KUALA LUMPUR – Penang Mufti Datuk Seri Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor said that it is “imprudent” for politicians to ride on the agenda of “perjuangan Islam” (Islamic struggle), given the multicultural and multireligious makeup of Malaysia’s society.
This was his response to recent remarks by Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Mohd Nassuruddin Daud, who suggested that Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) representatives in the state are unaligned with the religious cause.
“In a pluralistic country such as Malaysia, it might be unwise to go around spreading the narrative of (having to) fight for Islam,” Wan Salim told Scoop.
“Instead, in order to establish Islam’s standing in the nation, it is more vital for Muslims to personally practice Islamic teachings in their daily lives and while governing the nation.
“Any individual or group can claim to fight for Islam, but this assertion must be proven in the way they go about their administrative duties,” he added.
He also reminded the public that Islam is not upheld through mere “slogans”, but rather by how adherents practice the religion’s principles in their responsibilities.
Highlighting the distinction between Islam as a religion and an Islamic-based party, Wan Salim said that failure to adhere to the latter does not mean that one is a sinner or a non-believer.
“Islam is a sacred mission sourced from divine revelations. An Islamic party, on the other hand, is merely a human creation that acts as a vehicle to fight for Islam or to implement religious teachings through the country’s administration,” he said.
“It is not a sin, nor does it make you a kafir (non-believer), if you do not support an Islamic party.
“Only ketaksuban (bigotry) would drive someone to draw parallels between subjects of human engineering and divine creation,” he added.
While thanking voters during a ceramah last Friday over Perikatan Nasional’s performance at the recent state polls, Nassuruddin lamented the coalition’s failure to achieve a clean sweep in Kelantan.
He then suggested that people can look to BN and PH-held seats in the state if they are asked about leaders who are against “perjuangan Islam”.
Subsequently, BN’s Galas assemblyman, Mohd Syahbuddin Hashim, and PH’s Hafidzah Mustakim of Kota Lama said they would file a suit if Nassuruddin fails to apologise for his comments.
Nassuruddin has since doubled down on his remarks by telling the two assemblymen to cease being “overly sensitive”, while claiming that his words had been twisted. – August 22, 2023