Edited video on 'kafir' ban: Fadhlina lodges police report over threats

An aide to Fadhlina Sidek has lodged a police report citing safety concerns following a surge in online attacks against the education minister.

Taking to Facebook, Fadhlina shared a copy of the police report lodged in Kuching, Sarawak, earlier today.

“Something happened today. Hate speech, false accusations, and in fact, threat to safety was received online.

"A police report has been lodged for security reasons,” she said.

"In the meantime, based on the advice from lawyers, all evidence in the form of postings, comments and personal messages on social media are being gathered and legal action will be taken,” Fadhlina added.

According to the police report, Fadhlina’s political secretary, Atiqah Syairah Shaharuddin, said she received several photographs of the minister, edited with the text: "…perkataan kafir pun saya haramkan di rumah. Saya tak ajar anak saya sebut kafir -anak Sidek-“.

(“…I banned the word infidel from my home. I never taught my children to say the word infidel”)

Atiqah said the edited photographs were widely shared on WhatsApp and Facebook, generating negative comments that sparked concerns for Fadhlina’s safety as it involved issues surrounding race, religion and royalty (3R).

The quote attributed to Fadhlina was believed to have been taken from a longer video that had been cut and shared out of context.

In one of the edited videos, Fadhlina was heard narrating a “personal nightmare” involving one of her six children who learnt to refer to non-Muslims as “kafir” while at school.

Specifically, Fadhlina said she forbade the use of the word “kafir” in her home, but it was taught in a classroom setting with a negative connotation that a Muslim who works under a non-Muslim will not live a “blessed” life.

However, Fadhlina’s critics, including Perlis Mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, took to social media and questioned her belief in the Al-Quran and whether she chose to reject all verses that referred to non-Muslims as “kafir”.

They also accused her of compromising her faith in the interest of maintaining relations with non-Muslims, particularly for political gains. - Mkini