Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa says minister Jamil Khir Baharom's defence of Mustafa Akyol's arrest borders on 'despotism of the highest order'.
Speaking to FMT, Farouk, who heads the Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF), said the purpose of decreeing official credentials was to ensure that religious teachers who teach in mosques and suraus are qualified to do so.
It was also to prevent any deviant teaching from taking place, he added.
However, he said: “To also encompass those who engage in intellectual discourse pertaining to Islam, one has to wonder what the real motive is behind it.”
At the Dewan Rakyat today, Jamil Khir Baharom, who is the minister in charge of Islamic affairs, said Turkish writer Mustafa Akyol was bound by the requirement that anyone speaking on topics of Islam must get official teaching credentials.
“Every speaker wanting to hold programmes in the form of lectures in Malaysia must get permission and credentials from the state religious department or the relevant state mufti,” he had said.
Akyol was arrested by the Federal Territory Islamic Department (Jawi) on Sept 25 for committing an offence under the Syariah Criminal Offences (Federal Territories) Act which requires Islamic speakers to get “tauliah”, a rule normally applicable to those who speak on Islam in mosques and suraus.
He had just completed a lecture tour organised by the IRF.
However, Akyol told FMT that he was surprised at the requirement as he had not claimed to be a mufti or imam with religious authority.
“I just had referred to the more liberal views in Islamic tradition, from an academic perspective, and the fact that even this raises alarm is puzzling to me,” he said.
Farouk, who had hosted Akyol, was also summoned to the Jawi office in Kuala Lumpur for questioning under the same act.
He told FMT that Jamil’s words at the Dewan Rakyat sounded “very undemocratic” and bordered on “despotism of the highest order”.
“This is from a minister who has been accused of using the zakat fund to settle his legal costs and that of the orphans for his programmes in the United States, Europe and Australia,” he added.
All speakers on Islam need ‘tauliah’, says Jamil
The views expressed in the contents are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of FMT.
Sumber IRF head questions motive behind ‘tauliah’ requirement
0 Response to "IRF head questions motive behind ‘tauliah’ requirement"
Post a Comment