Last Sunday, former mufti of Perlis, Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin was arrested while in the midst of a religious discourse for not possessing the required tauliah (permission) from the religious authorities in Selangor.

Following his widely publicized arrest, politicians from the opposing sides rose to his defence, while Muslims non-governmental organisations (NGO) have been divided.

A group of 13 Muslim NGO's led by the Syarie Lawyers Association of Malaysia (PGSM) had also submitted a memorandum to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong

They were against the inclusion of his name as one of those proposed to fill the vacant post of president of the Islamic Da'wah Foundation of Malaysia on the grounds that he had insulted certain Islamic scholars.

NONE Malaysiakini spoke to Asri yesterday where he explained what led him to believe that there is a conspiracy against him, on being linked toWahabism and the tauliah issue as well as what Islamic governance means.

Below are the edited excerpts of the interview.

Malaysiakini: You have spoken about a conspiracy behind your arrest. Could you please elaborate on that and the reasons behind it?

Asri

:The way that I was arrested did not make sense. There was a huge number of police personnel and more than 30 JAIS officers who came to arrest me. They even wanted to handcuff me.

And when we reached the police station, there was no investigation but my name and address was taken, and I was requested to appear in the court the next morning.

The next day in court, nobody was waiting for us and we did not know what was going on. We waited until 1pm before being told that there were no charges or investigation. So why was there such a huge troop of officials during my arrest?

Do you have any enemies or someone whom you might have offended?

My criticisms are never against individuals, and I do not hold grudges against anyone. I have criticised and give my opinions on various issues in all parties whether it's PAS, PKR, Umno or a religious party but when we meet in person; we have always been on good terms.

When do you think the conspiracy against you started? Is it before or after your appointment as the Perlis Mufti, or is this ongoing?

There was a letter released by JAIS during my appointment as the mufti, which says that all muftis are allowed to deliver religious talks in Selangor, except Perlis.

However, I had not responded to this letter, because I realise that some parties might not be happy with me. I guess my views are sometimes different from the conventional.

Were you targeted because of the different schools of thought in the religion?

NONE If it has anything to do with the different views in our religion, then I am really disappointed. When the world is taking on issues about diversity, different opinions, freedom of speech but, here we have a religious body taking action against someone who only has a different opinion.

Is this what our religion is about? Only power crazy dictators will see that the difference in opinions is a threat. It is an abominable thing to stop those who have different views from talking.

What are your recommendations with regards to the tauliah system in Malaysia?

First, back to the basics of Islam. Secondly, we have to understand that principally, humans have the right to speak.

Therefore, if someone is a PhD holder and has high level of education in religion, then we should not enforce tauliah on them, and we can assume that they have the authorisation to give speeches.

If you really need to enforce the tauliah system, enforce it against people who have had no formal religious training.

The current system is as such where, it seems like everyone would need a tauliah , including teachers, motivational speakers and university lecturers.

This is an infringement of our basic democratic rights. There should be a reform, not just in Selangor but the whole country!

So you have not applied for tauliah because you do not recognize this system?

Well, that is one thing. And another is, since there have been a conspiracy against me coupled with the fact that I am no longer a mufti, can you imagine how difficult it will be for me to obtain the tauliah ? In Selangor, I have seen many PhD holders whose applications for tauliah were rejected.

Is the tauliah a new form of control in religion?

They are trying to stop everyone from voicing their opinions. This is not just a control of the Islamic voice; they are preventing the growth and teachings of Islam and taking away the rights that Allah have given to us to speak the truth.

Selangor which is seen as trying to reform and fight for rights and freedom, unfortunately such restrictions are imposed on us.

That means that this tauliah system is unIslamic?

The policies that stop people from talking, and religion that requires tauliah is definitely not Islamic. Even people with Islamic knowledge and accreditation are stopped from making speeches.

But if they take action against those who slander and give wrong information on Islam, then it is acceptable.

Should we just make amendments to it or do away with tauliah ?

Both ways are acceptable. Either we do away with tauliah or we only take action against those who have been proven guilty of abusing the freedom or we can make tauliah compulsory only to those who have no formal certification of Islamic studies.

What about the Muslim non governmental orgnisations (NGOs), especially those involved in the submission of the memorandum to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong against you?

NONE The president of Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) has visited me to explain that they have no problems with me personally, and it is about different ideas, before it was submitted.

I told him that it is acceptable to submit a memorandum as it is our right to do so in democratic country, but just make sure that the facts are right.

But I never looked at the original document, but the released letter was different from what he had told me.

However, I was informed that some members of JIM and Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim) were not happy with the memorandum. Apparently the memorandum is the action of a few individuals (who are against me).

I do not think that the Muslim NGOs have lied. I accept it, if they said that some of my views are not accepted by the Islamic traditionalist. But they said that I had insulted the Imams and disregarded Hadiths , and these are all serious lies!

If this is not the fault of the Muslim NGOs, why are you still suing them?

But they did send the memorandum. If they claimed that they are not involved, they should write me a letter, explain and apologise publicly.

But the ones who signed, which is the Syariah Lawyers Association of Malaysia (PGSM) should bear direct responsibility.

Can you elaborate further about the allegation that you have no syariah qualification?

NONE If I was accused of polygamy, it might be difficult to prove but for this allegation, I can easily show them my certification. I cannot understand how they can make such ridiculous allegation.

Have they checked the qualifications of other muftis in Malaysia? Where do they get their certification from? So why are they bringing this up?

I feel like I am arguing with a child and it is embarrassing.

You have been called a Wahabi follower. What are the distinctive features of a Wahabi follower?

First we would need to know what a Wahabi is, so they (religious authority) have to define it. Then I will know whether I am a Wahabi. So what is Wahabism?

It cannot be that just because you have different opinions, you are a Wahabi. This seems to be the action of those who want to exert control over others and stop people from having their own opinions.

So you do agree with the Wahabi label?

I am a fundamentalist and progressive. Take Islam as it is, so that we practise the religion like in the time of the prophet Muhammad s.a.w. but at the same time we must progress and be able to give opinions which can tackle current issues. So Islam can live in this age and time, without its basic principles being compromised.

What do you think when they call you a liberal?

If being liberal means leaving behind the fundamentals, I do not agree because I hold strongly to that. But if being liberal means that I am liberalising myself away from the fanatical and baseless religious views, then I am a liberal.

It is important to hold on to the Islamic principles and reject fanatical ideas that subdue the mind.

So you will not join any political party and remain as an independent?

Nobody can guarantee the future, but so far I have no intentions.

Do you think that the idea of Islam unity and Malay unity is an ideal government?

Of course the Muslim brotherhood could be a foundation, but we must make sure that important Islamic principles like justice and peace have been adhered to.

On the other hand, if our unity will cause evil and pain to others, it is not acceptable. So we must look at this issue in a comprehensive way.

Some have said that it is better to have a leadership who is an evil Muslim compared to a kafir who rule fairly or vice versa. What do you think?

This is a very sensitive issue. Firstly, the reason we have leaders is because we want justice. In Islam, it is important that a leader is religious because, when they are afraid of God, then we hope that they will be fair.

Logically, we will think that this person will be a fair and good leader but it all boils down to the principles of justice. If someone is very religious, but do not have the will and leadership to bring justice, then he is not a qualified leader.

Ex-mufti: 'Tauliah' is against Islam

Related reports

Muslim lawyers group to apologise to ex-mufti

Ex-mufti: Conspiracy not political, but religious

VIDEOS

Part 1 l 9 mins

Part 2 l 9 mins

Part 3 l 10 mins

Part 4 l 11 mins