INTERVIEW Despite the ban 26 years ago on the book Hadis: Satu Penilaian Semula ( Hadith: A Re-evaluation ), its writings have left a lasting impression on several politicians including two former premiers.

NONE Its author Kassim Ahmad ( left in photo ) said his confidence in this issue stems from the belief that he is on the right path and eventually the Muslim community would digest the ideas which he had inked in the controversial book.

“In an interview then, I would have said in the future, 10 or 15 years later, (those who oppose) would find peace with me. They will accept my presence in the community. I feel that time has passed,” he told Malaysiakini in an interview at his Kulim home recently.

He said that New Straits Times, then led by A Samad Ismail, had given him an avenue to explain his stand through an interview with Adibah Amin, amid Muslim uproar over his very critical stance on hadith.

NONE Reminiscing on his banned book, Kassim claimed that many Umno leaders are comfortable with his hadith book and other works, including former premiers Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

However, he denied he joined Umno in 1986 to get political protection from these leaders.

Kassim said he joined the Malay party because the leftist bloc for which he had fought for so long had crumbled across the world in the 1980s.

“The book ( Hadith: A re-evaluation ) was banned two months after it was published. I joined Umno in 1986, the same year the book was published. Hence, if you say that I joined Umno to find protection from criticism it is incorrect, as it was at about the same time,” he said.

Kassim, a well-known left-wing leader who helmed Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia for 18 years, submitted his application form to Dr Mahathir himself soon after he gave a critical lecture on hadith in Kangar that year.

However, he left the nationalist party in 1995 to focus on writing.

The controversial works contains five chapters where Kassim is seen as dissecting and being critical of the hadith (sayings of the Prophet) including its contradictions with the Quran, science and history.

From correspondence to long camaraderie

Kassim explained that his relationship with Dr Mahathir initially started through correspondence via letters, and this was extended through discussions and exchanges of views.

NONE He said Dr Mahathir ( left ) was willing to write the foreword to his memoirs Mencari Jalan Pulang ( The Road Home , 2008), which among others highlighted his intellectual journey from being a leftist to a conservative and Islamist.

Kassim said besides Dr Mahathir and Abdullah, several other leaders who are said to have accepted his views are the late minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Hamid Othman and former PAS vice-president Nakhaie Ahmad, who later headed the Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia from 1990 to 2010.

“Nakhaie was once my staunchest critic four to five years ago. However, he later accepted my concept till today,” said Kassim.

Kassim said although Dr Mahathir started as his political rival, they became good friends and he in fact was happy with the book and suggested some improvements when it was still a manuscript.

NONE “Dr Mahathir called me at home. He said he was happy someone was writing on this issue,” he said, adding that the then-prime minister also had commented on his mistake in citing the wrong verse and chapter of the Quran.

Kassim said Dr Mahathir had suggested that the book be divided into two, the first being his criticisms  on hadith (sayings of the Prophet) and the second on his explanation, but as the author he rejected the idea.

He said Abdullah, meanwhile, had agreed that that the book be discussed intellectually, and this stand was against that taken by Pusat Islam (the Islamic Advancement Department).

“Pak Lah viewed that if there was a mistake, then we need to comment on it and correct it,” said Kassim, in commenting over the then-proposed debate between him and Pusat Islam.

Hamid Othman described it as a revolution

In commenting on Abdul Hamid’s views, Kassim said the late minister had described his action as a revolution similar to what he had done in his dissertation during the 1950s in Universiti Malaya Singapore, where he had challenged the traditional view of Malays who described Hang Tuah as a hero.

“Hamid told me, Kassim, previously you created a revolution regarding Hang Tuah, Hang Jebat. Now you are doing the same with the Al-Quran,” said Kassim on what the former minister had told him.

In commenting on opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, the controversial author looked stern and said, “He accepted my ideas in principle but later he joined with the ulama (religious scholars) to pressure me.”

Kassim, who initially moved through the Jemaah al-Quran Malaysia to promote his ideas, however, had problems in having it registered and decided to form a new group called Forum Iqra.

He has obtained sponsorship from an entrepreneur to conduct ceramah at various places including Singapore and Indonesia to promote his Islamic rationale.

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