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This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on August 7, 2017 - August 13, 2017

The “bin Abdullah” issue is still raging. By this, I mean the polemic between the people who support the National Registration Department’s (NRD) stance and those who oppose it.

As we know the Court of Appeal recently ruled that the NRD had overstepped its powers in using the surname “Abdullah” to register a Muslim child born out of wedlock instead of that of the child’s biological father.

The NRD decided to appeal to the Federal Court, insisting that it did no wrong as it was merely abiding by a National Fatwa Council edict on the matter. The edict gives its justifications for the decision, which I don’t intend to state here.

So, the NRD will file or, by the time you read this, has already filed its appeal — a move fully endorsed by its boss, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is deputy prime minister and home minister.

And Zahid not only supports the move but also calls on all Muslims to “unite” against “any parties who challenge the decisions and rulings of the National Fatwa Council”.

He stopped short of accusing those who question the council’s decisions of being anti-Islam. Still it sounded like a call to defend the Islamic faith.

And we also know that Zahid, in his capacity as home minister, signed an order banning a book produced by a group of eminent Malays — Group of 25 — last month.

The book, Breaking the Silence — Voices of Moderation: Islam in a Constitutional Democracy, is deemed “prejudicial to public order, opinion and interest” by the Home Ministry.

Lest we forget, the amendment to Act 355 is still “sitting” in Parliament, waiting for the next move.

We have also a law in Kelantan providing for the lashing of shariah offenders in public.

And, of course, we have groups that issue threats to people whose views on Islam differ from theirs, like lawyer Siti Kassim.

We even have a group that is calling for the arrest of Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir for “liking” a so-called pro-LGBT twitter account. I can go on and on, but enough said for now.

Hence, I need to ask: Are more and more Malays/Muslims in Malaysia becoming hardliners? Or are they being driven towards it? Or are we being led to become a hardline Islamic nation?

Zahid does not think so. In expressing his support (again) for the prime minister at an Umno event recently, he said it was because of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s “moderate Islamic policy”. Well ...

Now, moving on to Indonesia, a country with the largest Muslim population in the world. A few weeks ago, Hizbut Tahrir, a hardline Islamic group had its legal status revoked by the Indonesian government as its actions and the speeches made by its leaders suggested that the group is not “supportive of Indonesia’s founding ideologies” or Pancasila.

Pancasila promotes pluralism to maintain unity and oneness in the country, which Indonesians hold dearly to.

Hence, when Hizbut Tahrir, which supports a global caliphate powered by shariah law, was banned, the majority of Indonesians agreed.

Former president the late Abdurrahman Wahid, or popularly known as Gus Dur, had once said, “Indonesia negara beragama bukan negara agama (Indonesia is a country of many religions but not a religious country).”

Meanwhile, news of Kelantan wanting to allow shariah caning in public caught the attention of the Indonesian media (not to mention other international outfits).

Indonesian journalist Riza Nasser told me that the authorities in Aceh are reviewing the caning offenders in public as it has not been effective in “educating” the people and is not good for underage children to watch.

So Aceh is thinking of stopping public caning. I asked if I can conclude that Kelantan wants to implement something Aceh is thinking of discarding. “Maybe,” Riza smiled.

Not too long ago, I wrote in this column that the people in Aceh, who are staunch Muslims, are beginning to express their views that strict shariah laws are not friendly to investment and that priority should be given to the well-being of the province, and not just meting out sentences to people who indulge in vices.

And they highlighted that “Islam is not merely about punishment” — all that coming from a place where 99% of the population is Muslim.

But in multireligious and multiracial Malaysia, the powers that be seem to be singing a different tune and are seen as encouraging Muslims to sing the tune of the hardliners.


Mohsin Abdullah, a veteran journalist, is now a freelance writer. He was formerly executive producer with The Edge TV.

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