Meanwhile, the Muslim Professionals Forum/Islamic Renaissance Front have come out with this statement which I happen to think is an excellent one:
2009-11-05
The arrest of former Perlis Mufti, Dr Asri Zainul Abidin by officials of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (JAIS) at a private function in a residential area on November 1 brings into question again the intellectual freedom in Malaysia, vis-à-vis Islam.
The excuse given by JAIS that Dr Asri did not have the religious credentials from JAIS to teach Islam runs counter to the spirit of intellectual freedom in the history of Islam. It also gives ammunition to JAIS’s detractors and critics over the years that the Department is nothing more than a tool of a small group of religious scholars who are bent on imposing their views on others. By raiding a religious talk by someone who was once a government Mufti, and who, to say the least, has the necessary academic qualifications to explain Islamic beliefs, JAIS has only shown that it is ill-equipped to take on its critics on an intellectual platform, and has to resort to high-handed tactics.
We also regret that certain quarters have been too liberal in labeling and branding Muslim scholars on the basis of their opinions, with a view to disparage the person instead of countering their opinions with proofs and arguments based on the Qur’an and Sunnah. By invoking the age-old argument of protecting the Muslim community in Malaysia from confusion, these groups have exposed their inability to grasp the spirit of Islam and have only created a hole for them to hide into every time they are intellectually challenged.
If one were to look back into history, the reason the Islamic world flourished during the earlier period was an early emphasis on “freedom of speech”, as summarized by al-Hashimi (a cousin of Caliph al-Ma’mun) in the following letter to one of the religious opponents he was attempting to convert through reason:
"Bring forward all the arguments you wish and say whatever you please and speak your mind freely. Now that you are safe and free to say whatever you please, appoint some arbitrator who will impartially judge between us and lean only towards the truth and be free from the slyness of passion and that arbitrator shall be Reason, whereby God makes us responsible for our own rewards and punishments. Herein I have dealt justly with you and have given you full security and am ready to accept whatever decision Reason may give for me or against me. For "There shall be no coercion in matters of faith" [2: 256] and I have only invited you to accept our faith willingly and of your own accord and have pointed out the hideousness of your present belief. Peace be with you and the blessings of God!"
Every person has the right, guaranteed by the Qur’an, to freely follow and express his convictions, irrespective of whether he is right or wrong. By emphasizing people’s right to follow their conviction, the Qur’an reiterates a long standing position, which it traces back to one of the earliest known Prophets, Noah: “Said [Noah]: O my people! What do you think? If [it be true that] I am taking my stand on a clear evidence from my Sustainer, who has vouched safe unto me grace from himself – [a revelation] to which you have remained blind – [if this be true] can we force it on you even though it be hateful to you? [11:28]
Muslim Professionals Forum and Islamic Renaissance Front call upon JAIS to be sincere in discharging their duties as protectors of faith. Otherwise, JAIS will be just another among a long list of official institutions that need to be thoroughly revamped in order for Islam to reclaim its rightful status as a religion of reason and knowledge. We also call upon Muslim groups to respect the right to dissent and to uphold freedom of expression, and to argue based on wisdom and not on hearsay or personal attacks, as it is the only Islamic way of dealing with issues affecting the Ummah.
Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa
Dr Sheik Johari Bux
Manan Razali
Dr Mazeni Alwi
Dr Musa Nordin
Dr Jeffrey Hassan
Ali Ghazali
I congratulate MPF for this statement.
Meanwhile, Sisters in Islam issued this statement yesterday:
Media Statement
SIS assisting police investigation on the Kartika issue
SIS Executive Director Hamidah Marican and SIS board member Zainah Anwar were called in to give their statements for an investigation under Section 4(i)(a) of the Sedition Act (1948) by the Criminal Investigation Department at 10.35am.
The two, accompanied by lawyers Amer Hamzah Arshad, Edmund Bon Tai Soon and Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan, spent almost two hours giving their statement at CID's Legal Prosecution Division (D5), Bukit Aman.
The police have also asked that SIS programme manager Mas Elati Samani give her statement at later date.
According to media reports, 14 non-governmental organisations in Pahang, in referring to a Sinar Harian report of a press conference held on Sept 30, 2009, urged the authorities to punish those who questioned Kartika's caning sentence.
SIS hopes that after recording these statements, the police will recommend that no further action be taken against the organisation.
We would like to reiterate that within the framework of a democratic society, there must be an open, responsible, rational and respectful dialogue on Islam and its impact on our lives, both private and public.
SIS believes that freedom of expression is a universal value guaranteed by the Federal Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and upheld by the teachings of Islam.
Sisters in Islam
Nov 4, 2009
I sure hope that, since both SIS and MPF stand for the same principles and given that the NGOs that issued a memo against Dr Asri are the same ones who have lodged police reports against SIS, MPF will also issue a statement of support for SIS.
9 comments:
No wonder people nowadays are losing their faith in religion, need I say more? I mean this issue is definitely more confusing than the talks that Dr Asri gave. He is just being out front, saying things that matter, is that wrong? Islam is not just about Talkin, Qunut and so on, it is so much more than that, education, economy, humanity etc. Being a Muslim, this is embarrassing. Neway, nice blog, keep up the good work! Will link ur blog to mine. salam
Perhaps this is the problem that is faced by all muslims in the world. How far can the muslims react with different kinds of views?
In my point of view in terms of "a moderate Islamic country" which Malaysia has been praised for, I myself will interpret the term as "a country where most of the muslims are moderately behaved, with a rather fairly implemented Islamic culture". Whether Malaysia is/isn't an Islamic country as according to the constitution of Malaysia, i would just let it be first.
I personally feel that the current Islamic religious bodies are much affected by the politics, or rather I will say political interference. There are so much examples in Malaysia and i think i don't need to mention here.
And also I can hardly see respectable muslim scholars giving speeches or lectures in Malaysia. I as a non-muslim, always found that statements made by the local muslim leaders/parties are very subjective where i can find very strong personal interpretations, perceptions and feelings have been put into. However, most of the muslims here do no respond or not dare to challenge those statements as they might eventually be arrested and charged by the religious body, using the syariah law or other means.
One of the problems here is that the very few "more extreme" muslims here are always getting into the headline, and their views have been widely spread, and subsequently become the majority views, thanks to the mainstream medias. Critics, comments or questionings have been disallowed for discussion due to the fear to the top, but not due to the fear to the God.
Perhaps the most crucial part of the main problems is, most of the Malaysians mixed up aspects of country, religion, race and politics. It's really easy to find slogans such as "xx for Islam" and "Islam for xx", where for me this is ridiculous. I know only that religions should have to be treated as an independent one, and other factors such as cultures, races, etc shall not be compared at par with the religions.
Actually, other than being the appointed legal authority, what real credentials do JAIS or JAKIM have anyway? I happen to think that there are other religious authorities outside the country who actually question their credentials.
FREE TO DO WHAT?
What price human freedom
Found only in His Kingdom
Without suffering boredom
Without religious fiefdom
(C) Samuel Goh Kim Eng - 061109
http://MotivationInMotion.blogspot.com
Fri. 6th Nov. 2009.
JAIS officials have time and again showed their lack of manners and good akhlaq.Having said that, I am not sure I am all for Dr Asri since his teachings do confuse Muslims. Even so , he did not deserve the rough treatment meted out to him.
It does not matter what the Koran says or does not say or that the Prophet himself did not exactly have a JAIS or JAKIM licence to preach some 1400 years ago!
If they want to get you, that's all the excuse they need!!
It's good that you and others like Art Harun are speaking out on these atrocious political shenanigans thinly disguised as policing in the interest of Islam.
Silence is not an option against those scheming for a Taliban type State!
dpp
We are all of 1 race, the Human Race
DR MAZA .. most regretable and embarassing as well. Buck up JAIS!!!
I wonder what your response is to this
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/opinion/breaking-views/42631-dr-mahathirs-selective-amnesia-on-the-isa--kua-kia-soong
A few questions comes to mind regarding this issue. Regardless of whether it is proven that Dr. Asri have falsified his degree, shouldn't a person on the line to become a mufti or any other important religious posts be thoroughly investigated background-wise first to prove their credibility? If such background checks are and have been carried out, why must this issue arise?
Secondly, because this issue has been brought up, shouldn't all the qualifications of others holding such posts be checked too?
Thirdly, I believe that unless it is the word of God or the Prophet, we should not follow blindly the words of others (pious people,etc). They can't be always right. Why must certain people in this category feel the need to impose their viewpoints on us instead of logically explaining the whys and the hows? (No questions. Just follow without rationale)
Alternative viewpoints and constructive criticisms is a way to ensure that people in said category do not abuse their power and sometimes can be used to rectify what is wrong -if done peacefully and responsibly. These viewpoints and criticisms should be heard with an open mind and evaluated without prejudice. Not all of them are bad.
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