The Prophet once said that God gave us a brain to seek knowledge.
If Islam encourages critical thinking and decision-making, why are Malays forced to outsource thinking to the mufti in the contentious Federal Territories Mufti Bill?
The bill is divisive. It divides Muslims and non-Muslims. What if there is a fatwa whereby Muslims cannot patronise Chinese or Indian shops? What if Muslims are told that it is haram to visit open houses of other festivals?
Politicians reassure the non-Muslims that they will not be affected. Few believe them.
However, they say nothing about the bill seriously impacting Muslims, and they know that there will be no turning back.
This bill will also divide the Muslim community because it must rigidly conform to the Sunni denomination of only the al-Asyairah and al-Maturidiyah schools of thought. This is the sectarianism which the Perlis mufti and ruler have highlighted.
When will a prime minister unite the people instead of using religion as a divisive tool?
When this and previous governments constantly remind us that Islam needs protecting and strengthening, they make Islam appear weak.
The responses of three ministers about the contentious bill are revealing.
PM shouldn’t pass the buck
The first is the prime minister.
When asked to comment about the bill, Anwar Ibrahim deflected the question and instructed the reporters to ask Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na'im Mokhtar.
Why did he throw the religious minister under the bus? The bill is unconstitutional. It affects all Malaysians and is of utmost importance to the nation.
If the bill is passed, Malaysia will no longer be a moderate Muslim nation and will transition from a democratic to an authoritarian regime. As PM, it is Anwar's job to answer our queries about this bill.
He was quick to berate the public and civil servants who criticised his Palestinian airlift. He was quick to decide on the Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) tax bill and quick to scold an Indian teenage student in public for daring to ask a question about quotas in scholarships.
Passing the buck to his ministers damages his reputation further. The convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razak's pardon, was handed to the Federal Territories minister.
Anwar kept mum about the racially explosive KK Mart issue and was equally silent about the assassination attempt on human rights lawyer Siti Kasim. He's good at cherry-picking issues that do not require intense scrutiny.
In September, Anwar said that academics were free to talk about the 3R (race, religion and royalty) provided people did not incite hatred or use religion to “dominate” others and label people as infidels and non-believers. Isn't this precisely what the mufti bill is doing?
Anwar appears to avoid confrontation and scrutiny on matters that matter to us. Is this his plan, to walk away smelling of roses whilst his religious affairs minister stinks of rotting fish?
Prioritising mufti bill over other syariah issues
The second is Nai'm - he is an unelected minister who was slipped in as a senator to enter the cabinet.
Of all the issues about Islam in Malaysia that need addressing, why was this mufti bill given prominence?
Na'im is a syariah lawyer by training and is aware of the many legal issues which affect Muslims.
Laws about polygamy differ from state to state. Husbands easily avoid paying alimony and child maintenance to the wives they abandoned.
He knows that the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) is hopeless at safeguarding Muslim children and women, as we saw in the Global Ikhwan Service and Business Holdings (GISBH) scandal.
Inheritance laws and land ownership need to be addressed. Na'im's handling of the halal debacle was abysmal. Despite the anomalies in syariah law, why prioritise the mufti bill?
Na'im denied that the bill had been rushed through and claimed that it received numerous consultations and checks. Really? Did he ask the nation because our lives are affected by this bill?
Fahmi’s poor assurance
The third minister is Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil who rebutted a claim that the bill would turn Malaysia into an Islamic state.
He said that “Sabah has not experienced any changes in religious practices or freedom for non-Muslims" and that the bill closely mirrors the Sabah Fatwa Enactment, which has been in force for the past 20 years.
Does Fahmi know about Project M when the demography of Sabah was changed to benefit certain political parties and influence electoral voting patterns? Is the mufti bill designed to do the same?
Fahmi said that there would be no increase in the mufti's power and that it would remain the same.
If nothing changes, why push the bill through?
He wanted Malaysians to be legally aware about the bill and not view it with prejudice. He said that "the mufti's position will have more constitutional and legal order in our country."
So, why should the mufti enjoy legal immunity? With his sweeping powers, the mufti will also undermine the power and authority of the Agong, so that is already going against the Constitution.
The Agong and his fellow sultans are the guardians of Islam in the nation and their respective states.
If the mufti can draft laws, why bother with elections and voting our representatives into office?
Whatever the mufti decides for Muslims will have a domino effect on the lives of non-Muslims.
The irony is that many Malaysians voted for Pakatan Harapan and believed Anwar would initiate the promised reforms.
To repay us for demanding change, he appears to be bringing us back to the 6th Century.
Najib bankrupted Malaysia and broke the nation, and if Anwar successfully forces the Federal Territories Mufti Bill through Parliament, he will have broken our spirit. - Mkini
MARIAM MOKHTAR is a defender of the truth, the admiral-general of the Green Bean Army, and the president of the Perak Liberation Organisation (PLO). Blog, X.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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