Utusan platform for another Anwar ex-buddy

After self-exiled blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia interviewed another former comrade of Anwar Ibrahim, the target this time - his religious credentials this time.

Islamist activist Ismail Mina, who together with Anwar founded Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) of which the latter became the second president, accused his former friend of supporting religious pluralism.

Ismail befriended Anwar (right)when both were Universiti Malaya (UM) undergraduates and became the president of UM Muslim Students Association (PMIUM) where latter was an office bearer.

According to the Malay daily, Ismail turned his back on Anwar upon finding out that some of the PKR de facto leader's beliefs could prove damaging to the Islamic faith.

"I decided to leave him because the belief in (religious) pluralism will lead to deviation (from Islam)," he was quoted by the daily in a full-page interview published today.

Religious pluralism is the belief that places all religions at the same level and accepts that all are equally valid.

Ismail, who is currently a committee member of Pertubuhan Muafakat Sejahtera Masyarakat Malaysia (Muafakat), also commented that the campaign 901 organised by Pakatan Rakyat to free Anwar is prohibited as Islam frowns upon its followers struggling for a single individual.

The daily has been publishing articles to discourage the public from attending Monday's the pro-Anwar rally for which Pakatan hopes gather 100,000 supporters.

Religious pluralism, a deadly sin

It published aninterview with prominent blogger Raja Petra over the weekend which described Anwar as being unfit to be prime minister and he may be a homosexual.

In today's interview Ismail claimed that Anwar expressed support for religious pluralism in his speech delivered at the London School of Economics on March 18, 2010.

To add muscle to his argument, Ismail said that all the books published by Institut Kajian Dasar (IKD), a think-tank linked to Anwar, lean towards the liberal-pluralism ideology.

He also condemned Islamic leaders still throwing their support behind Anwar.

"Look, in the past when we were in Abim, we rejected (deviant group) Arqam, but when Anwar clearly writes and says things which are contradictory to the (Islamic) faith, they still want to defend him.

"Is their struggle aimed at defending the faith or defending the person who's destroying the faith?, " he was quoted as saying.