Amid a wave of terrorist attacks at home and abroad, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has urged Malaysians and the rest of the world to stand against extremist interpretations of Islam.

This includes the labelling of DAP as ‘kafir harbi’, as the Pahang mufti Abdul Rahman Osman had done.

“Malaysia and the world must stand guard against extremist interpretations of Islam, like turning Ramadan from a month of restraint and reflection into a month of war and conquests, or nearer home, the classification of DAP and non-Muslims as ‘kafir harbi’ who could be slain.

“Malaysia must show the world that Islam stands for moderation, peace, justice, harmony and not the bloody consequences of IS terrorism or the hatred, intolerance and bigotry of IS-like interpretation of Islamic doctrines and teachings,” he said in his Hari Raya Aidilfitri address last night.

In his brief statement, he noted the police’s confirmation on Monday that a grenade attack in Puchong a week earlier was perpetrated by the IS.

In the meantime, throughout the month of Ramandan, attacks allegedly linked to IS had been carried out around the world - in Indonesia, Bangladesh, Iraq, Jordan, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.

“Hari Raya 2016 will be held in a very sombre backdrop, both nationally and internationally,” he said.

The term ‘kafir harbi’ refers to non-Muslims who wage war against Islam, and it is believed that persons so-labelled are permissible to be killed.

Abdul Rahman has refused to retract his statement. However, he clarified that he was not referring to DAP alone, but anyone who opposes Islam.

He held that DAP was against Islamic law and aimed to establish a secular state, so he labelled them as ‘kafir harbi’. However, he has now said that while such persons must be challenged, it was not necessarily through bloodshed.

“Muslims should respond or defend Islam wisely and not necessarily through bloodshed and plunder.

“They must challenge. Challenge in this context is to defend Islam verbally and not to remain silent,” Bernama quoted him as saying yesterday, at a function where 20 NGOs met him to show solidarity for the controversial mufti.

The police are investigating him under the Sedition Act 1948 and have recorded his statement.