Asri leaves the syariah court after he was charged this morning
Asri says the traditional ulama don’t like his views.
THERE is little doubt that the controversial religious figure Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has a following as evidenced by the big group that turned up to support him at the Gombak Syariah Court.
His biggest supporter is Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, the former Perlis Mentri Besar, who is in London. Otherwise he would have been there as well.
Dr Asri, the former Mufti of Perlis, was released on police bond after being detained the night before by the Selangor branch of the religious enforcement unit JAIS.
He was giving a religious lecture in a private home in Gombak at the time.
He is likely to be charged for preaching without a permit but those in the know said that events behind the scenes had been building up to this moment.
Some are even talking about “black hands” trying to fix up the charismatic preacher who had made waves with his unorthodox views on religious issues and matters the past few years.
They blamed the PAS-controlled religious arm in Selangor for the crackdown on Dr Asri.
Others said the “black hands” belong to those who are out to block Dr Asri’s appointment as head of Yadim or Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia, the prestigious Islamic outreach arm of the Government.
Apparently, Dr Asri was to have been appointed as Yadim head on Nov 1, replacing Datuk Nakhaie Ahmad who has held the post since the 1990s.
It is believed the appointment has not proceeded because of opposition from Islamic groups.
There is no evidence connecting the Yadim appointment to Dr Asri’s Sunday night arrest but 17 Islamic NGOs had sent a letter to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Prime Minister protesting the would-be appointment.
News of the protest leaked out when one of the signatories, the Syariah Lawyers Association, posted the letter on its blog; the posting has since been removed.
“There are no black hands or whatever you may call it. The point is that there are Islamic bodies who are very uncomfortable that Dr Asri may be appointed to Yadim,” said former Abim president Yusri Mohamad who was a signatory to the letter.
Shahidan, who remains one of Asri’s closest associates, has slammed the opposition to Dr Asri as the work of selfish people.
“We carry out dakwah (outreach) work without harming people. We are trying to explain Islam to non-Muslims. What is wrong with that?” he said.
Shahidan also asked Dr Asri to reject any offer from Yadim and in a tit-for-tat move, has asked for a thorough audit of the accounts of Yadim.
The soft-spoken and baby-faced Dr Asri is quite glamorous for an ulama. He is acquainted with a number of entertainment celebrities and has been courted by both Umno and PAS.
Earlier this year, there was talk that he was about to join PAS but, according to Shahidan, Dr Asri consulted Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who advised him to stay politically neutral if he wished to be accepted by the general populace.
He also writes a weekly column called Minda Maza or Thoughts of Maza (Maza being the acronym for Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin) in the influential Mingguan Malaysia.
But Islamic intellectuals complain that his views on religion do not reflect that of “mainstream Muslims or the traditional scholars.”
They pointed out that during the recent fasting month, his column had analysed an obscure text by a medieval scholar on the question of performing a major ablution (mandi wajib) after sexual intercourse in an abnormal situation.
“There are so many pressing issues in Islam and he uses his column to talk about that,” said Yusri.
Critics such as Yusri have accused Dr Asri of promoting a body of thought that is harmful to the unity of Muslims in the country.
“He should be aware that by continuing to promote his particular view on Islam outside of Perlis, he is inviting action on himself,” said Yusri.
But Dr Asri’s ideas resonate among a segment of moderate Muslims and non-Muslims. They see him as a modern and progressive ulama.
His supporters find his views refreshing and in tune with modern Malay society and issues.
Among his champions are groups like Sisters in Islam who are drawn to his unconventional views on social issues and women in Islamic society.
But the storm blowing around Dr Asri has yet to subside for as Yusri promised: “We will continue to oppose his appointment to Yadim.”
“Times have changed, if I cannot teach the usual way, I can go to the Internet or I can go to the newspapers,” said Asri, who was charged this morning in a syariah court for preaching without a permit.
“Whenever I have the chance to speak on Islam I will do so, if they stop me then maybe I won't mention the word Islam,” he said.
Earlier, he pleaded not guilty to the charge. He was charged under Section 119 of the Islamic Administration of Selangor which carries a fine of up to RM3,000 and imprisonment of up to two years.
“This will not stop me from delivering the message... they think this is a small matter, they think they can just stop people from teaching, but for me this case is very significant,” Asri told reporters outside the court.
The controversial scholar was arrested by the Selangor Islamic authority (Jais) some two weeks ago while giving a private lecture at a friend’s residence in Ukay Heights.
Asri, who was a university lecturer until his appointment as Perlis mufti in 2006, is noted for his unconventional interpretation of Islamic principles which often contradict government-endorsed doctrines.
He continued to be an influential Islamic scholar after ending his service as the Perlis mufti late last year.
Various leaders from both sides of the political divide, including former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, a known supporter of Asri's, have condemned the arrest.
Several Selangor Pakatan Rakyat (PR) lawmakers also attempted to condemn Asri's arrest at the state legislative assembly but the Selangor executive councillor in charge of Islamic affairs Datuk Dr Hasan Ali defended the action taken by Jais.
This morning, dozens of people accompanied Asri to the courtroom. Former Perlis Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim was also present.
Clerics take fellow preacher to syariah court.
Religious overlords, better known for chastising Muslims for practising yoga and girls for adopting tomboyish looks, are now training their guns on one of their own.
He is an outspoken Muslim cleric who is preaching a more modernist form of Islam.
Earlier this month, Dr Asri Zainul Abidin, the former mufti of Perlis, was arrested in a widely publicised raid by the Islamic Affairs Department of Selangor, or Jais, for preaching without a permit.
The 38-year-old preacher, who is set to be charged today at a syariah court in Selangor, has also been accused by his critics on religious websites and Malay-language newspapers of promoting Wahhabism, the brand of Islam that flourishes in Saudi Arabia.
In an interview with The Straits Times last week, the bespectacled Asri, who sports a neatly trimmed beard, said the charge against him was an abuse of the law and highlighted the arbitrary powers of the country's religious authorities.
“They don't like my views,” he said in reference to the country's traditional ulama, clerics who dominate the religious authorities and agencies throughout Malaysia.
He added: “People like me are a threat because we want to encourage more discussion and debate in Islam and not leave it to those who claim to have power over the religion to decide what is haram and halal”, referring to what is not permissible and permissible in Islam.
The controversy swirling around Asri is being watched closely. It marks the first time in recent history that long-simmering undercurrents between the country's powerful traditionalist ulamas and Muslim Malaysia's more progressive preachers is bubbling to the surface.
Religion is a sensitive issue in multiracial Malaysia and public debate about Islam, the official religion, is usually avoided.
But many Muslims privately complain that the government's push for greater Islamisation over the last three decades has resulted in many religious bodies wielding huge powers over their daily lives.
The Malaysian Fatwa Council regularly issues edicts, often in the form of blanket prohibition, in the name of Islam and Muslims.
Stand-out examples include the banning of yoga among Muslims because it was rooted in Hinduism; forbidding girls and Muslim women from behaving like tomboys; and banning heavy metal songs, lest Muslim fans be inclined to become followers of satanic cults.
Because religion and politics are intertwined, Malay Muslim politicians from government and the opposition have rarely questioned the position of the traditional ulama.
Asri, a religious scholar from the University of Jordan, is among a handful of high-profile clerics who have openly spoken out against the outdated traditional practices in Islam and pushed for greater debate and discussion of religious matters.
“This charge against me is designed to embarrass me and stop me from pushing for a more progressive brand of Islam,” said the soft-spoken cleric who is now teaching at the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang.
He also insisted that the country's traditional ulama are refusing to acknowledge the changes sweeping Malaysia's Muslims, particularly the young.
“Just like the tsunami that hit the country's political landscape, a similar phenomenon is also happening in Islam here. The world has changed with the Internet and with the free flow of information, many of the young are starting to question,” he said.
“We can't use Pakistan or Bangladesh as models. We have to look at the transformation (of Islam) in developed and developing countries like Indonesia and the West.
“My view is that the market to discuss Islam should be open. Let it be a competition to discuss views regarding the proper message of Islam and not a competition for power.”====
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