Islamic forum to go on despite Ulil ban
The roundtable discussion by the Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) will proceed this Saturday despite the government’s ban on its main speaker Indonesian scholar Ulil Abshar Abdalla.
The roundtable discussion by the Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) will proceed this Saturday despite the government’s ban on its main speaker Indonesian scholar Ulil Abshar Abdalla.
It will instead feature National University of Singapore associate professor of sociology Syed Farid Alatas (left) , who will present a paper titled ‘Threat of religious fundamentalism in this century’.
The event will be now be held at Nottingham University's Jalan Raja Chulan building instead of the original Global Movement of Moderates Foundation venue due to a double-booking at the latter premises.
Ulil Abshar was barred from entering Malaysia following protests by Persatuan Ulama Malaysia, who said the scholar’s views could "confuse" Muslims here.
The federal Islamic authority Jakim took the cue and called on the Home Ministry to halt the event and ban Ulil.
The scholar responded , "What may this ban tell us? It tells that conservative groups won't allow voices of difference to challenge them.
"What conservative groups want to do is to impose a mono-culture of conformism on Muslim society," he tweeted on Monday.
Ulil blasts 'stupid accusation'
Meanwhile, Ulil Abshar has slammed Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia Zahrain Hashim for claiming that the scholar is being barred from entering Malaysia to allegedly stop him from spreading Ahmadiyah teachings.
"My response to the stupid accusation by the Malaysian ambassador: I am not a member of the Ahmadiyah.
"I am member of the Nahdlatul Ulama. I follow Gus Dur,” he said, referring to the former Indonesian president," said Ulil on his Facebook .
Nahdlatul Ulama is a Sunni group in Indonesia, while Ahmadiyah is a movement based on the teachings of 19th century scholar Mirza Ghulam Ahmad.
Ahmadiyah is considered a deviant sect by most Islamic authorities.
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