More than 10,000 Muslims flooded the Masjid Wilayah in Kuala Lumpur to attend a forum that centred around the contentious issue of apostasy.

The roads surrounding the mosque were littered with hundreds of vehicles, bringing traffic in the area to a crawl. About 3,000 people filled the hall while the rest gathered outside.

Among the personalities who spoke at the forum titled 'The Syariah and Current Issues' were former Bar Council presidents Sulaiman Abdullah and Zainur Zakaria, Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria, constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari and Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) president Yusri Mohamad.

Other speakers were Syariah lawyer Kamar Ainiah Kamaruzaman, former Penang mufti Sheikh Azmi Ahmad, and forum chairperson Azmi Abdul Hamid ( right ), who heads the Malay-advocacy group Teras.

The speakers called on the authorities to continue with what they said was the historic tendency to strengthen the country's Islamic institutions and not weaken them.

"We have every right to seek the continuation of this process of Islamisation," said Teras' Azmi, who also accused certain quarters of using apostasy to weaken that process.

On several occasions during the three-hour forum, tempers flared when the sound system broke down and those outside the mosque were unable to hear the speakers. This led the vexed crowd to chant Allahuakbar.

The overwhelming turnout had also caught the organisers by surprise. Also present were former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah and former deputy minister Ibrahim Ali ( right ).

The resolutions

Meanwhile, the forum resolved that:

  1. The authorities ensure that the current system and status of Islam as provided by the Federal Constitution be maintained and accepted by all persons;

  • The Federal Constitution and other laws be strengthened to stop attempts to use the courts to weaken the position of Islam;

  • All Muslims should act in unison in defence of Islam;

  • Every threat to Islam signifies a threat to the dignity and position and the Malay Rulers who are the heads of Islam in every state and to the integrity of the Islamic institutions;

  • Efforts to overhaul and erode the position of Islam in the Constitution and national laws should be stopped;

  • The mass media should be ethical, professional and firm in not taking sides in issues involving Islam and not advocate the view of Malaysia as not being an Islamic state and Islamic practices as a merely matter of private morality. The media is also urged to give space for the Islamic religious authorities to express their perspectives and not sideline the voice of mainstream Islam;

  • Religious rights and freedoms should be understood in the framework of Islam, not according to individual inclinations;

  • All state and federal legislative assemblies should pass enactments that prevent the propagation to Muslims of religions other than Islam, and these should be implemented immediately.

  • The government should reject efforts of the West and non-governmental organisations to coopt and use local NGOs, members of the academic, and individuals to influence laws and policies connected to Islam;

  • Statements of support by certain Muslim leaders that Islam is an individual and private matter are of concern;

  • Malaysian Bar Council has taken a partisan stand without considering the views of Muslim lawyers who make up more than 40 percent of the Malaysian Bar. The Council, in the name of human rights, has interfered in Islamic matters and this goes against the objectives of the founding of the Council.

    • Azmi said the resolutions would be submitted to the Council of Malay Rulers, the prime minister, members of Parliament and state legislators.

    Brewing tensions

    The forum came on the heels of moves by Islamic groups to mobilise and gather support against what they perceive as efforts by certain quarters to weaken Islam.

    Recently, Muslim civil and Syariah lawyers set up a group called ' Lawyers in Defense of Islam ' (PPI). Days later, several Islamic non-governmental organisations formed a coalition called 'Pembela' (defenders).

    Tensions have been brewing over the efforts by lawyers and NGOs, such as the Article 11 coalition (named after an article on the Federal Constitution on religious freedom), to call for a review of the Islamisation process.

    An Article 11 public forum in Johor Baru last Saturday proceeded without any untoward incidents despite the presence of protestors