Sunday November 8, 2009
Keep religion from bitter politicking
THE STAR SAYS...
NO sooner had the Malaysian Syariah Lawyers’ Association apologised to former Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin for complaining about him to the King than the apology was retracted.
The apology had been made with due consideration, particularly since the basis of the complaint is unclear, if not dubious.
The complaint had contributed to the former mufti being arrested, harassed and humiliated, yet the case against him still appears neither proven nor credible.
We understand the association’s subsequent regard for Dr Asri has caused it to withdraw its apology.
Everyone is entitled to retract an apology, but nothing suggests whatever caused the association to act in such an anomalous manner negates the grounds of its duly considered apology.
Dr Asri is now accused of revealing the contents of the association’s memorandum to the King, but if its stand contends the memorandum is defensible, so too is its revelation.
If the contents of the memo are neither incorrect nor improper, there is also nothing there to hide or be ashamed of.
A truce had been negotiated only days ago, reportedly brokered by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom.
All contending parties should respect that occasion by ending all their contentions.
The little that is publicly known of the allegation against Dr Asri so far dwells on questionable speculation that he is of a Wahhabi persuasion.
The case against this sect in most places, including Malaysia, is its narrow dogmatism and evidently, it is not Dr Asri who is so afflicted.
The cloistered chauvinism that we should all guard against comes not with the former mufti’s calls for Muslims to be more open-minded towards non-Muslims in modern multicultural Malaysia.
For many people, it has more to do with elitist attitudes and high-handed approaches which many, including Dr Asri, has suffered from.
The disquiet among his opponents has curiously come at a time when he is about to be appointed head of the Islamic Da’wah Foundation of Malaysia.
We trust that the truth will out, the sooner the better, disentangling legitimate issues of religion from any hidden motives in bitter politicking.
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