It does appear that Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, the former mufti of Perlis, has support against his ill-informed arrest by the Jabatan Agama Islam of Selangor (Jais).
Whatever may be the political underpinnings of this arrest, as commentators have suggested, it is most unacceptable that Jais made the arrest without proffering a charge.
Every person arrested must be informed of the charge against him. This is the golden rule in the administration of justice and is also a rule endorsed by the constitution.
The fact that Jais had breached this important principle should be a reason to drop whatever charges against Asri.
I am not sure how things work with Jais. There must some kind of first-information report made against Asri before the arrest.
The fact that no charge was made showed that no proper investigation had been made by Jais and as such they cannot figure out an appropriate charge.
The state government of Selangor should investigate if Jais had not followed procedures and were readily influenced by third-party interests in doing its job.
The officers involved should face disciplinary action if this is the case.
The final point I want to make here is that this case shows the danger of using the law to curtail religious beliefs and expressions.
Why should there be a law to tell you how to belief, what to belief, what kind of rituals you can and cannot do etc?
It is a total infringement on the liberty of the person.