MUJAHID Yusof Rawa has refuted accusations that he has become more conservative after taking over the mantle of religious affairs minister for almost a year.

The son of a renowned Malaysian Muslim scholar, Yusof Rawa, Mujahid was often known for his open-minded and progressive views on Islamic matters when he was an opposition lawmaker before the May 9 general election.

But civil society groups have accused Mujahid of tilting to the right throughout his almost one year tenure, especially when it came to hot-button topics.

The most recent was his opinion on a forum about Muslim women who wanted to stop wearing the veil in Petaling Jaya that is being investigated by the Selangor Religious Affairs Department (JAIS).

The Parit Buntar MP said another misconception was his positions on issues concerning the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) community.

“It is a perception (that I have become conservative). Perception does not mean that it is true and today perception is made through the media or through wrong interpretation, or misconstrued ideas,” Mujahid told reporters at his office today as Pakatan Harapan prepares to celebrate a year in power on May 9.

“The perception is there and the perception does not really reflect the intent of the perceived.”

He said those who had organised the forum and wrote a book called “de-hijabing”, on issues concerning Muslim women and the hijab (head covering), had created “unnecessary sensitivities”.

This is since the question of whether a Muslim woman should or should not cover their head and hair was a Muslim issue, he said.

“When you enter into such a zone you create unnecessary sensitivities. Does that mean I am conservative? No, I don’t think so because as a Muslim I believe in freedom.

“But at the same time I ask that freedom to respect the sensitivities, that’s all I’m asking.”

According to its organisers, the forum was to discuss social and religious perceptions and pressures faced by Malay women in connection to the hijab. The event also discussed experiences of women who chose to abandon wearing the hijab.

Muslim scholars have differing opinions over whether a hijab is compulsory in Islam but the majority of jurists in Malaysia insist that it is.

During the interview today, Mujahid questioned the organisers’ and author’s motives even while he stressed that no woman should be coerced into wearing a hijab.

“To my mind if you want to wear a hijab because it’s a responsibility in Islam and that no one coerced you to do it, I say praise to God.

“As a Muslim I think that covering the aurat (places on a Muslim’s body that must be covered) is a responsibility in the religion and not just some social issue. But I am not forcing people to wear a hijab.

“If you don’t want to wear the tudung, I say fine. I cannot say you have to wear it even though there is the issue of sin. You cannot coerce people into doing it.

“But when you don’t want to wear the hijab after you’ve worn it why do you feel the need to tell this to everyone? That’s another issue. Keep it to yourself. Why do you have to write a book? What is the motive?”

Selangor Religious Affairs Department (Jais) has opened an investigation into the forum and its organisers. – April 24, 2019.