STOP trying to claim you represent God - Dzulkefly ticks off Islamists

Islamists in Malaysia must be able to provide solutions to problems that concern the running of the country's economy and people's welfare, rather than focusing on moral issues, PAS Research Centre executive director Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said.

Islamists, or those who want to see Islam applied in all spheres of life, must have answers to problems of economic inequality, mismanagement of national finances, and must resolve corruption and leakages, he said.

They also must be willing to participate in a contest for ideas and solutions, instead of claiming to represent God or the religion, Dzulkefly added.

"They must be willing to advocate all their principles and program in political contestation whether at the end of the day they would be accepted or rejected," he told a roundtable discussion on "Democrat Islamists" organised by the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) and the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

"The challenge of Islamists is to present their political messaging in a manner that can convince and persuade the Muslim and non-Muslim constituencies," he said.

To do so, Dzulkefly said Islamists should be more engaging, less judgmental, allow for differences of opinion and be able to manage dissent.

It was not so much the question of whether democracy and Islam were compatible as this issue had already been settled, he said.

Rather, Islamists have to engage "as critical political players in nation-rebuilding and human civilization".

It is by being part of such discussions with others of different views and religions that "makes us democratic", he added. –TMI