Pahang mufti Abdul Rahman Osman has rued the response towards his ‘kafir harbi’ remarks, saying that fellow Muslims should have assisted him in explaining the term.

Hitting out at those who do not respect state muftis, Abdul Rahman said Islamic organisations and Muslims alike must assist in clarifying remarks made by state religious leaders.

“This is so that the non-Muslims would understand a particular matter and would not be confused,” he said at a press conference organised by the Gabungan NGO Islam Malaysia in Putrajaya today.

Explaining his controversial remarks in which he had called the DAP ‘kafir harbi’, Abdul Rahman said although the word ‘harbi’ means ‘war’, this might not have been what he had actually meant.

“I said those who oppose us, we can fight them. And fight here does not mean using machetes or pistols.

“What I meant by fighting was ideologically – it’s like our fight against drugs and poverty,” he said.

Muslims, he added, must fight against those who slandered Islam but this did not mean that such people must be shot.

“Muslims should have thought ‘oh, the mufti said this, maybe the mufti meant this or that’ but no, they said the mufti is wrong and should not have used that word,” he lamented.

Abdul Rahman was quoted by Utusan Malaysia in June as labelling DAP as 'kafir harbi'. Kafir harbi refers to non-believers who can be slain for waging war against Islam.

He was also quoted as warning that it is a cardinal sin for Muslims to collaborate with DAP, which has been vocal against the implementation of Islamic laws.

The mufti had clarified that his statement was not only directed at DAP but all those who opposed Islam.