Mujahid - the 'spear' of Islamic affairs

The word ‘mujahid’ means ‘fighter’. Having become the minister in charge of Islamic affairs after almost nearly two decades in politics, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, the Penang-born son of the late PAS president Yusof Rawa, is clearly a politician that embodies the Amanah mould.

Party president Mohamad Sabu, the defence minister and once-ISA detainee can be termed a mujahid as well. Indeed, his struggle with PAS began with the fateful 2015 muktamar which led to the creation of Amanah, but didn’t end there: he also grappled with his former party when attempting to penetrate its strongholds in the recent polls.

Another Amanah leader in the cabinet, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad, was himself not spared the ignominy of being arrested under Ops Lalang in 1987. He went through the ISA hell for close to nine months.

Many others in Pakatan Harapan have been intimidated and jailed before, perhaps too many to mention here.

Amanah was formed through the trials and tribulations of being abused, either physically or verbally, with not a few of them cursed as traitors. As such, leaders like Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli and Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad and others who have been rewarded with cabinet positions fully understand their obligations to be just, not vengeful.

From these forceful measures of the state, Amanah became the alternative force in Islamic politics, arguing compellingly time and again that Islam is a moderate and civil religion that can build a compassionate state and listen to the feedback of civil society – the embodiment what Anwar Ibrahim interestingly called ‘Islam madani’ (modern Islam).

As the minister in charge of Islamic affairs, Mujahid is now the 'spear' of the alternative force. He has to show how the softer side of Islam can prevail, allowing other faiths to flourish – as well as allowing other pietistic, almost personal versions of Islam to stay within the parameters of socially accepted mores.

Islamic movements in M’sia

Prior to the arrival of Amanah, there was a multitude of Islamic movements in Malaysia. Those that were active in the 1980s – some of which have already been banned – include Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), Darul Arqam, PAS, various Sufi orders like the Naqshbandi, as well as Sisters in Islam, and Jamaah Islah Malaysia (JIM).

Of course, one can also add organisations like Ikatan Mahabbah Muslimin (Iman), Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), and even Ikram, which some say is the local variant of the Muslim Brotherhood. More feisty groups could perhaps be added to the list too, such as Al-Ma’unah, whose arms heist from an army depot in 2000 once shook Malaysia to the core.

Depending on whether some consider Ariffin Mohammed or Ayah Pin in Terengganu a deviant cult, or Jemaah Tabligh that invites Muslim believers to go on a 40-night sojourn with them too spiritually demanding, the manifestations of Islamic movements do come in many forms.

Different groups express themselves through different methods, logic and epistemology of how Islam should be understood based on their own comprehension of the Quran and Hadith, and sometimes outright personal connection to the divine.

Dedicated and extremely civil members of Jemaah Tabligh, for example, pray and sleep in local mosques based on the hospitality of the hosts.

Whatever the variety, Islam comes in various streams and forms in Malaysia; a phenomenon not unlike Islam in other countries, whether democratic or not. Islamic movements are fascinating subjects of study as each is trying their best to adapt to the process of change, as marked by rapid urbanisation and modernisation.

Historically, the confessional practices and beliefs of Muslims are further divided into Sunni and Shia and many other sects and subgroups. Non-Sunni Islam is only practiced in the breach, since current Malaysian laws do not seem to allow the proliferation of Shia beliefs, let alone Ahmadiyya Islam.

In short, Islam acquired different tones and emphasis from Marrakesh to Mindanao, an entire arc that spans from Africa to Asia. Some regions, unfortunately, are caught in endemic conflicts, which has in turn spawned a more virulent or violent form of 'Islamic' interpretation.

The common good

From the vivid diversity described above, one can see that Islam in Malaysia, despite its role as the ceremonial and prominent religion of the state, exists in many seen and perhaps unseen forms – the latter depending on how much an individual believer wishes to stay away from the open scrutiny of the state on what is Islamic and what is not.

At a more formal level, Islam is a discourse that exists in the institutional capture and nurture of various think tanks. Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia (Ikim), International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS), Ibn Khaldun International Institute of Advanced Research (Islah, formerly Istac) and the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) itself are some of the more academic renditions of Islam.

However to be effective "voices of Islam", these institutions must not merely elaborate on Islam but explain how the religion that can help the poor and oppressed. At any rate, from the academic formalism of Islam comes the concept of ‘maqasid al-Shariah’ or the objectives of syariah.

As Nik Omar Nik Abdul Aziz, another member of Amanah affirmed, ‘maqasid al-Shariah’ can come on the form of ‘fastabiqul khairat’, where all sides, regardless of their religious backgrounds, constantly look for common good.

There is no need to talk ad nauseum about hudud or its more punitive versions; the key is to find more commonalities with people of other faiths. The ‘A Common Word’ project, for example, seeks to understand the commonalities that exist within and between the three Abrahamic traditions.

Elsewhere, the works of the late Toshiko Izutsu have explored the interconnectivity between the ethical and spiritual dimensions of Islam and Taoism. The scholarship of the late Annemarie Schimmel from Germany has also revealed the beauty of Sufism.

Mujahid is a close confidante of Nik Omar. If ‘fastabiqul khairat’ is given the right currency, the minister in charge of Islamic affairs could yet set the gold standard on how other races and groups should be respected.

When that happens, Islamic discourse in Malaysia is ready to engage in more scholarly discussion with religious experts from the best institutions in the east and west – making Malaysia the epitome of reasonable dialogue, as all democracies must be.

Supporting Mujahid provides that promise and potential, as he is a committed Islamic scholar and thinker, trying to encourage people to think under the rubric of multi-faith dialogue, rather than to engage in adversarial tit-for-tat.

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PHAR KIM BENG is a Harvard/Cambridge Commonwealth Fellow, a former Monbusho scholar at the University of Tokyo and visiting scholar at Waseda University. - Mkini