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Tussle Over Use Of Islam Causes Rift Among Malays
by Kazi Mahmood for IslamOnline
KUALA LUMPUR, March 19 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The Party Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) opposition party announced Monday is against the proposal to drop the word "Islam" from names of organizations as it wanted to use it to help "sell" Islam to the people, said PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.
"If the government can use the name Malaysia in selling the tourism industry, then there is nothing wrong with PAS using the term Islam to help sell the religion," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby after the opening of the third session of the 10th Parliament in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
Nik Aziz, Kelantan Chief Minister, said if the term "Islam" was dropped from names of organizations, "then, there is nothing else PAS can use as an alternative."
"There is just no alternative for the word Islam," he said.
The party of Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir, the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), has been accused of being behind a decision by the National Fatwa Council on the use of the word "Islam" in politics.
The Council made recommendations to the Rulers Council on the use of the word "Islam" in political party names and that of other organizations.
Its chairman, Datuk Ismail Ibrahim, said Friday the recommendations were based entirely on al-Qur'an, Hadiths and views from Islamic scholars.
"We have made recommendations at our meeting on February 12th based on the al-Qur'an and Hadiths, as well as the views of ulama, and we will know the decision when the Council of Rulers meets later," he told a press conference at the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (Ikim) on Friday.
The decision by the Council to submit such recommendations has come under intense fire from the PAS and other Islamic organizations, saying this is a "purely political move designed to give political mileage to the weakening UMNO"
Delegates to the UMNO general assembly last year repeatedly called for the ban on the use of the word Islam in political party names.
The PAS had used this issue as one of its conditions in holding the proposed Malay unity talks with UMNO. PAS wants UMNO to drop its proposal to ban the word Islam from the names of political parties to ensure a sane atmosphere for proposed talks.
Ismail also said that the Sultans had expressed deep concern on the disunity among Malays and the condition on the use of the word Islam for the talks between the two political parties.
"The Malay Rulers do not want the issue on Islam to lead to a split among the Malays,'' he said.
Ismail, also Ikim director-general, said political parties should not interfere in issues on Islam because only Malay rulers held the power on such issues.
Meanwhile, Istana Negara press relations' officer Masnoor Ashaari said the Rulers' Council would meet here for two days beginning Wednesday to discuss the issue.
Making its position clear, PAS said it would not drop the word "Islam" in its name for the proposed UMNO-PAS unity talks although the Rulers Council is expected to decide soon on the use of the word in organizations.
Accusing UMNO of dragging Malay rulers into politics in its efforts to ban the use of the word "Islam", PAS president Fadzil Mohamed Noor said UMNO should stop using a third party for political gains.
PAS said the UMNO is hiding behind the National Fatwa Council and the Council of Rulers to further its political interests.
"The plan is clearly politically motivated... UMNO should not make the Rulers Council intervene in politics.
"In the past, UMNO prevented the Rulers from intervening in politics," he said.
Fadzil also said the National Fatwa Council should not involve itself in political issues, stating it was clear that the Fatwa Council's recommendation to the Council of Rulers was to help UMNO protect its interests.
The UMNO, he claimed, was also using the Fatwa Council to persuade PAS to withdraw one of its three pre-conditions for the proposed unity talks with the party. He said the council would lose its credibility if it allowed UMNO to make use of it.
"Islam is our flesh and blood and we will not have the word removed from our struggle," Noor said.
PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat also questioned the move, describing it as "ridiculous."
He said the Rulers Council which was expected to make a ruling on the matter at its meeting next week should be firm in rejecting the proposal.
"If we remove the word Islam, what else is there to look for? Islam is from Allah...how can one have the heart to drop a word that is acknowledged by Allah? Islam itself is a way of life."
"If we were to drop the word, it would mean that we want to go against the rules set by the Maker of the world Himself. This is ridiculous," he said.
Nik Aziz said he hoped the council would not bow to these requests.
"I don't think rulers who safeguard Islam would want to remove the very word which they themselves want to safeguard.
"Soon, Universiti Islam and Bank Islam would also have to change their names. How can this happen? There will be chaos," he said. "Politics and religion cannot be separated."
PAS secretary-general Nasharuddin Md Isa, meanwhile, said the party would also strongly oppose the move. "If the proposal is brought to Parliament, we will oppose it all the way," he said.
However, Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, Chief Minister of the State of Pahang, said on Monday the use of the word "Islam" in the name of "Parti Islam Se-Malaysia" should have been disallowed a long time ago as it confuses the people, especially the Muslims.
Adnan argued that some people equated PAS to Islam interchangeably when the party was not a religion but merely a political organization.
"All the while, PAS has been using the word 'Islam' in its name to garner support from the people to the extent of deviating the thinking and faith of the Muslims," he lamented.
Adnan said the proposal to ban the use of the word "Islam" in all organizations, including political parties, was reasonable to check its abuse.
He said he was not surprised if PAS would oppose the move and that; the party would adopt questionable tactics in order to achieve its objectives.
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