Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek has apologised following a viral video where she appeared to reject the use of the word kafir (infidel) while speaking at an event.
She clarified that the issue was due to a misunderstanding and that video clips of her speech at the closed event were deliberately taken out of context.
"A poster showing my photo with a ‘caption' that was quoted out of context has been circulated.
"This poster was deliberately produced to create a polemic to distort the original meaning of the viral video clip, which shows me giving a speech stating that I do not allow my children to express the term kafir at home.
"I would also like to apologise if the feelings of any party have been hurt, for misunderstandings, overstatements and mistakes that come from my own weakness," she said in a statement on Facebook today.
However, she insisted that she would not compromise on acts of defamation against her.
On the issue of the word kafir, she said that she was not prohibiting words used in the Quran, but introducing the choice of appropriate words to use in daily life.
Police report
Yesterday, her aide lodged a police report citing safety concerns following a surge in online attacks against the education minister.
Fadhlina shared a copy of the police report lodged in Kuching, Sarawak, saying that evidence is being gathered and legal action will be taken.
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.“ (The word infidel is banned from my home. I never taught my children to say it.)
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).
Better to use ‘muwatinun’
Fadhlina said the word muwatinun was a more appropriate term to refer to non-Muslim Malaysians.
“In the national context, in the nation of Malaysia that today can also be categorised as 'Dar al-Da'wah', non-Muslim citizens are also appropriately referred to as ‘muwatinun' (citizens) as mentioned by Fahmi Huwaidi in his book 'Muwatinun la Dhimmiyun'.
"To be fair, I certainly have a great love for Muslims, but continue to adhere to the principle of justice in dealing with other people in accordance with the principle of 'li ta’arafu’,” she said.
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 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 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
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