KUALA LUMPUR - Claiming the country’s interpretation and enforcement of Islamic laws are edging towards extremism, a Malaysian Muslim pleaded today with others of his religion to take their faith towards the path of moderation as espoused in the teachings of Prophet Muhammad in the Quran.
In an open letter, Noor Azrie Petra Noor Azman of Aura Merdeka, an online non-governmental group championing open discourse among Malaysians, said the system of law based on Islam and the sunnah that Malaysia follows keenly is slowly becoming contradictory and nearing the “extreme limits”, citing as example the controversial ban by some state Islamic authorities on non-Muslims in using the word “Allah” to call their respective divine beings.
“Allah never said His name is exclusive for Muslims in the Quran nor in the Qudsi Hadith,” he said, referring to the teachings of Islam as passed on by its most famous prophet.
He also called out the tendency for some religious enforcers to carry out raids on nightclubs and even homes to “shame or disgrace” Muslims in their mistaken zeal for their religion, which he said has given Islam a bad name worldwide.
“To confiscate [the] religious rights of a person like the Gospels of the Christians is another law that is extreme,” he said, possibly alluding to the seizure of several hundred Bibles in the Malay and indigenous languages in the past, the most recent case being last year by officials from the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) from the Petaling Jaya office of a Bible distributor.
The Christian holy books have since been returned, following the intercession of the Selangor state ruler.
“Neither a Caliphate nor teachings of any madhab (school of jurisprudence) have such actions. We need to know that for every law based on the teachings of Islam and the sunnahs of any Prophets (peace be upon them all) must have a dalil (proofs) that is sahih (authentic/truthful),” he added.
Like his group, Noor Azrie Petra reiterated the call for an open discourse on Islam as mooted by a group of 25 former senior civil servants in December last year, saying the laws and their enforcement need to be revised to prove to non-Muslims the Islamic civilisation was intellectually advanced and respectful of other religions and races.
Aura Merdeka launched an online petition called “I am #26” last December, in reference to being the 26th signatory of the open letter by the Group of 25 (G25), with the aim of getting Malaysians to back the campaign for public discourse on the position and application of Islamic laws.
The so-called G25, dominated by some of the country’s most senior-ranking civil servants who have since retired from duty, had that same month expressed its dismay over the unresolved disputes on the position and application of Islamic laws in Malaysia, which it said reflect a “serious breakdown” of the division of powers between the federal authority and the states. - Malay Mail
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