The Anti-ISA Movement (AIM) has urged muftis nationwide to issue a fatwa (religious edict) o­n the cruelty of the Internal Security Act, which allows detention without trial.

The movement's deputy chairperson Zahir Hassan said they have so far met state religious leaders from Kedah, Terengganu and the Federal Territory to press the muftis to take a bold stand against the controversial law.

"In our meetings with the muftis, we have submitted arguments why we think that there should be a fatwa declaring the ISA as unIslamic. Among others, we explained to them that the law denies o­ne's basic right to defend himself and this contradicts the Islamic justice system," he said.

Specific fatwa

Zahir expressed hope that the muftis would also make a specific fatwa o­n the detention of the reformasi activists - Ezam Mohd Noor, Tian Chua, Hishamuddin Rais, Saari Sungib, Dr Badrulamin Bahrom and Lokman Nor Adam.

They six were detained in 2001 for plotting to topple the government using militant means, a charge which they have denied.

The detainees' two-year detention order under the ISA will expire this Sunday but the government has the power to extend it if the six are still considered a threat to national security.

Zahir said the meetings with the muftis have so far been encouraging as the religious scholars had acknowledged the issue is important enough to bring up to the National Fatwa Council - the country's highest Islamic body.

In today's meeting with the Federal Territory mufti Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Yusuf Hussain at Pusat Islam, Zahir also submitted a research o­n Islam and ISA done by o­ne of the detainees, Saari.

He said the 187-page research which analysed the law in the Islamic perspective has been published into a book entitled 'ISA Undang undang haram dan wajib dimansuhkan, Apa pandangan Majlis Fatwa Kebangsaan?' (ISA is an unlawful law that must be abolished. What say the National Fatwa Council?).

The book is available for sale to the public from today.

National issue

After the 40-minute closed-door meeting with the anti-ISA group, Yusuf told malaysiakini that the ISA is a national issue.

"I have advised the movement (AIM) to refer the matter to the National Fatwa Council headed by Dr Ismail Ibrahim and the Islamic Development Department. When it is brought to the national level, then I would have no problem taking it from there," he said.

As FT mufti, Yusuf is a member of the national council, which also include religious leaders from other states.

Yusuf also gave his assurance that he would study the research by Saari and consider the appeal by AIM's representatives, Zahir, Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh and Saari's wife Aliza Jaafar.

According to Zahir, the AIM representatives told Yusuf that ISA allows the government to detain a person indefinitely based o­n o­ne-sided information.

"It opposes to all Islamic values and opens the door of injustice to the victims and their families," he said.

"We also told him that all legal avenues available in the country to declare the law unlawful has been exhausted."

This was despite that the Federal Court had declared the arrest of the reformasi activists was made in bad faith.

"On top of that, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) had advised the government to abolish the law and the ISA advisory board had even recommended for the detainees' release. But all these failed to get any relief for the detainees," he lamented.

A family's pain

Meanwhile, Aliza told the mufti about the daily hardships faced by the detainees' families.

"I told him how unbearable it is for me and the children to wait for his (Saari's) return. The hardship of having to pacify my younger children who ask for their father almost daily. I hope the mufti understands the pain we have gone through," she said.

AIM has been working to shore up support for the release of the reformasi activists by organising a series of activities leading up to June 1.

On Sunday, the group is leading a convoy to the Kamunting detention centre in Taiping, Perak, where the ISA detainees are incarcerated.