PERLIS mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin is fully supportive of the Johor sultan’s firm stance against Muslim-only establishments and similar “Talibanisation” of the state.

“Segregation in the name of Islam, such as in launderettes, public places, eateries and so forth, if not contained, could spread to other areas,” said Asri in a statement today.

He said the Johor sultan was not expressing disapproval of merely the Muslim-only launderette in Muar when he said that this was “not a Taliban country” while ordering the owner to change the policy or be shut down.

Asri said “Taliban” referred to those whose attitudes were exclusive, narrow and disrespectful of the rights of others.

“An overly exclusive attitude and disrespect for the rights of other ethnicities and religions would only lead to the downfall and destruction of Muslims like the Taliban,” he said, adding that this applies to all narrow-minded groups wishing to copy a trivial approach to Islam.

“This narrow stream is known by the international community as the ‘Wahabi stream’,” he said.

He said the Johor ruler used the term to remind Malaysians that the country needed to adopt a moderate and progressive approach to Islam.

“I propose a more progressive and moderate approach to Islamic studies to shape the understanding of Islam in the Malaysian context in particular, and the world in general.

“This will prevent extremist thinking from developing in our society. It can also help Islam rise again in the international arena,” he said.

Although the term “Taliban” broadly refers to “students” in Arabic, it is also synonymous with a fundamental political movement that began in Afghanistan which uses violence to achieve its goals. – October 14, 2017.