Controversial former Perlis mufti, Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin lived up to his reputation with his latest pronouncement that tauliah is against Islamic teachings as it infringes freedom of speech.

NONE He based his reasoning on the argument that "the right to speak is given by God", therefore it should not be curtailed by the imposition of tauliah on religious speakers.

Last Sunday, an uproar broke out, when he was arrested for delivering a religious speech at a private property, without a permit, or tauliah, from Selangor's religious authorities.

The case has attracted tremendous attention from the community. For the first time, politicians from opposing sides have thrown their weight behind Asri.

In an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, he explained that those who try to stop others from expressing their views freely are those who are protecting their own selfish interest, stricken by fear at the threat to their own positions of power.

"Even people with Islamic knowledge and accreditation had been barred from delivering speeches," he said when explaining the current what he described as the arbitrary and ‘unIslamic' tauliah system.

NONE He said that this is a system that is trying to stop people from voicing their views.

He claimed that it is also because some of the religious talks have political elements, therefore tauliah is imposed to lessen the number of ‘unapproved' speeches.

"This is not just a control of the Islamic voice, but they are also preventing the growth and advancement of Islamic teachings," he said, adding that tauliah could be a new form of control of religion by the authorities.

Return to basics call

He declared that no person has the right to take away any freedom that Allah has given to the people to bring forward the truth - the purpose of religious discourse.

NONE He suggested that reform be initiated in this area for the whole country, starting with Selangor.

When asked for his recommendations, Asri proposed that a return to the basics of Islam and respect for fundamental rights, one of which is freedom of speech.

"We could make tauliah compulsory only for individuals who want to give religious talks but have no formal accreditations.

Or alternatively, we could abolish the system and take action only against people who have violated their freedom to speak," he explained on the possible solutions to this tauliah issue.

Q&A 'I'm a fundamental and progressive Muslim'

Related reports

Muslim lawyers group to apologise to ex-mufti

Ex-mufti: Conspiracy not political, but religious

VIDEOS

Part 1 l 9 mins

Part 2 l 9 mins

Part 3 l 10 mins

Part 4 l 11 mins