AMANAH may be the smallest party in the Pakatan Harapan bloc but its importance supersedes its ability to bring in votes, says its president, Mohamad Sabu.

Unlike the goals of its colleagues, Amanah sees itself as the bulwark against the rising tide of ultra-conservative Islam that is sweeping through Malaysia and which is fraying inter-communal ties.

Amanah, said Mohamad or better known as Mat Sabu, also wants to pioneer a progressive Muslim ideology that stresses good governance instead of the current stress on obedience to moral codes.

The most recent example of how Amanah chooses to walk the line between conservatism and a progressive Islam is the cancellation of the Better Beer Festival, an event showcasing craft beers from around the world.

While hard-line Islamist party PAS has slammed the event as a vice fest, Amanah has chosen to approach the issue on a more conciliatory tone, making references to the protection of the rights of non-Muslim Malaysians.

Party vice president Mujahid Yusof Rawa said the basis for approaching the cancellation of the beer festival was to first acknowledge that alcohol was acceptable for all non-Muslims, and that no party or government has the right to deny its non-Muslim citizens of the right to consume it.

However, Mujahid said that the approval of any such events should not “challenge the sensitivities” of a largely disapproving majority.

“The organisers of Better Beer Festival need to understand that any form of control is not an infringement on the rights of non-Muslims to consume alcohol, but is made to avoid disturbing the peace of a majority that rejects the culture of an alcohol festival,” the Parit Buntar MP said in his blog recently.

In an interview with The Malaysian Insight recently, Mat Sabu said the hard-line and ultra conservative approach to Islam has led Malay-Muslims to fear changing their leaders even when they are corrupt and incompetent.

“One of the big problems in this country lies with people with religious authority and influence. It’s not the fault of the religion itself but of religious authorities and experts on religion,” Mat Sabu said.

“This is why for the so-called Islamists, corruption is not a big issue in Muslim countries, including Malaysia, even when corruption is a huge sin in Islam. This is what Amanah wants to change.

“Now they are playing up this issue of Malay-Muslims. That if a Malay leader is corrupt, you as a Muslim still have to defend him because you fear that non-Malays and non-Muslims will take over.”

Amanah leaders are often the first to criticise hard-line Malay-Muslim jurists and ulama, including those tied to the Umno-led government and political party PAS.

What makes Amanah especially suited to speak on Islam is because many of its leaders have qualifications in Islamic studies or are familiar with its concepts, given their experience as former PAS members.

Party leaders, such as Mujahid Yusof Rawa, Hanipa Maidin, Khalid Samad and Mat Sabu himself, are usually the first to speak out on contentious religious issues.

These issues include the law to end unilateral conversion of minors, the move to establish the Islamic Penal Code (hudud and qisas), accusations of Christianisation and the demonisation of DAP.

They are also pushing back on the increasingly widespread practice of takfiri, where certain Muslim personalities label other Muslims as infidels.

Mat Sabu himself and other Amanah leaders have been a victim of this, as certain Muslims on social media have spread messages saying that it is all right to kill him and his Amanah colleagues.

“This practice of takfiri has destroyed many Muslim countries, in Syria, Iraq, Iran, Somalia, Egypt. Where Muslims are told that it is acceptable to kill people, and bomb mosques and other places of worship,” he said.

“I do not want the Islamic movement here to end with takfiri being the norm. Where there are edicts that you can kill people, that you are permitted to spill the blood of others.

“The Syrians and Iraqis were embroiled in this and we in Malaysia are just at the start. Amanah is a party that can counter this practice. Otherwise we will be ensnared by it.”

Amanah was founded by former PAS leaders, such as Mat Sabu, who left the 66-year old Islamist party in 2015.

That year, some of PAS’ most famous personalities lost their party posts in elections that saw ultra-conservatives taking over the party.

Amanah is now part of the PH coalition together with multiracial parties PKR and DAP, as well as Bumiputera-centric party Bersatu.

Compared with its larger and older partners, Amanah has about 100,000 members nationwide.

Although one of its main aims is to promote an “Islam that is a blessing to all”, Amanah is also open to non-Muslims who have equal rights as its Muslim members. Non-Muslims can vote and hold office even at the highest levels of Amanah.

In contrast, Umno is only open to Malay-Muslims while PAS’ non-Muslim members are confined to only a wing in the party.

“Amanah wants to change the mindset of Muslims. It is a larger long-term goal and I will probably not see it achieved in my lifetime but it’s something we are committed to because (good governance in Islam) is becoming a global trend.” – September 21, 2017.