Asri running to Umno for protection?
Regina LeePublished: Jun 23, 2010 6:01 AM | Updated: Jun 23, 2010 9:01 AM
Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin’s rumoured move to join Umno has sparked a theory that the former Perlis mufti is seeking to shield himself against possible security crackdown on Jemaah Islamiah (JI) operations.
Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin's rumoured move to join Umno has sparked a theory that the former Perlis mufti is seeking to shield himself against possible security crackdown on Jemaah Islamiah (JI) operations.
It is suggested that the cleric is concerned about the renewed official alarm over the alleged ‘JI threat’ raised in a police briefing on Monday night.
At the briefing at a hotel in Sepang, Selangor, several key religious and political figures including himself were accused of being linked to Wahhabism - a non-mainstream Sunni school of thought in Malaysia.
Zamihan Mat Zin (left), a senior official at the Institut Latihan Islam Malaysia, which comes under the government’s Islamic Development Department (Jakim), allegedly made a presentation describing how JI members subscribed to Wahhabism.
Zamihan, it is said, subsequently named Asri, as well as Perlis’ present mufti Juanda Jaya, former menteri besar Shahidan Kassim and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, as alleged Wahhabis.
This connection sparked fears amongst some who were present that the JI crackdown would snowball into a witch-hunt on Wahhabis.
Wahhabism - a conservative and literalist school of Islamic thought originating in the Arabian peninsula in the 18th century - is not banned in the country.
However, it is “not encouraged” for its differences in practices from Malaysia’s mainly Shafii school.
The plot thickens
Speculation goes that Asri (right) and his followers had begun toying with the idea of joining Umno as early as January this year, after 10 foreign nationals were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for alleged JI links.
The 10 foreigners - mostly post-graduate and PhD students in various local universities - were allegedly linked to the 23-year-old Nigerian that US security officials claimed was responsible for the botched Christmas Day plane bombing in Michigan, US. The 10 were deported in February.
The affair escalated last Monday when inspector-general of police Musa Hassan announced that the 10 foreigners have been trying to recruit university students into JI.
He also linked them to a plot to blow up the Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang and the Sri Subramaniar Swamy Devasthanam temple at Batu Caves.
It is understood that the police are aware of the speculations around Mohd Asri’s motive for joining Umno.
Another Zamihan-Asri spat?
Another twist to the plot is that Zahiman’s standing feud with Asri, particularly over the issue of Wahhabism, is no secret.
Local religious authorities have long been suspicious of Wahhabis and their ideological affiliates Salafis.
For example, in June 2006, Selangor religious authorities arrested a Wahhabi, the well-known Medina-educated Islamic scholar Abdullah Yassin, for teaching without a certificate.
The ideological differences between Zamihan and Asri thus precipitated a spat that descended into personal attacks.
Zamihan, for instance, claimed last November that Asri’s degree in Syariah/Arabic from the University of Jordan was forged.
The Selangor religious authorities subsequently arrested Asri for conducting religious classes without proper certification.
Asri meanwhile claimed that he was a victim of a conspiracy authored by those who disagreed with his views.
Attempts to contact Zamihan for clarification so far were futile.
Hiding behind Umno
The intensifying move against Wahhabism is said to be the force behind Asri and his group’s drastic move to join Umno.
Umno Online reported last Saturday that the party’s executive secretary Abdul Rauf Yusof was positive that talks between senior Umno officials and religious scholar on membership would see positive results by the end of this week.
Abdul Rauf also claimed that Asri was amongst the 100 ulama expected to join Umno’s Dataran Merdeka branch of the Bukit Bintang division.
Sources revealed that Asri and several other figures met Abdul Rauf two nights ago to discuss the matter in detail.
Sources amongst the ulama however expressed scepticism that Umno can shield Asri and his allies should their link with JI ever be established.
Pakatan MPs including Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim have meanwhile written off the JI threat as an diversionary tactic to draw attention away from “the bigger issues”, such as the confusion regarding the legalisation of sports betting.
Sceptics of the alleged threat also include the Abolish the ISA Movement (GMI), who believe the government is raising the ‘JI terror’ alarm to manipulate public opinion in favour of maintaining the draconian ISA law.
It is suggested that the cleric is concerned about the renewed official alarm over the alleged ‘JI threat’ raised in a police briefing on Monday night.
At the briefing at a hotel in Sepang, Selangor, several key religious and political figures including himself were accused of being linked to Wahhabism - a non-mainstream Sunni school of thought in Malaysia.
Zamihan Mat Zin (left), a senior official at the Institut Latihan Islam Malaysia, which comes under the government’s Islamic Development Department (Jakim), allegedly made a presentation describing how JI members subscribed to Wahhabism. Zamihan, it is said, subsequently named Asri, as well as Perlis’ present mufti Juanda Jaya, former menteri besar Shahidan Kassim and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, as alleged Wahhabis.
This connection sparked fears amongst some who were present that the JI crackdown would snowball into a witch-hunt on Wahhabis.
Wahhabism - a conservative and literalist school of Islamic thought originating in the Arabian peninsula in the 18th century - is not banned in the country.
However, it is “not encouraged” for its differences in practices from Malaysia’s mainly Shafii school.
The plot thickens
Speculation goes that Asri (right) and his followers had begun toying with the idea of joining Umno as early as January this year, after 10 foreign nationals were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for alleged JI links.The 10 foreigners - mostly post-graduate and PhD students in various local universities - were allegedly linked to the 23-year-old Nigerian that US security officials claimed was responsible for the botched Christmas Day plane bombing in Michigan, US. The 10 were deported in February.
The affair escalated last Monday when inspector-general of police Musa Hassan announced that the 10 foreigners have been trying to recruit university students into JI.
He also linked them to a plot to blow up the Kek Lok Si Temple in Penang and the Sri Subramaniar Swamy Devasthanam temple at Batu Caves.
It is understood that the police are aware of the speculations around Mohd Asri’s motive for joining Umno.
Another Zamihan-Asri spat?
Another twist to the plot is that Zahiman’s standing feud with Asri, particularly over the issue of Wahhabism, is no secret.
Local religious authorities have long been suspicious of Wahhabis and their ideological affiliates Salafis.
For example, in June 2006, Selangor religious authorities arrested a Wahhabi, the well-known Medina-educated Islamic scholar Abdullah Yassin, for teaching without a certificate.
The ideological differences between Zamihan and Asri thus precipitated a spat that descended into personal attacks. Zamihan, for instance, claimed last November that Asri’s degree in Syariah/Arabic from the University of Jordan was forged.
The Selangor religious authorities subsequently arrested Asri for conducting religious classes without proper certification.
Asri meanwhile claimed that he was a victim of a conspiracy authored by those who disagreed with his views.
Attempts to contact Zamihan for clarification so far were futile.
Hiding behind Umno
The intensifying move against Wahhabism is said to be the force behind Asri and his group’s drastic move to join Umno.
Umno Online reported last Saturday that the party’s executive secretary Abdul Rauf Yusof was positive that talks between senior Umno officials and religious scholar on membership would see positive results by the end of this week.
Abdul Rauf also claimed that Asri was amongst the 100 ulama expected to join Umno’s Dataran Merdeka branch of the Bukit Bintang division.
Sources revealed that Asri and several other figures met Abdul Rauf two nights ago to discuss the matter in detail.
Sources amongst the ulama however expressed scepticism that Umno can shield Asri and his allies should their link with JI ever be established.
Pakatan MPs including Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim have meanwhile written off the JI threat as an diversionary tactic to draw attention away from “the bigger issues”, such as the confusion regarding the legalisation of sports betting.
Sceptics of the alleged threat also include the Abolish the ISA Movement (GMI), who believe the government is raising the ‘JI terror’ alarm to manipulate public opinion in favour of maintaining the draconian ISA law.
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