Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin (MAZA).He is probably the most famous and popular Mufti Malaysia has ever seen. He is also probably one of the youngest, if not the youngest Mufti around. He is seen to be progressive and open. He is also thought to be a Wahabbi (what’s wrong with that?). He also writes a weekly column called Minda Maza or Thoughts of Maza in the UMNO controlled Mingguan Malaysia. He is said to have the support and friendship of former Perlis MB Shahidan Kassim.
But mostly, he is seen as a threat to the other Muftis.
He was arrested in a private residence while giving a religious talk. Among his audience were PR lawmakers Zuraidah and Saari. Apparently, there were 30 policemen (according to the Star online) assisting 25 JAIS officers (according to the Star online) to arrest a harmless ex Mufti. And those JAIS officers failed to turn up in court to charge Asri.
Both PAS and PM Najib are courting him. In PAS he’ll be the new Harun Din and in UMNO he’ll be the new Yusof Noor? The new Jamil Khir? I think he’ll just be Dr Asri, can’t see anyone for him to replace in UMNO. In any case, UMNO has started to court him by appointing him to head YADIM, which he declined due to the blatant opposition towards him by among others, the Syarie Lawyers Association (PGSM) and 17 Islamic NGOs.
I think religious personalities should not be (publicly) politically aligned. They should remain bipartisan, non-governmental and independent. Their decisions and opinions should not be guided by any political motives or instruction. They should be open to criticism by their peers.
Which brings up the question, should PAS exist as a political party?
NO!!! Politics and religion should NOT mix! Politicians should not use religion as a means to “pancing” voters. It’s so sickening seeing muslims screaming “Allah-hu-akbar” in demonstrations & hearing statements like “sokong PAS boleh masuk syurga”…what the ****?! So, I truly agree that these “Tok Gurus” should be independent and stick to educating public.
ReplyDeletePardon me for being ignorant, but what is Wahhabi?
Wahhabi is a sect attributed to Muhammad ibn Abd-al-Wahhab, an 18th century scholar who advocated to bring Islam back to its roots by removing from Islam what he considered innovations in Islam (Bida’h). Amongst our common religious practices which are not practised by the Wahabbis are qunut during Subuh, Yaasin, tahlil and dzikir after solat.
ReplyDeleteIt is not an ajaran sesat as it is sort of the 5th Sunni school of thought (mazhab) after Maliki, Hanafi, Shafie, & Hambali.
Most of its followers are in Saudi Arabia.
For what it's worth, here are the rantings of a Kafir whose eyes were caught by this whole Wahabbi thing.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I could gather, the Wahabbi following is a purist of Islam, their understanding most strict in following Islam to the letter. On whole, this is a good thing. I fully subscribe to the principle that all praise should go to God & God alone. Idolizing Man can be detrimental (Then again, isn't that what the Devil said & got him banished to hell for eternity ?). But this is because Man tends to feel a sense of power when people idolize him, & starts to use (or misuse) this power for his own benefit.
In its base essence, Wahabbi teachings & Hadhari teachings are alike (i.e. final point of reference is the Al-Quran in any religious dispute, all praise is for God alone, etc). It's only because of interpretations that cause all this confusion. Regardless of which mazhab you follow, or even if you don't follow any mazhab, the essence of Islam is always the same.
However, the problems with these teachings are that in order further their own interests, scholars & teachers slowly add in their own elements & understandings in their teachings. Little by little, this amounts to a deviation which are further exploited by leaders to their own advantages.
Herein lies the real problem: blindly following a particular faith or sect without understanding the philosophy or reasoning behind it. One should not accept any teaching 'bulat-bulat'. One should make some effort to understand them in its entirety.
So, to detain Dr. Asri because he preached without a license would be OK, I guess, provided that there actually IS a law that says one is needed. If not, then how is the charge going to stand ? Another glaring fact is why do so many JAIS & police officers have to be present to detain a religious officer ? I don't remember anyone else (even well-known politicians) who were accorded this honour. Has he committed some grave crime or sin ? As usual, the Powers-That-Be have overreacted & caused a fiasco of sorts, when a more subtle action of discussion & consultation would have achieved the same objective without propogating Dr. Asri to a hero status, thereby attracting more followers to his cause, & defeating the very intent of JAIS.
Strange world we live in...
Jeyaraj,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments, it was very enlightening. I prefer to address you as a 'non-Muslim brother' instead of 'kafir' :)
You are right in saying that Wahabbi is a purist form of Islam and I agree with you on idolising man (or woman!). I can't comment on Islam Hadhari simply because I don't know much about it.
I find it strange that Malaysia doesn't have a single nationwide Shariah standard. I mean if a person qualifies to be Mufti of one state, how come he is not fit (i.e. requires approval) to preach in another state?
Strange it is indeed!