KUALA LUMPUR – Despite the backlash on social media, Viva Palestina Malaysia (VPM) chairman Datuk Dr Musa Mohd Nordin is standing by his order to remove a poster degrading Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and to discourage participants of the Freedom for Palestine rally from chanting “takbir”.
VPM is one of the organisers of the pro-Palestine rally at Dataran Merdeka today.
Dr Musa told Scoop that while he has yet to read the “obnoxious” comments on social media, those angry over his conduct at the rally are “small-minded” and have failed to understand the “bigger picture” of the Israel-Palestine war.
“The poster (of Netanyahu) was considered provocative by my security team. I told him (man with the poster) to take it down and that if he insists on holding it up, he can start his own rally.
“(The poster) did not reflect our adab (manners) or decorum in VPM whereby we maintain our standards of ethics, even when emotions run high.”
He also denied labelling those with posters depicting Netanyahu as a “devil” as “Zionists”, instead claiming that he had merely told the crowd to “not stoop to the level of Zionists”.
“I didn’t say he was a Zionist. I said that we should not drop to the level of Zionist discourse. We are people of the heavens, we are Muslims (with) high standards of manners propagated by our Prophet.
“The Prophet was oppressed, yet he maintained his language, attitude and decorum.”
Dr Musa said a separate group of Palestinian citizens present at the rally were also involved in “provocations”, causing the event’s security personnel to threaten them with police action.
“I think they (a group of Palestinian attendees) were not interested in listening to the talks, they kept interrupting (speeches). My security told them: ‘If you misbehave, we will have no choice but to report you to the police, and this may threaten your stay in Malaysia’.”
He denied disallowing the crowd from chanting the takbir – which is the name for the Arabic phrase “Allahu Akbar” – highlighting that the rally today was meant to be an event open to people of various backgrounds.
“We (VPM) made an official statement that (the rally) is for a multiracial and multi-religious community. We want everyone to be involved in the chants, so if you (chant) the takbir, then you are isolating the non-Muslims in the crowd.
“(Attendees who insist on chanting the takbir) are people who can be quite conservative and extremist. I think they come from a background of conservatism (where the Israel-Palestine war) is perceived as being all about Muslims and the Jewish (community).
“I did not make any mention of stopping takbir chants, but the ground rules (of the rally) were very clear from the start. They think they can express their Islamism, but VPM is respectful of other religious groups.”
In a comment on a Facebook post criticising VPM, a user by the name of Syed Muhammad Shafiq Al-Husaini did not hold back his derision, claiming that he was one of the attendees “targeted” by rally organisers for holding up a poster of Netanyahu as a devil and chanting “takbir”.
“The placard I held up was not political. It stated the fact that Netanyahu is a war criminal. Why are we protecting the feelings of the United States and Israel? The demonstration was only a show (for organisers) to show that they’re part of the scene.
“Non-Muslims should be educated to understand that the takbir is a holy chant for Muslims that aims to unite. Organisers attempted to bring a humanitarian perspective, but they ended up being condescending of Islam. This was the most toothless Palestine solidarity gathering in the world.”
He added that after he was called out by Dr Musa, he decided to go home instead of remaining at a gathering with “rigid rules that downgrade intellectualism and freedom of speech”.
The Freedom for Palestine rally today was also organised by the non-governmental organisation MyCare and saw the attendance of about 10,000 participants, who were seen displaying their solidarity by dressing in Palestinian colours – red, white, green and black – while waving the state’s flag.
According to a security staffer, up to 60 police officers were on duty to maintain peace during the rally. – October 22, 2023