It appears strange that some have conveniently labeled all those who have argued against the inherently unjust and un-Islamic nature of the Jawi raid as 'liberals'. If they appear to be liberal, it is because Islam to them is liberal.

Many proponents of the Jawi raid equate mere presence in nightclubs with vice. Does merely drinking coke and listening to music or meeting up with non-Muslim business associates and potential clients amount to vice?

Or being unfortunate enough to pick up a friend at the wrong time, vice? If so, a Muslim is deemed guilty by mere assumption of presence in such a premise. Does this assumption augur well with Islamic teachings which warn against thinking ill of others?

Even if he or she were drinking or dancing with the opposite sex, isn't that between him (or her) and Allah? Should Muslims be given the right to dictate the lives of other Muslims on the pretensions of 'mencegah yang mungkar'?

Or vice-prevention by violating the God-given rights to privacy and of a 'no compulsion' practice?

A Muslim who drinks is highly unlikely to stop drinking on the account of Jawi or any other moral police or even the Syariah law. If at all, it may just strengthen his or her resolve to drink much more and indulge in all other activities that the moral police are supposedly to deter.

This just to defy attempts to restrict the every day lives of Muslims in Malaysia. Hence, the Jawi raids, are not only un-Islamic but counterproductive.

But such raids will definitely receive the attention of the foreign media and will not only reinforce the image of Islam of being a intolerant and cruel religion but will also effectively deter potential tourists from visiting Malaysia.

Why visit a country where your outing can be ruined by such raids when neighboring Asean nations ensure no such happenings? Tourism is not just a major revenue earner for Malaysia but also an industry which has high forward and backward linkages.

Simply put, it is an industry that creates many jobs for Malaysians as opposed to the lowest linkage creating industry such as private medical practice where a large portion of the earnings go to doctors who have the tendency to spend it overseas.

Dignity lies in giving people jobs that allows them a decent living which mere charity can never achieve. Hence, such raids as by Jawi are not only un-Islamic, counterproductive and bad for the image of Islam but also potentially disastrous for the economy in terms of employment, income distribution and structural change from manufacturing base to services.

Yousef Al-Qaradawi warned against the dangers of religious extremism and excessive behaviour in his essay 'Islamic awakening: Between rejection and extremism'. (First published in Arabic in 1981. Republished in English by the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), Cairo, 1991. Reproduced in Charles Kurzman, Liberal Islam: A Sourcebook , Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1998.)

Qardawi says the first indications of extremism include bigotry and intolerance, which make a person obstinately devoted to his own opinions and prejudices, as well as rigidity, which deprives him of clarity of vision regarding the interests of other human beings, the purposes of religious law and the circumstances of the age.

Such a person does not allow any opportunity for dialogue with others so that he may compare his opinion with theirs, and chooses to follow what appears to him most sound.

'We equally condemn this person's attempt to suppress and discard the opinions of others Indeed, we emphatically condemn his attitude if he claims that he alone is right and everybody else is wrong, accusing those who have different ideas and opinions of ignorance and self-interest, and those with different behaviour of disobedience and sin ' (pg. 199)

Another characteristic of extremism manifests itself in a perpetual commitment to excessiveness, and in attempts to force others to do likewise, elaborates Qardawi.

'(Another) characteristic of extremism manifests itself in harshness in the treatment of people, roughness in the manner of approach, and crudeness in calling people to Islam, all of which are contrary to the Qur'an and Sunnah'. (pg 200)

'God, the most exalted, commands us to call to Islam and his teachings with wisdom, not with foolishness; with amicability, not with harsh words .'

Qardawi reminds that (the call to Islam) cannot succeed without wisdom and amicability, and without taking into consideration human nature. These characteristics necessitate the exercise of kindness and gentleness when attempting to reach man's heart and mind '... so that his hardness can be softened, his rigidity abated and his pride checked.' (pg. 201)