Anwar denies pushing Islamism through bigger role for Jakim

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said a small group of non-Muslims had derided his decision on Jakim as an example of his Islamism. (Bernama pic)

JITRA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has rejected claims that he was trying to apply Islamic concepts excessively in his government by seeking to expand the role of Jakim, the Islamic development department.

He said the accusations thrown at him by a small number of non-Muslims showed that they did not understand the importance of educating Muslims about the true concept of the religion.

“I want Jakim not only to talk about religion and Islamic law. Jakim is to expand its duties, talk about economic issues, look at digital programmes, and look at the education curriculum,” he said.

“The responsibility is broader, so that the values of Islam can be applied, and this is opposed by those who do not understand, a small group of non-Muslims who write that ‘Anwar is now displaying his strong Islamist attitude, which he has tried to hide all this time by ordering Jakim to control all the systems’,” he said.

In a speech at the diamond jubilee celebration of Nahdhah Hasanah Melele religious secondary school in Kodiang near here, Anwar said that if Muslims did not get a true understanding of Islamic teachings, it is feared that it may result in clashes between communities in this country.

“I want to thank my non-Muslim friends for their support, but they also need to understand that if Muslims have shallow knowledge (in Islam), their tendency is to punish; if their attitude is cruel, harsh, and does not bring people to be attracted and interested in Islam, then our future will be more chaotic in terms of fighting, clashing between communities,” he said.

He also said that during the seven months of governing the country, his government never received any opposition from non-Muslims, instead they only asked about the efforts the government wanted to make.

Anwar said religious scholars and teachers were welcome to give their views on the government, but reminded them not to get carried away by the politics of division.

“If they want to protect Islam, there are many things that they can criticise me (for) which I can accept; (they) can criticise the government, I can accept that too, but defamation I will not allow.

“There is a view that if you are not with a certain party, you are not a member of Ahli Sunnah Waljamaah (the Sunni branch of Islam),” Anwar said.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” he said. “Religious scholars must say something, we should not have an obsession with the party that is above everything else.” - FMT