Asri: 200 Shi’a arrests proof of UMNO's Talibanisation

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 — The arrest of Shi’a Muslims by religious authorities in Gombak earlier this week is proof Malaysia is heading towards “an era of Talibanisation”, says a former Perlis mufti.

“Malaysia is trying to become a country a la Taliban that only allows one school of thought,” Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said in a press statement today.

“Even though I personally don’t agree with Shi’a teachings and even frequently criticise and debate with them, I cannot accept the approach of the allegedly democratic Malaysian government in denying the people’s right to practice their faith, so long as it does not endanger public safety.”

The Islamic scholar criticised the government for allowing a trend of “non-openness”, saying that if the trend continues, there will be greater tension in the country that may lead to violence.

“[Violence] usually explodes in countries where the right to speak is constantly denied. Perhaps the government has its own agenda in this matter?” he said.

Discourse must always come before use of force when it comes to the people’s rights in today’s globalised world, Asri (picture) stressed.

“Arguments are countered by arguments, not by power,” he said.

Some 200 local and foreign followers of the Hauzah Ar Ridha Alaihissalam group were arrested at a shophouse in Taman Sri Gombak, Batu Caves on Wednesday by authorities concerned that their activities constituted a security threat.

The group, led by two men including an Iranian national, had been operating in the four-storey shophouse for up to two years.

Followers included locals, Indonesians, Myanmars, a Pakistani, an Iranian, some of whom were lecturers and students in institutions of higher learning, lawyers and civil servants. Several children were also found at the location.

Those arrested were brought before the Gombak Barat Lower Syariah Court by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) last night and subsequently freed on bail.

Hauzah Ar Ridha Alaihissalam reportedly permits the killing of Muslims who follow other schools of thought, whom it considers kafir (unbelievers).

It has also been accused of propagating the practice of drawing blood through self-flagellation with chains every 10 Muharram as a way to cleanse sins.

The arrests were the largest recorded in Selangor involving allegedly deviant Islamic teachings.

The current Perlis Mufti, Dr Juanda Jaya, had also criticised religious authorities of acting like Talibans in the debate on religious pluralism.

Malaysia has been seeing a higher frequency of debate on interfaith ties this year following a High Court ruling last December 31 that said a Catholic weekly has the constitutional right to describe their God as Allah.

A protest by Muslims led to a wave of attacks on religious houses of worship, particularly churches in January. Several people have been convicted for the attacks.

The government won an appeal to stay the High Court order on using the word Allah and has set up an interfaith panel to resolve issues.