PUTRAJAYA (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin has called on the government to engage the followers of Shia Islam amid the government’s recent crackdown on the religion minority, which saw several Shiite practitioners charged in court.
“We should handle it a bit better. We should engage these people before we crackdown on them,” Khairy told FMT.
“We have to find a more moderate basis. (Making an arrest) is an option for the government but the process of engagement is important.”
The Youth and Sports Minister, however, was non-committal when asked whether Shi’ism should be deemed illegal in Malaysia where the authorities only subscribe to Sunni Islam.
Khairy’s name was found on the signatory list of the Amman Messages, an initiative by the King of Jordan to promote diversity in Islam and oppose discrimination against Shia and other non-Sunni Muslims.
Other Malaysian leaders and scholars who signed the accord in 2005 included the then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi; Perlis Menteri Besar Shahidan Kassim; and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
The Amman Messages compel signatories to recognise schools of jurisprudence within the Sunni, Shia, Ibadi and Thahiri expessions of Islam
The first point of the agreement declared: “Whosoever is an adherent to one of the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i and Hanbali ), the two Shi‘i schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Ja‘fari and Zaydi), the Ibadi school of Islamic jurisprudence and the Thahiri school of Islamic jurisprudence, is a Muslim. Declaring that person an apostate is impossible and impermissible.”
The third point pertained to the issuance and limitation of fatwas.
“No one may issue a fatwa without the requisite personal qualifications, which each school of Islamic jurisprudence determines [for its own adherents],” it read.
In recent weeks, Malaysian religious authorities have taken steps to curb Shia practitioners in the country.
On Tuesday, two individuals including a female doctor, Nur Azah Abdul Halim, were charged with possession of documents and books on Shia teachings at the Taiping syariah court.
If found guilty, Nur Azah, 41 and Mohammad Ridzuan Yusof, 31, could be fined RM3,000 or sentenced to two years jail or both.
Meanwhile, the Johor Religious Department (JAJ) claimed it had detected the presence of over 1,000 Shia followers in Johor with many of them active in Johor Baharu and Kluang districts.
In Kuala Terengganu, the state religious department claimed the group was spreading the Shia ideology especially among the students of institutions of higher learning (IPT) and professional groups in the state.
Also on Tuesday, Minister in the Prime Minister Department Jamil Khir Baharom who is in charge if Islamic affairs, said followers of Shia Islam were allowed to practice their religion in Malaysia but not to propagate it among local Muslims.
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“We should handle it a bit better. We should engage these people before we crackdown on them,” Khairy told FMT.
“We have to find a more moderate basis. (Making an arrest) is an option for the government but the process of engagement is important.”
The Youth and Sports Minister, however, was non-committal when asked whether Shi’ism should be deemed illegal in Malaysia where the authorities only subscribe to Sunni Islam.
Khairy’s name was found on the signatory list of the Amman Messages, an initiative by the King of Jordan to promote diversity in Islam and oppose discrimination against Shia and other non-Sunni Muslims.
Other Malaysian leaders and scholars who signed the accord in 2005 included the then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi; Perlis Menteri Besar Shahidan Kassim; and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim.
The Amman Messages compel signatories to recognise schools of jurisprudence within the Sunni, Shia, Ibadi and Thahiri expessions of Islam
The first point of the agreement declared: “Whosoever is an adherent to one of the four Sunni schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i and Hanbali ), the two Shi‘i schools of Islamic jurisprudence (Ja‘fari and Zaydi), the Ibadi school of Islamic jurisprudence and the Thahiri school of Islamic jurisprudence, is a Muslim. Declaring that person an apostate is impossible and impermissible.”
The third point pertained to the issuance and limitation of fatwas.
“No one may issue a fatwa without the requisite personal qualifications, which each school of Islamic jurisprudence determines [for its own adherents],” it read.
In recent weeks, Malaysian religious authorities have taken steps to curb Shia practitioners in the country.
On Tuesday, two individuals including a female doctor, Nur Azah Abdul Halim, were charged with possession of documents and books on Shia teachings at the Taiping syariah court.
If found guilty, Nur Azah, 41 and Mohammad Ridzuan Yusof, 31, could be fined RM3,000 or sentenced to two years jail or both.
Meanwhile, the Johor Religious Department (JAJ) claimed it had detected the presence of over 1,000 Shia followers in Johor with many of them active in Johor Baharu and Kluang districts.
In Kuala Terengganu, the state religious department claimed the group was spreading the Shia ideology especially among the students of institutions of higher learning (IPT) and professional groups in the state.
Also on Tuesday, Minister in the Prime Minister Department Jamil Khir Baharom who is in charge if Islamic affairs, said followers of Shia Islam were allowed to practice their religion in Malaysia but not to propagate it among local Muslims.
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