PROPHET Muhammad’s wife Aishah once had a transgender friend and the prophet himself had never tried to stop his wife from befriending the transperson, said independent Islamic scholar Wan Ji Wan Hussin.

Speaking about the hatred many Muslims had towards the trans community, Wan Ji said that he was baffled by the attitude many Muslims in the country had.

“I am baffled as to why there is so much hatred towards the trans community.

“This is not a new phenomenon. Transgenders have been around since the prophet’s time. There was a trans person during the prophet’s time named Khit.

“One day, the prophet came home and found his wife Aishah with Khit. They were good friends and the prophet did not chide her.

“The prophet only reminded Khit to be courteous towards others and not speak ill about other people.

“Many took this story to mean to hate transgenders, but the story is not about hate. It was about the prophet reminding Aishah’s friend not to speak ill about others. That’s all,” Wan Ji said when speaking at the “Is Malaysia Baru safe for women and girls?” event in Publika, Kuala Lumpur.

Formerly the religious advisor to Lim Guan Eng in the latter’s previous capacity as Penang chief minister, Wan Ji slammed religious officers who he said had little respect for others.

He said that in many cases, religious officers tended to disrespect those who were arrested for allegedly committing sins.

Wan Ji was responding to a question on the recent comment by minister Mujahid Yusof Rawa who was quoted by The Star as wanting to end nightly khalwat raids.

“There have been cases where the officers refused to respect those allegedly detained for khalwat offences.”

“Because they have power, they disrespect others. The problem is with the attitude. They use their power to humiliate others.”

Wan Ji said that another problem with many Muslims in the country is that many tended to listen to popular preachers instead of listening to other views.

He said that the emergence of reality show preachers had caused many listeners and viewers to accept what they were told just because the preachers were popular.  

“The problem is not Islam as a religion. The problem lies with the interpretation of Islam. These new preachers from reality TV shows are making their own interpretations of Islam.”

“These so-called ‘pencetus ummah’ (sparks of the people) are actually ‘perosak ummah’ (destroyers of the people). But their views are accepted because they are popular.

“If someone like me said things about Islam, I would be called anti-Islam,” he said. – October 7, 2018.