in the Southeast Asia, while the Middle East is moving backwards.

“But somehow, in this forward movement, in Malaysia, some groups of Muslims are infected by this Wahhabi puritanism and have decided that Malaysia should instead start moving backwards, should be more like Afghanistan.

“That, to me as an outsider, is tragic. It’s a reason to mourn,” said Reza.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, too, had also branded liberalism and pluralism as "enemies" of Islam in a speech made to imams and mosque committee members on July 19 this year. Along with these, he had also lumped the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community as a threat.

However, Reza said such attempts to resist progress across the world had failed, and he was optimistic that Malaysia could still be leading face of Islam in the 21st century.

“While it may seem right now that these puritanical forces are in the lead, their ideas will end up in the dustbin of history eventually.”

BFM has denied the allegations made by Muslim groups in their police report, saying instead that the station's broadcast records showed that none of the alleged topics on Islam were discussed.

Separately, the radio station has also been fined RM10,000 for airing an interview with Reza in October last year, in which the scholar criticised Malaysia's ban on the use of the word "Allah" by non-Muslims, and is working on an appeal against the punishment.

The fine, issued by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), was for BFM's failure to secure approval from the federal religious authority to air broadcast content that touched on Islam.

Reza has said the move to fine BFM was akin to the actions of a "bunch of thugs" from North Korea.

- TMI