Akyol’s detention: Saifuddin sees blot on Malaysia’s reputation

Saifuddin Abdullah says the world is watching as Turkish writer Akyol tweets about his arrest.

PETALING JAYA: Former Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) chief Saifuddin Abdullah has urged Malaysian authorities to exercise wisdom in their treatment of prominent foreign guests if they care about the country’s reputation as a member of the international community.

His call follows several tweets sent out by Turkish writer Mustafa Akyol on his experience with Malaysian religious authorities.

During his recent visit to Malaysia, Akyol was detained for questioning over a charge of “teaching Islam without credentials”.

Before flying out of the country, Akyol told FMT this was the first time he had been arrested and he appeared amused that the reason was that he gave a talk. He added that he did not think it was accurate to accuse him of teaching Islam.

Speaking to FMT, Saifuddin said Akyol’s arrest was quickly becoming a blot on Malaysia, noting that it was once known as a country representing moderation in the Muslim world.

“Akyol has close to 40,000 followers on his Twitter account and they come from all over the world,” he said. “When this thing happens to an internationally renowned journalist, then surely we get into the wrong books.”

He said the timing of the arrest wasn’t good either, noting that it came when several other controversies were also making the news.

He was referring to incidents that many say indicate outrageous overzealousness among Muslims and Islamic authorities, such as the one about the Muslim-only laundromat and the Kelantan Religious Affairs Department’s action against a Muslim man who wore shorts to play futsal.

“If Akyol’s case was an isolated one, then Putrajaya could say this is an isolated case, but there seems to be quite a number of cases happening,” Saifuddin said.

He said it was unfortunate that the authorities had chosen to pick on a renowned intellectual like Akyol.

“In the English-speaking world, especially in North America and Europe, there are very few Muslim intellectuals who stand up and defend Islam at a time when we are faced with Islamophobia,” he said.

“He’s an intellectual, speaks beautiful English and writes in many publications, and he’s a spokesperson for moderate and progressive Islam in the English-speaking world.

“Muslims love him because he’s speaking on behalf of Islam, and non-Muslims like him because he seems to be able to present Islam in a way that people understand, and he doesn’t hurt other people’s feelings.

“But he comes to Malaysia and gets arrested.”

Saifuddin added that the world would compare how Malaysia treats people like Akyol and how it treats people like preacher Zakir Naik, who is said to be a terror suspect and is accused of spreading hatred. -FMT