Shazryl turns up late for oath-taking, chaos erupts in mosque

UPDATE2 A mosque is a place where peace and purity should reign, but sad to say this was not so at the Masjid Amru al As in Sentul, Kuala Lumpur.

Instead, a stampede broke out and rough words were used as hundreds of Muslims rowed over a pornographic video depicting two positions of sexual intercourse as well oral sex between a man and a female sex worker.

The video had been 'discovered' by the 'Datuk T' trio and there is widespread belief it is part of a conspiracy hatched by Prime Minister Najib Razak to bring down his arch rival Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.

“Please, I am pleading with you, leave the mosque now. We are all Muslims,” Abdul Razak Husin, the mosque's chairman, pleaded as shouts of Anwar zina (Anwar adultery) rang out.

The taunts triggered Anwar's supporters to shout back Qazak, qazaf (a Muslim hearing where 4 witnesses are required) and for the religious authorities to come and arrest 'Datuk T'.

Turns up late

But the star of the planned Friday oath-taking, Datuk T's Shazryl Eskay Abdullah, turned up late. The Datuk T trio , who are Umno members, are businessman Shazryl, former Malacca chief minister Rahim Thamby Chik and Perkasa treasurer Shuaib Lazim. All three are linked to Najib and former premier Mahathir Mohamad.

According to the Star, they arrived at 4.15pm and marched into the mosque apparently wearing bullet-proof vests. Only Shazryl performed the sumpah laknat (or oath-cum-curse) rite at about 4.20pm.

Swearing that it was Anwar and himself who were the men in the video, and it was Anwar who had performed the sex acts with the female sex worker, Shazryl said: “If I have committed slander then Allah will lay a curse on me."

The three were escorted out after the ceremony.

Last month, the trio tried to 'anonymously' screen the video to a group of journalists but their indentities were discovered and they were forced to confess. They claimed their purpose was to expose Anwar and demanded his resignation.

But despite their obvious crime, the police have not arrested or charged the trio for distributing or showing pornographic material, which is illegal in Malaysia. This further reinforced speculation of Najib's hand in the scam.

Shazryl was supposed to take the oath at 2pm. He had even challenged Anwar to make a similar oath in the mosque to 'prove' his innocence.

PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar, who had earlier led party members present in their prayers after the initial ruckus had died down, condemned the "circus".

"It is a shame what Shazryl and the Umno leaders are doing to Islam," he told Malaysia Chronicle.

"If there is any doubt, as Muslims, let us go to the Islamic courts and take the qazaf route. Why opt forsumpah and bring disrepute and chaos to a place of worship when there is already a court for Islamic justice."

"Umno is not interested in abiding by the Islamic law, they just want to take Anwar down. The Umno elite is giving Datuk T the blessing for distributing pornographic material," Seri Setia assemblyman Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad toldMalaysia Chronicle.

There are increasing calls from Muslim leaders for the religious authorities to take action against the Datuk T trio for making allegations without proof. Slander or fitnah is prohibited in Islam and a punishable offense.

"In Islam, only the person who has been accused can take the oath and not the person who is accusing. Why is Shazryl Eskay taking oath? It is irrelevant. Let the MACC and the police do their work and we will just wait and see what will happen. According to Islamic law, what the Datuk T trio did deserves a heavy sentence because it involves not just the family of the victim, but it will also scar them to life," PAS MP for Kuala Selangor Dzulkefly Ahmad toldMalaysia Chronicle.