PAS and Sisters of Islam (SIS) should 'thrash out' issues among themselves instead of going public with their grievances, said two Muslim organisations.

They said everyone has the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and beliefs and to exercise those rights in the best way they see fit, but it would prevent sensitivities from being affected if Muslim groups consulted among themselves before taking 'unilateral' actions.

"I'm all for Muslim organisations coming together and thrashing things out among themselves. Are you aware of any discussion between SIS and PAS? It doesn't show to me that we have been doing that," said Muslim Professionals Forum (MPF) director Zainal Abidin Jamal

"The general view is that when it comes to Islamic matters, we should be talking amongst ourselves rather than going out and saying things which can give rise to a lot of problems, especially when non-Muslims come in and join the bandwagon," he added when contacted.

PAS and SIS have been locking horns over the call to repeal Syariah enactments. PAS Youth, which organised rallies to protest this on Friday, has accused SIS of advocating 'extremist' positions and called for the organisation to be banned.

Zainal defended the PAS Youth rally on the grounds that it is the party's modus operandi.

"Certainly PAS is a political party which is seen to be championing the Islamic cause. Naturally, they can certainly be expected to be unhappy if somebody says 'repeal the Syariah offences'. That is a natural thing, otherwise they would not be seen as championing their cause," he said.

Effective way

Zainal said considering the limited space that is usually accorded to PAS to air their views and counter arguments, the opposition party conducted the rallies as it believed it was the best way to get the message across.

However, both SIS and PAS could have discussed differences of views and deliberate on issues before going public with their criticism, he added.

"I would prefer for PAS to engage in discussion and intellectual response, but then not everybody reads (its newspaper or online daily) and what you say may not be published (elsewhere). So probably they consider this to be the most effective way for them

"Is this not the way that they have been conducting themselves? I don't see this as any different. If they're not happy with America, they do the same thing. That's their modus operandi, isn't it?" he added.

SIS has received considerable flak since spearheading moves to revise the Syariah enactments in the hope of repealing those provisions that allegedly infringe on privacy, freedom of speech and expression, and those that overlap with the federal Penal Code.

Protests culminated last week when PAS Youth wing leaders, during Friday's rallies held simultaneously outside several mosques throughout the country, read out declarations censuring SIS.

Among the PAS Youth leaders' calls included demands on the religious authorities to de-register SIS and ask it to apologise for issuing statements that were allegedly against Islamic teachings and the precepts of the Federal Constitution

Good opportunity

Meanwhile, Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) president Zaid Kamaruddin who agreed with Zainal on the importance of dialogue, also expressed hope that the debate over public morality could serve as a catalyst for Muslim groups to engage each other on matters of common concern.

"This is a good opportunity, as the call of repealing and changing the Syariah laws has touched on the raw nerves of the Muslim community. Most non-governmental organisations (NGO) engage each other ideologically, philosophically, and intellectually," he said when contacted.

"The question is how we deal with difference of opinions, but many Muslims have come together in coalition," he added, referring to the Allied Coordinating Committee of Islamic NGOs.

Questioning PAS on the benefit of criticising SIS while scrutinising its beliefs and sincerity, Zaid said there was a need for Muslim groups such as SIS to address the general decline in morality and values.

"We should be looking at larger issues as working together to bring about good morality in our society and bringing Muslims back to a sense of moral rectitude," he added.