YOURSAY 'We all know that the latest fatwa on Bersih 3.0 is skewed thinking, made for a political agenda. It is certainly not divine revelation.'

Manji scorches fatwa council's anti-Bersih edict

Anonymous_3f68: Spot on, Irshad Manji. These muftis and mullahs are ensconced comfortably in their religious books and twist and turn facts in order to make people toe their line of absurdity, and to suit their whims and fancies while wallowing in the government's hospitality.

Personally they are the reason why this world, and this country in particular, is moving away from sanity to insanity.

Sabahan: Manji, to these muftis and clerics, God is not Allah but Umno. If you know that, then you will understand the ridiculous fatwas that are issued in Malaysia.

Babylon: We all know that the latest fatwa on Bersih 3.0 is skewed thinking, made for a political agenda. It is certainly not divine revelation.

We, as individuals, have to study and ascertain whether it is God speaking or the devil. Test it against the scriptures and you will soon find out.

Sarajun Hoda: Truth can always withstand tests. But if the skewed doctrines and dogmas polluted wholesale by Arab traditions and tribal practices cannot be challenged by Quranic truth, then there is something very wrong about our religion.

Why do we feel threatened? Why not debate with Manji? Most Muslim Malaysians are educated enough to understand and know who speaks the truth.

Irshad is only suggesting we go back to ijtihad as intended by the Quran. Why then is this Quranic teaching so foreign to our ulama? These mullahs can't even differentiate between universal Islam and practices polluted by Arab tribalism and traditions.

Why are the mullahs afraid of the truth about Islam? How dare they think Islam cannot withstand scientific challenge.

They have no confidence in the very religion they claim to protect and champion. We need more Irshad Manjis to save Islam from these mullahs.

Gen2: The problem is that Muslims are scared of being labelled un-Islamic.

So if an ulama, who had probably got third-grade SPM results and had taken up religious studies at a madrasah in rural Pakistan, says you can't demonstrate, then even a Malay who had scored straight As in SPM and has got a PhD dares not open his mouth to protest.

Unless we separate religion from politics and government, this invisible sword held by the self-appointed ulama hangs over every Malay public servant, including its leaders.

Galpasqueen It saddens me to know that Irshad Manji's book and her meets have been banned. I feel it's a loss for the Muslims of Malaysia to be deprived of views from the other side.

The government doesn't want its people to think as is the case in many other countries around the world.

Having a mind of one's own would be dangerous for the bunch of BN clowns running the country, especially when it's coming from women.

Extremism is not only about weapons but more about liberated thinking and freedom from fear in a global environment.

We should be able to find humane solutions to global squabbles because they are merely politically-motivated agendas.

Bamboo I wonder why the majority of Malays are cowed by these fatwas. The religious councils look more like an extension of Umno than truly religious councils.

Anyway, religion is between human and God, so why the need for religious departments/councils to rule over Muslim Malaysians?

Doc: Sadly, Irshad Manji has managed to get a taste of the ‘Malaysia Bodoh' phenomenon, courtesy of the pea-brained Umno that runs Malaysia's National Fatwa Council.

Dr Zero: Manji is questioning the current status quo against her understanding of Islam.

I understand that only 10 percent of Muslims are extremists, yet they hold captive the remaining 90 percent who are moderate and who make up the Islamic thinkers, including the Sufis.

When will the 90 percent rise against this tirade in the way that Manji is doing?

Anonymous #41175749: It's a little disconcerting that Manji is being protested against by the hardcore Islamic extremists because "her very liberal stance on Islam is dangerous to the faith of local Muslims".

Isn't it shameful that the faith of local Muslims is thought to be so brittle? Local Muslims should stand up against this insult.

GoneBananas: Irshad Manji is a shining example of an enlightened Muslim who has outgrown tribalistic patriarchal traditions and provincial thinking.

If the Muslim community were to consider her insights with an open heart, this country would swiftly become the closest thing to paradise - once Umno is removed, of course.

That's the single biggest problem we have - Umno's monolithic control of public spaces, and the mass media and its culture of ultimate hypocrisy.

Magnus: Perhaps Allah may have had enough of being hijacked, misrepresented and maligned by religious nutters, munafiqs, ignorant pseudo-journalists and self-serving politicians to perhaps up the ante using the greatest divine gift bequeathed to the human race, i.e. free will based on the intelligence of reason and conscience.

The score in this battle against ignorance and knowledge is, Allah 1; Malaysian religious bigots 0.

Plainly: This is a great piece for Umno's paid ulama to think about.

As Manji said: "Here's some breaking news for these muftis. You're not God. There is only one God, and that job is not vacant."

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