The group of some 40 young Islamic scholars had joined the party with former Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin last year but rejected his advice to rethink their position in Umno, after Putrajaya had reportedly placed them under a watchlist as possible terrorist threats.
But NSC secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab denied the council had drawn up any such watchlist during a briefing session on Monday.
“Yes, Wahhabism was raised in the meeting by one of the participants and a discussion on the matter followed ... but there was no such thing as the NSC drawing up a list of people for the authorities to keep an eye on and we certainly didn’t label anybody,” he was reported as saying by The New Straits Times.
The Umno ulamas said the issue was not about the Malay party but that some quarters were upset with Asri and wanted to discredit him using the Wahhabism link.
“We are waiting to [meet with the NSC] to discuss this ... maybe there can be a way out through discussion,” said a spokesman for the ulama group, Fathul Bari Mat Jahya.
“We want to resolve this peacefully,” he added.
Fathul Bari said the Wahhabi allegations were not new and had been around even before the young scholars became party members.
“What has happened is only a difference of opinions and views; perhaps there are some people who dislike [us] and want to cut us out by labelling us as terrorists,” he said.
Apart from the group of 40 ulamas, Asri was also listed in a group of people to be monitored by the muftis and Islamic agencies.
To date, there has been no official acknowledgment from the NSC on the matter.
Asri told The Malaysian Insider yesterday he was “shocked” that the authorities could accuse 40 young ulamas, most of whom are friends who had joined the BN lynchpin last year, of using their position as a platform to promote Wahhabism and therefore link them to terrorism.
“I know they [young ulamas] have worked hard in helping Umno and have carried out their role in the party, but they have been labelled as such. So I am asking them to re-evaluate their position in Umno, whether or not they want to remain as ulamas in Umno,” the popular preacher said.
Umno ulamas who joined the party last year are seen to be close friends and allies of Asri. Speculation was rife at the time that Asri himself would be joining Umno, but the influential Islamic scholar had decided to remain apolitical.
Asri was first linked to Wahhabism and the terrorists group Jemaah Islamiah (JI) early last year, along with PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, former Perlis Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim dan Perlis Mufti Juanda Jaya.
The Malaysian Insider understands that Abdul Hadi and Shahidam Kassim were omitted from the current list.
The issue cropped up again in April this year when a senior official from the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) suspected Grand Imam of Masjidil Haram, Sheikh Dr Abdul Rahman Ibn Abdul Aziz As-Sudais, of spreading Wahhabism among Muslim Malaysians through a “government-to-government” platform.
While there are four main schools of thought in Islam, Malaysia only recognises the Sunni school.
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