Maza invites minister to debate controversial mufti bill

Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin said the bill could ‘create a situation where (fellow Muslims would accuse each other) of disbelief and heresy’.

PETALING JAYA: 

Perlis mufti Asri Zainul Abidin has invited religious affairs minister Na’im Mokhtar to take part in a “dialogue” with him on the controversial Mufti (Federal Territories) Bill 2024.

The dialogue could be held on a government media platform to allow people to judge Na’im’s capabilities as the minister in charge of Islamic affairs, said Asri, who is popularly known as Dr Maza.

Asri had previously criticised the bill for being a hindrance to freedom of thought as well as academic freedom in the name of religion. The bill defines Malaysia’s adherence to the Sunni school of Islam, which has been viewed as rejecting other sects regarded as heretical.

In a statement today, he said: “The religious affairs minister should be promoting an agenda of inclusiveness and moderation, in line with the concept of Madani. Unfortunately, he seems to be leading the country into a situation where (fellow Muslims would accuse each other) of disbelief and heresy.”

“Perhaps the government’s official media could give me the space to hold an open dialogue with the minister to show that he is capable of defending his idea (for the mufti bill),” he wrote in a Facebook post.

The bill, which is set to be tabled for debate in the Dewan Rakyat this month, has also been opposed by women’s rights group Sisters in Islam and lawyer-activist Latheefa Koya, who claimed it would give unchecked power to religious authorities.

Latheefa also said the bill would, in effect, create two chief authorities on Islamic affairs in the federal territories – the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, who is the constitutional head of Islam in the federal territories and states without a sultan, and the mufti. - FMT