PAS slammed for backing deviant ulama

comments     Susan Loone     Published     Updated

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today criticised opposition party PAS for backing deviant" ulama (religious scholars), which has caused disunity within the countrys Muslim community.

Mahathir said the ulama should be open to criticism as they are normal human beings who are not absolved from all types of sins and are capable of making mistakes concerning interpretations of Islam.

Many who claim to be ulama are actually not ulama . In truth their knowledge of religion is shallow, some are bad and claim to be ulama for their own selfish reasons, said the premier in Parliament today.

These are the people who often confuse the Muslim community, he added during the question-and-answer session in Parliament this morning.

Mahathir was replying to a question posed by parliamentary opposition leader and PAS president Fadzil Noor who asked him about his anti- ulama attitude when delivering a speech at the recent World Economic Forum in New York City recently.

Fadzil wanted to know whether Mahathir had expressed his personal views or those of the government.

Selfish interests

Mahathir replied that his speech in New York was not anti- ulama but was directed to those who advance their own selfish interests in the name of Islam.

[I spoke] against those who attempt to split the Muslims and make them enemies, deviant ulama who prefer to scold others and call them barua (pawns), those who say others are anti- ulama and ask questions to benefit their political interests, he clarified.

Mahathir said there were ulama such as religious heads Hanafi, Hambali, Maliki, Shafie and Bukhari in history who were considered so not because of their qualifications but due to their deep knowledge about Islam and their sincerity in promoting the interests of the religion.

But there are ulama who preach Islam differently from the ulama who are recognised by the state and this has led to disunity in the Muslim community, he said.

These are political ulama who are willing to misinterpret Islam for political reasons, he added.

Mahathir said the political ulama conveniently kafirkan (make infidels of) Muslims not because of Islam but because of their politics.

If they are criticised, they get angry and accused people of being anti- ulama . They do not want to be criticised when they are wrong. But they can criticise other ulama and even call them barua , he added.

Uproar in the House

House speaker Mohamad Zahir Ismail had a hard time trying to calm PAS members of Parliament who kept interrupting the premier during his reply.

But Mahathir seemed amused by their antics and asked, "Are you afraid of hearing my answers?".

Fadzil (PAS-Pendang) interjected with further questions. He said there were only ulama akhirat dan duniawi (heavenly and earthly scholars).

When you speak about political ulama , it is like spitting on your own face. You have upset the feelings of many leaders in the Muslim world who are capable of leading modern Islamic nations, he told Mahathir.

Mahathir said he had not been criticised by other leaders except the ones in front of me, referring to opposition MPs, mainly PAS.

When I spoke in New York, many actually supported me including leaders of many Muslim countries, he added.

Of course, I do not expect to be supported by the barua here, he quipped.



Malaysiakini
news and views that matter


Sign In