PUTRAJAYA must define what terrorism is and who is considered a terrorist to stop the abuse of anti-terrorism laws being used to detain people, Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin said at a forum today.

The mufti said a clear definition was urgently needed as the authorities make subjective calls when dealing with terrorism cases, particularly those involving Muslims.

“I was told, the interrogators will ask you if you perform your subuh (dawn) prayer with or without reading out the Qunut (a verse read in between the prayer). If you don’t read it then you are a terrorist.

“How can one be so simplistic about this? Do you know that in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, China, Iraq and some other parts of the world, many people perform their subuh prayers without reading out the Qunut? Does that make them a terrorist?” Asri asked at a forum entitled ‘Who is a Terrorist’ held in Petaling Jaya today.

Other participants were former ISA detainee Saari Sungib, Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah and lawyer Syahredzan Johan.

Asri said another Muslim scholar, Ibnu Taimiyyah, had written extensively on a wide range of subjects including jihadism.

“Many of his books were used as a foundation in Islamic banks as well as Jakim who had used his ideas, but today, the police will detain you if you have books written by him.

“How can one be considered a terrorist by having Ibnu Taimiyyah’s book? Yes, he has written books on jihad and that was because he experienced the war during the Mongol invasion of Syria,” he said.  

Bukit Aman has classified Ibnu Taimiyyah’s sentiment on jihad as dangerous.

Speaking further, Asri expressed disappointment with police for labelling Salafism as the root cause of terrorism.

“The fact is many of those who went to Syria were from the traditional Islamic schools in Kedah which were clearly not Salafism, and if you look at the Talibans, they were Hanafis (one of the four Islamic school of thoughts) not Salafis. There are, of course, Salafis who believed in Jihad, but to simplify that the root came from Salafism is not correct and dangerous.

“Terrorism has no face. The definition of who is a terrorist is on someone’s hand and this must not happen. We need to have a clear definition about this in Malaysia,” he said.

Earlier, Asri slammed Bukit Aman Special Branch Counter Terrorism director Ayub Khan Mydin Pitchay over a raid on an Islamic school in Perlis last year, where he said there was no substantial evidence to link the school with terrorism.

He then questioned the way the investigation was carried out.

“If you still remember, a school in Perlis was raided by the special branch last year and it was all out in the media that Perlis is a place where terrorists stay.

“Although I am not part of the school and my views are different from them, I do not agree with the way the probe was handled.

“In Perlis, whoever becomes the head of police will be part of the Majlis Agama committee (Islamic Council committee) and I have asked the police chief several times about his opinion on the school, and he said there was no problem.

“Suddenly the school was raided and several people were detained including foreign men. Later the police released the local individual but deported the foreign men.

“To make matters worse, the van that was carrying the foreign men met with an accident and one of the suspected terrorists died on the scene. The case was just left there as it was. Where is the justice? Where is the fair trial?” he questioned.

The forum today was organised by Suara Rakyat Malaysia and Desak Sampai Mansuh – a civil society group working against draconian laws. – February 9, 2019.