PAS and religious authorities like Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) are trying to divide Muslims by warning against attending the Bon Odori festival, Sisters in Islam said today. 

The Muslim body said in a statement that these parties continue to promote intolerance and bigotry in a plural and multicultural society.

The women’s welfare group added that Islam should not be made the cause of difficulty for Muslims to co-exist with people of different faiths, beliefs, and cultures. 

“Inclusivity is one of the important traits for living in a harmonious multicultural setting,” it said.

“How can there be appreciation, celebration, and goodwill among Malaysians and other communities living in Malaysia when the rationale to maintain the akidah of the Muslims will always be used to limit social and cultural participation, interactions, and performances?

 “Aside from speaking in Bahasa Melayu and eating Malay food, how do these religious authorities identify themselves as Malays and Malaysians culturally when they have stripped and sanitised themselves off the traditional Malay and Malaysian practices, arts, and performances?”

SIS said the statements issued by PAS seemed to end all questions, debates, and discussions.

One example, it added, was when PAS ulama chief Ahmad Yahya said “the reasoning that this is a Japanese cultural event is not merit enough for it to be considered together.”

“Who decided that the Japanese cultural event is not merit enough, and why should we accept this rationale without further questioning?” SIS asked.

SIS said despite Malaysia’s extensive Islamisation process in the political, judicial, public, and private sectors, religious officials appear to lack trust in Muslims’ ability to distinguish between their faith and appreciation of cultural customs, performances, and festivals. 

“In essence, it seems that Muslims in Malaysia must be policed at all times, in thought and practice, because they cannot nor should not make these distinctions for themselves, consciously or subconsciously,” SIS said. 

“Only PAS and Jakim know what is best for us Muslims in Malaysia,” it said sarcastically. 

It said the statements made could impact Muslims, who may reconsider participating in the event.

“Would the Bon Odori festival then be limited to non-Muslims only in the future? Would the Japanese organisers review holding it as an annual event? 

“To PAS and Jakim, what seems to matter most is your akidah as a Muslim, which is the be-all and end-all when governing all Malaysians and dealing with international relations. Welcome to what is already a joyless Malaysia.”

The statement follows religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad’s remark discouraging Muslims from participating in the annual Bon Odori festival, which he claimed is “influenced by elements of other religions” according to research by Jakim.

“Is Jakim’s extensive budget spent studying and analysing different cultures and religions worldwide?” SIS asked.

“What kind of expertise is now available in Jakim to critically assess, evaluate and directly engage the people of Japan and Malaysia and explain to all of us the elements of the Bon Odori festival in Malaysia that would lead to a violation of akidah?”

After Jakim and PAS, Penang mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor and Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin also echoed the same concerns on the festival.

SIS said PAS was doing to Bon Odori what it did to Mak Yong in Kelantan.

In 1991, PAS, the Kelantan government, declared that the Mak Yong had elements of superstition and worship and was banned. 

It wasn’t until 2019 that the Mak Yong was performed after almost 30 years of being banned from the public stage. 

Even then, women were still prohibited from performing the Mak Yong, its content and dialogue modified supposedly in compliance to shariah as warranted by the Kelantan government. 

“On top of all these sufferings that we have faced during the pandemic, can we just for once not waste our time, energy, and intellectual capacities on these bigoted decisions that we didn’t ask for that aim to divide and tarnish the values of inclusiveness we have in our society?” it asked. 

Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah defended the celebration twice, including instructing the Selangor Religious Affairs Department (Jais) not to interfere in the festival next month.

In his second statement on Thursday, he repeated the instruction he gave to Jais officers, that Idris should go to the festival and see for himself, and differentiate between culture and religion.

SIS said while the ruler’s decree is commendable, it believes that relying on the monarchy to bring moderation to religious groups and authorities’ ideas and choices is unhealthy and unsustainable. 

“Especially in a country that claims to promote democracy and tolerance of diversity and differences but whose people are expected to fall in line when authority speaks,” it said. – June 11, 2022.