Former Perlis state mufti (Muslim cleric) Dr Mohd Asri Zainul said that the interpretation of Islamic faith should not be monopolized by the authorities. He said that dialogue and discussion help generate new ideas and are good for checks and balances.
Asri said that the interpretation of Islamic teachings is no longer monopolized by a single power or authority. Multilateral discussion is a healthy trend. When the society is no longer constrained by a single opinion, the people will see the birth of a force that can play the role of checks and balances.
"The authorities cannot continue to monopolize the authority to interpret Islam. Before this, the ruling party monopolized the power of discourse in religion. This has become impossible now," he said.
He said that as a result of the free flow of information and the Internet era, young Muslims have the chance to expose themselves to a lot of information from other countries. Now they have much broader views on Islam and do not limit themselves to a particular interpretation of Islam any more. This is a change in the Malay society.
In his opinion, this is not a phenomenon of diversification of Islam; instead, it is returning to the path of the real Islam -- a harmonious religion and not a race-based religion. Islam had had a glorious history of civilization some time ago.
Asri said this when commenting on Islam-related issues in Malaysia, especially the many cases related to the role of the religious departments in an exclusive interview with Oriental Daily.
People Inciting Sentiment Akin to Hitler
When asked to comment on "sanctity" of Islam, an utmost concern of some Muslims, he opined that those issues are all related to the powers that be and have nothing to do with "sanctity". Those in the power have tried to make use of religion to sustain their powers.
"That's why non-Muslims cannot touch on Islamic issues. These are our business. This is Islam. Actually Islam does not mention these (matters concerning sanctity), it is not mentioned in the Quran and the Hadith either.
"In the name of uphoding Islam, these people make use of religious and racial issues to woo supports by inciting the people's sentiment. This is not much different from Adolf Hitler.
"Actually some issues are related to religion. Those are issues about powers and political influence. Both the United Malays National Organization and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party have their own arguments. Both parties claim they represent Islam. We would like to know based on which version of Islam they have made those arguments," he said.
In his opinion, the Malay society has gradually developed mature views on Islam. They would not be influenced by the religious arguments of political parties so easily. He said that Muslims can check the Internet to make comparison and research to find out whether a fatwa (religious decree) ruled by the National Fatwa Council meets international standards or the council has only made the fatwa because of a request from a certain political party.
Internet is Open University for Muslims
Asri described the Internet as an open university for Muslims. Because of the Internet, they would not follow blindly rulings unilaterally announced by a particular body. Instead, they have learned to seek different opinions. This could be seen in the case of the yoga ban.
"When you say this is 'haram' (forbidden by Islamic law), the people will say, 'Wait a minute, let me check and see if this is a fatwa released by you only.' In the past, all would abide by the decisions made by the National Fatwa Council. There was no objection at all. But the situation is different now," he said.
He said that when he was holding the post of Perlis mufti, he made room for discussion. Muslims started to contemplate about the real Islam. What Malaysia should pursue is a real Islam belongs to the whole world, not an Islam belongs to the Malays.
He pointed out that before this, Islam in Malaysia solely followed a proposition and mixed it with racial issues to come out with a unique argument that advocates "protecting the Malays with religion". Now the people have freed themselves from this traditional mentality and started to compare the Islam in Malaysia with Islam in other countries.
"Scholars rise up to speak up their own views and this inspires Muslims to think. Now Muslims can acquire information and find out different ways of interpretation easily," he said.
Religion Should Not Seek Protection Under Political Power
Asri said that the foundation of religion should be faith. The authorities are not able to provide long term guarantee that the faith would not be destroyed. In his view, religion is faith and a faith cannot rely on the protection provided by the authorities but the authorities can help in meeting the needs of a faith.
Have the Islamic bodies and enforcement agencies in Malaysia really defended the status of Islam as the official religion in an effective manner?
According to Asri, the Malays assume that they will only be protected if they control the power. This is a wrong perception. Muslims should safeguard Islam, not the Malays. Asri said that Christianity had attempted to defend the religion by resorting to the ruling power but ultimately it was cast aside by the people. No doubt the power is there. But when the people are no longer confident in their faith and lose faith in the political power, they may rise up to topple the power.
"The authority has to be established on the foundation of the people's trust. If the people believe in justice and religious strength in Islam and the authority can help upholding this justice, then the political power will prevail.
"If the Malays ignore (the religion), especially the young generation who would not bow to hard approach, and if they do not get adequate explanation in some Islamic issues, I am afraid these powers may be gone one day.
"Although these powers are controlled by the enforcement agencies and stipulated in the laws, if the people do not believe (in the political power), these laws cannot play their role," he said.
He opined that it is not a matter related to authority that the religious bodies cannot operate effectively but it is because these bodies are not established on the foundation of trust. The Malay society has a wrong perception. They presume that they can enhance their religious faith by strengthening religious bodies and enforcement agencies. This was shown in the case of a recent raid of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department on a Christian church.
"If such situation persists, they will lose their faith in the existing institutions because the powers-that-be cannot convince the people with irrefutable evidence, data, and arguments," he said.
In his opinion, a forcible intervention by resorting to power will backfire. It will also set a wrong example.
Muslim Youth Have Their Own Minds
According to Asri, the belief of young Malays in Islam is not fragile. On the contrary, they just have different views on some Islamic issues from the Malay society. "It is not that they don't believe in Islam. They are just sceptical of the Islam that the people of their race have tried to uphold. For example, their view on zakat (annual tax @ 2.5 percent on Muslims to aid the poor). After I raised the issue of the management and distribution of zakat, some have joined the discussion," he said.
"In the past, Muslims always believed the zakat management body would manage the money effectively because the authorities had entrusted the task to them. But the zakat has not been managed properly. They have the authority but have lost the people's trust," he added.
He said that the people do not trust the management body but this does not mean they have lost their faith in zakat. They only lost their faith in the institutions that administer religious affairs because these institutions are not capable to handle religious issues effectively.
Asri pointed out that once the Muslims lose their confidence, it is impossible to strengthen the Muslims' faith by solely relying on powers and institution. For example, Muslims used to defend the action of reciting the Koran early in the morning using a loudspeaker. But now some have voiced out their different view. Many young Muslims think it is not appropriate to recite the Koran using a loudspeaker early in the morning because it disrupts others' sleep.
"Although some mainstream media played up the issue and claimed that it is a right of the Muslims and so on, I say 'No, this is not an Islamic way.' Many agree with me, most of them are young people," he said.
Asri said that the interpretation of Islamic teachings is no longer monopolized by a single power or authority. Multilateral discussion is a healthy trend. When the society is no longer constrained by a single opinion, the people will see the birth of a force that can play the role of checks and balances.
"The authorities cannot continue to monopolize the authority to interpret Islam. Before this, the ruling party monopolized the power of discourse in religion. This has become impossible now," he said.
He said that as a result of the free flow of information and the Internet era, young Muslims have the chance to expose themselves to a lot of information from other countries. Now they have much broader views on Islam and do not limit themselves to a particular interpretation of Islam any more. This is a change in the Malay society.
In his opinion, this is not a phenomenon of diversification of Islam; instead, it is returning to the path of the real Islam -- a harmonious religion and not a race-based religion. Islam had had a glorious history of civilization some time ago.
Asri said this when commenting on Islam-related issues in Malaysia, especially the many cases related to the role of the religious departments in an exclusive interview with Oriental Daily.
People Inciting Sentiment Akin to Hitler
When asked to comment on "sanctity" of Islam, an utmost concern of some Muslims, he opined that those issues are all related to the powers that be and have nothing to do with "sanctity". Those in the power have tried to make use of religion to sustain their powers.
"That's why non-Muslims cannot touch on Islamic issues. These are our business. This is Islam. Actually Islam does not mention these (matters concerning sanctity), it is not mentioned in the Quran and the Hadith either.
"In the name of uphoding Islam, these people make use of religious and racial issues to woo supports by inciting the people's sentiment. This is not much different from Adolf Hitler.
"Actually some issues are related to religion. Those are issues about powers and political influence. Both the United Malays National Organization and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party have their own arguments. Both parties claim they represent Islam. We would like to know based on which version of Islam they have made those arguments," he said.
In his opinion, the Malay society has gradually developed mature views on Islam. They would not be influenced by the religious arguments of political parties so easily. He said that Muslims can check the Internet to make comparison and research to find out whether a fatwa (religious decree) ruled by the National Fatwa Council meets international standards or the council has only made the fatwa because of a request from a certain political party.
Internet is Open University for Muslims
Asri described the Internet as an open university for Muslims. Because of the Internet, they would not follow blindly rulings unilaterally announced by a particular body. Instead, they have learned to seek different opinions. This could be seen in the case of the yoga ban.
"When you say this is 'haram' (forbidden by Islamic law), the people will say, 'Wait a minute, let me check and see if this is a fatwa released by you only.' In the past, all would abide by the decisions made by the National Fatwa Council. There was no objection at all. But the situation is different now," he said.
He said that when he was holding the post of Perlis mufti, he made room for discussion. Muslims started to contemplate about the real Islam. What Malaysia should pursue is a real Islam belongs to the whole world, not an Islam belongs to the Malays.
He pointed out that before this, Islam in Malaysia solely followed a proposition and mixed it with racial issues to come out with a unique argument that advocates "protecting the Malays with religion". Now the people have freed themselves from this traditional mentality and started to compare the Islam in Malaysia with Islam in other countries.
"Scholars rise up to speak up their own views and this inspires Muslims to think. Now Muslims can acquire information and find out different ways of interpretation easily," he said.
Religion Should Not Seek Protection Under Political Power
Asri said that the foundation of religion should be faith. The authorities are not able to provide long term guarantee that the faith would not be destroyed. In his view, religion is faith and a faith cannot rely on the protection provided by the authorities but the authorities can help in meeting the needs of a faith.
Have the Islamic bodies and enforcement agencies in Malaysia really defended the status of Islam as the official religion in an effective manner?
According to Asri, the Malays assume that they will only be protected if they control the power. This is a wrong perception. Muslims should safeguard Islam, not the Malays. Asri said that Christianity had attempted to defend the religion by resorting to the ruling power but ultimately it was cast aside by the people. No doubt the power is there. But when the people are no longer confident in their faith and lose faith in the political power, they may rise up to topple the power.
"The authority has to be established on the foundation of the people's trust. If the people believe in justice and religious strength in Islam and the authority can help upholding this justice, then the political power will prevail.
"If the Malays ignore (the religion), especially the young generation who would not bow to hard approach, and if they do not get adequate explanation in some Islamic issues, I am afraid these powers may be gone one day.
"Although these powers are controlled by the enforcement agencies and stipulated in the laws, if the people do not believe (in the political power), these laws cannot play their role," he said.
He opined that it is not a matter related to authority that the religious bodies cannot operate effectively but it is because these bodies are not established on the foundation of trust. The Malay society has a wrong perception. They presume that they can enhance their religious faith by strengthening religious bodies and enforcement agencies. This was shown in the case of a recent raid of the Selangor Islamic Religious Department on a Christian church.
"If such situation persists, they will lose their faith in the existing institutions because the powers-that-be cannot convince the people with irrefutable evidence, data, and arguments," he said.
In his opinion, a forcible intervention by resorting to power will backfire. It will also set a wrong example.
Muslim Youth Have Their Own Minds
According to Asri, the belief of young Malays in Islam is not fragile. On the contrary, they just have different views on some Islamic issues from the Malay society. "It is not that they don't believe in Islam. They are just sceptical of the Islam that the people of their race have tried to uphold. For example, their view on zakat (annual tax @ 2.5 percent on Muslims to aid the poor). After I raised the issue of the management and distribution of zakat, some have joined the discussion," he said.
"In the past, Muslims always believed the zakat management body would manage the money effectively because the authorities had entrusted the task to them. But the zakat has not been managed properly. They have the authority but have lost the people's trust," he added.
He said that the people do not trust the management body but this does not mean they have lost their faith in zakat. They only lost their faith in the institutions that administer religious affairs because these institutions are not capable to handle religious issues effectively.
Asri pointed out that once the Muslims lose their confidence, it is impossible to strengthen the Muslims' faith by solely relying on powers and institution. For example, Muslims used to defend the action of reciting the Koran early in the morning using a loudspeaker. But now some have voiced out their different view. Many young Muslims think it is not appropriate to recite the Koran using a loudspeaker early in the morning because it disrupts others' sleep.
"Although some mainstream media played up the issue and claimed that it is a right of the Muslims and so on, I say 'No, this is not an Islamic way.' Many agree with me, most of them are young people," he said.
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