"This is a clear case of berdusta (lying)," said vocal cleric and former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin in a statement today.

He was referring to allegations made by Jakim’s Institut Latihan Islam Malaysia (Ilim) deputy director Zamihan Mat Zain, who had charged that Asri was a Wahhabist at a recent special briefing on the threat of terrorist outfit Jemaah Islamiah.

Zamihan, in his explanation to Malaysiakini yesterday, had said that he merely, ‘copied and pasted’ whatever was written in Mohd Asri’s book Bid’ah: Istilah Yang Disalah Fahami , which he (Zamihan) claimed had drawn parallels between the Maulidur Rasul celebration and the Christian culture.

NONE "I had never said that in my book. I challenge Zamihan to point out the sentence and the page from that book, which he drew this conclusion from," said Asri ( left ).

In a two-page statement with academic references from other religious scholars, Asri charged that Zamihan had given a ‘ false briefing ’ to university vice-chancellors and heads of security around the country.

"My question is: how did the government or the police allow this lie to be made at such an important briefing on national security?

"On another angle, if certain parties do not want a Maulidur Rasul celebration like advocated by the Kelantan and Perlis state governments, what does it have to do with national security? Clearly, the matter has been manipulated by certain people.

"It is goes to show how the issue of national security can be manipulated around such petty arguments," he said.

Degree flap

This is not the first run-in that Asri has had with Zamihan.

Zamihan had previously alleged in November last year that Asri’s degree in Syariah/Arabic from the University of Jordan was forged , claiming the university never awarded a single degree for two subjects.

This was in wake of Asri’s arrest by the Selangor religious authorities for conducting religious classes without proper certification.

Asri subsequently threatened to sue Zamihan.

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