MALAYSIA'S YOUNGEST MUFTI PROMOTES TOLERANCE AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000560

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PINR KISL MY
SUBJECT: MALAYSIA'S YOUNGEST MUFTI PROMOTES TOLERANCE AND
REFORM

REF: 06 KUALA LUMPUR 2080

SUMMARY
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1. The recently appointed Mufti of Perlis, Mohd Asri Zainul
Abidin, who at the age of only 35 is Malaysia's youngest
state religious leader, is challenging the conservative trend
line of Islam in Malaysia. With excellent Middle Eastern and
Malaysian educational credentials, Asri advocates for
individuals' rights to interpret their religion and
propagates approaches to the Quran in line with modern
circumstances. As he struggles to reverse the hold that
conservatives have held over the Muslim community, he
continues to draw both praise and criticism. It is no small
coincidence that the first mufti appointed since Abdullah
Badawi became prime minister is a young progressive whose
teachings coincide so closely with Abdullah's own concept of
Islam Hadhari. Accordingly, Asri's appointment as the Mufti
of Perlis has a much broader impact than one might assume
from his position in Malaysia's smallest state. The cleric's
youth, zeal, education, and progressive stance on Islam have
attracted national attention. Asri clearly represents
Abdullah's concept of Islam's future in Malaysia -
compassionate, progressive, egalitarian and firmly-footed in
the Quran. End Summary.

BREAKING THE CONSERVATIVE HOLD ON ISLAM
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2. Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, 35, the youngest person in the
country to hold the post of mufti is a Penang-born religious
scholar. He is married and has four children. Mohd Asri
completed his Bachelor of Arts from University of Jordan
before obtaining his Masters of Arts degree from Malaysian
Science University, Penang. He later earned a PhD from the
International Islamic University of Malaysia. His areas of
expertise include the Hadith, Science of Hadith fiqh,
methodologies of fiqh, Quranic exigencies, Quranic studies,
Arabic language and Islamic history. Mohd Asri was a
lecturer at the Malaysian Science University from 2003 until
November 1, 2006, when he was appointed the Mufti of Perlis.


3. As mufti, Asri's role is to advise the Sultan of Perlis
and the Perlis state government on all matters of Islamic
law. Although Perlis is Malaysia's smallest state, Asri has
attracted much media attention for preaching moderation and a
more flexible interpretation of Islam. The views advocated
by Asri have created a stir among his more conservative mufti
colleagues from the other states. He stated in an interview
recently that the biggest challenge before the Muslim
community was to "overhaul the hold that the conservatives
have exercised over the Muslim community."

"ISLAM LIGHT AND EASY"
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4. In his recent interview with Malaysia's independent
online news portal, Malaysiakini, Mohd Asri laments that
radical interpretations and Quaranic quotes taken out of
context have confused many mainstream Malaysian Muslims.
Muslims should, according to Asri, challenge their leaders
and the religious "experts" and reject radicalism.
Explaining his point of view, he stated, "...the
interpretations of the Quran and Sunnah (even) by the
religious experts are open to evaluation. When someone
evaluates your interpretation, it does not mean he is
rejecting the Quran and the Sunnah. He is merely rejecting
your understanding of it." It is the nature of the Quran,
according to Asri, to allow Muslims to question and challenge
their religious leaders about the teachings and practices of
Islam.


5. Asked about his personal agenda and his task, Mohd Asri
told Malaysiakini that he is not trying to renew the Quran
and Sunnah himself (by deciding what is authentic or what is
not) but he is only renewing the understanding of the Quran
and Sunnah and trying to change the approach used by Muslims
to understand their religion. He contends that Islam should
be explained by the use of modern words and meanings and by
approaches that are more in line with the current
environment. Asri has expressed his desire to push Islam
towards modernity and away from extremism. He proposes a
different reading of the Islamic sacred texts to create a
modern and compassionate Islam. "I explain Islam in a simple
manner. It is Islam light and easy. I use rational
discussions and ideas to influence. I do not scold them
(fellow Muslims)."


6. Mohd Asri does not blame non-Muslims for misunderstanding

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Islam. Instead, he lays the blame on the shoulders of
Muslims themselves "who through their attitudes, their
appearance and their focus on petty issues have portrayed
Islam as a backward religion." He teaches that Muslims have
perpetuated such negative attitudes by turning non-religious
matters into religion.

ASRI RANKLES RELIGIOUS CONSERVATIVES
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7. Asri recently spoke out against Malaysia's conservative
efforts to enforce its religious laws through "khalwat
raids." Khalwat is defined as an "immoral activity" in a
secluded area or confined place by Muslim man or a woman with
another partner or partners who are not their legal spouse or
close relative. State religious departments employ officers
to enforce Islamic moral codes and to haul violators before a
Shariah court for judgment. Mohd Asri mentioned the October
2006 incident where an older American couple on a sailing
holiday in Malaysia encountered such a raid by religious
police. Their hotel room was raided by Islamic authorities
who refused to believe they were Christians and had been
married for 42 years (reftel). Mohd Asri said, "It is an
embarrassment to Islam to see religious officers going to
hotels and demanding the guest list. Islam does not
encourage people to look for acts of sin and to invade an
individual's privacy is against Islam." He explained that he
condemns khalwat raids simply because Islam considers it
"haram" to snoop or invade people's privacy. "If there are
immoral activities, then we have to stop them, but if someone
is hiding, then there is no need to bang on their doors," he
added.


8. Consequently, Asri has been the target of criticism by
more than a few conservative muftis, as well as the
opposition party- Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS). Some PAS
critics have described Asri as an "UMNO stooge" or "UMNO's
pimp," and lambasted him for advocating "Do It Yourself
Islam" (for suggesting that the interpretation of the Quran
and Sunnah by the religious experts are open to evaluation).
Indeed, he has been generally castigated by the conservative
religious movement. Responding to these criticisms, Asri
stated, "I am open and prepared to be criticized. I am ready
to discuss and debate with anyone who has knowledge of Islam.
But name calling and crude language is a reflection of the
lowest level of intellect."


9. Conservative NGOs and politicians in the ruling
government have joined the bandwagon in criticizing Asri's
progressive interpretations of Islam and have accused him of
further confusing Malaysian Muslims. The Islamic NGO Teras
Pengupayaan Melayu (Teras, Malay Empowerment Group) president
Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid publicly expressed his resentment
towards Mohd Asri's views. He claimed that Asri's liberal
mindset may bring more confusion to Muslims, and he
criticized similar liberal thinkers "who normally neglect the
need to curb immoral activities and punish wrongdoers." Dr.
Abdullah Mohamed Zin, a minister in the Prime Minister's
Department, also chided Asri and urged him to avoid making
statements that may bring confusion to Muslims. President of
the Malaysian Shari'a Lawyers Association, Zainul Rijal Abu
Bakar and a former religious officer to the King, Dr. Abu
Hassan Din, both urged Asri to discuss with other shari'a
lawyers or those with expertise in the religion before
issuing public statements on espe
cially controversial issues.

CHALLENGING THE OLD GUARD
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10. Not one to back away from his principles, Asri has
publicly engaged more conservative muftis on their
Malay-centric interpretation of Islam in Malaysia. In one
example, the Malaysian Chinese Muslim Association (MCMA) had
proposed to build a new mosque for the Chinese Muslim
community of Perak. They had been waiting for the past three
years for approval from the state government, all to no
avail. Their original petition was initially rejected by
more conservative muftis, most vocally the Mufti of Perak,
Harrusani Zakaria. Harrusani declared that building
different mosques (for both the Malays and the Chinese) would
only segregate Muslims. Asri rejected these excuses outright
and made it clear that the idea that Islam in Malaysia must
be Malay in all forms was wrong. He said it was unfair of
state governments to deny permits to the Chinese Muslims
based on the mistaken concept that Islam could only mean
Malay language sermons, customs and traditions. Such
conservative ideas, according to Asri, discouraged
non-Muslims from wanting to know about Islam and at the same
time denied the non-Malay Muslims the right to hear Friday

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sermons in their mother tongue. Asri reminded his fellow
muftis that "Chinese from China have been Muslim hundreds of
years before the Malays accepted Islam. I believe state
authorities should give permission for Chinese Muslims to
build their mosques." Asri stressed that "It's the faith
that matters, not race." Asri added that if the state
government was not willing to fund the construction of a
Chinese mosque, he was prepared to raise donations from the
public to do so. Asri's argument seems to have taken hold,
and Harussani later backed down from his opposition to the
Chinese mosques.

ON INTER-RELIGIOUS DISCOURSE
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11. Asri has stated that contrary to the tendency of many
Muslims to react negatively to questions and criticisms of
their religion, Islam teaches just the opposite response is
required. Islam, according to Asri, accords its detractors
space to articulate their doubts and arguments. He points to
a citation in the Quran, "Bring forth your arguments if you
are indeed truthful," and "summon your witnesses other than
Allah if you are indeed truthful," to justify his argument.
Unlike many other religious officials in Malaysia, Asri is
prepared and willing to engage non-Muslims on practically
all issues.

CONCLUSION AND COMMENT
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12. Asri's four-month tenure as the Mufti of Perlis has
already led the public to two distinct conclusions: liberals
consider him a breath of fresh air while conservatives have
accused him of "reinventing Islam." Such criticisms are not
unique to Asri as Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi has also
been the subject of similar complaints -- that he, too, has
tried to reinvent Islam through his concept of Islam Hadhari.
It seems to be no small coincidence that the first mufti
appointed since Abdullah became prime minister is a young
progressive whose teachings coincide so closely with
Abdullah's concept of Islam Hadhari. Accordingly, Asri's
appointment as the Mufti of Perlis has a much broader impact
than one might assume from his platform in Malaysia's
smallest state. His youth, education, and progressive
stances on Islam have been given a national forum. The
young, articulate cleric's solid Middle Eastern and Malaysian
educational credentials provide him with a firm basis to
challenge the conservatives' conclusions and offer
alternatives. Asri appears to represent Abdullah's concept
of Islam's future in Malaysia --compassionate, progressive,
egalitarian and firmly-footed in the Quran.
SHEAR