THE Home Ministry has banned a book on Islam by Turkish journalist Mustafa Akyol, who was detained last month over a lecture on religion, reports The Star.

Citing reasons of likely to “alarm the public” and “prejudicial to public interest”, a federal government gazette on September 26 said Islam without Extremes: A Muslim Case for Liberty was banned.

The ban is also extended to the Bahasa Malaysia translation of the book, Islam Tanpa Keekstreman: Berhujah Untuk Kebebasan.

The home minister signed the order on September 6 in accordance with the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984.

Akyol was in the country last month for several Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) events, including a talk on apostasy in Islam and the relevance of democracy.

The Federal Territories Islamic Affairs Department (Jawi) summoned Akyol on September 24 for questioning for conducting religious teachings without tauliah (credentials).

He was subsequently detained at KLIA the next night by Immigration Department officers after a warrant of arrest was issued when he did not answer Jawi’s summons.

Akyol was released the following day and left Malaysia that evening.

It was reported that Jawi had completed its investigation and was satisfied that the organiser had not informed the journalist about the need to obtain the credentials.

However, IRF chief Ahmad Farouk Musa is scheduled to face the Kuala Lumpur Shariah Court on December 4 to answer charges that he abetted Akyol in giving a religious talk without proper accreditations

The inspector-general of police said Akyol was not seen as a threat.

“We helped facilitate the arrest following a request by Jawi,” Mohamad Fuzi Harun said at a press conference after attending the 2017 Warriors’ Day celebration in Putrajaya yesterday.

The US-based journalist is a writer of Islamic issues and politics and his writings appear regularly in Turkish newspaper Hurriyet Daily News, the New York Times and Al-Monitor.com. – October 3, 2017.