SCHOLARS, writers and activists mourn the death of Muslim thinker Kassim Ahmad, saying that his passing leaves a gaping hole in the country’s intellectual life and religious understanding.

Scholar Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa said Kassim was “the most persecuted Muslim intellectual in Malaysia”, as when he was alive, no one at his age had been treated so harshly by the religious authorities for voicing his opinion. 

“Personally, I’ve always believed that it is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees, and that to me was Kassim Ahmad,” the founder of Islamic Renaissance Front (IRF) told The Malaysian Insight.

“He will be remembered for his rebellion against the religious authorities. Whether we agreed with his opinion on certain issues or not is a different matter, but we should respect him for standing firm in defending his opinion against authoritarian religious bodies in this country.”

Novelist Dr Faizal Musa said Kassim had taught Malaysians how to think through his short works such as “Satu Cherita Bias”, “Pertemuan” and “Pengarang”, which were written in Bahasa Malaysia.

“Among other things, Kassim had gently prodded us as intellectuals, students and artists to bring change to society by thinking,” Faisal, also known by his pen name Faisal Tehrani, told The Malaysian Insight.

“In this country, thinking is a crime. Schools are not allowed to think. Mosques are not allowed to think. Muftis are not allowed to think. Newspapers are not allowed to think,” said the prolific author, who has several books banned by Putrajaya.

Kasim died at the Kulim Hospital at 10am today after being in a coma since yesterday. He had been warded for a month for lung problems.

Throughout his life, Kassim had running battles with the authorities over his work, which questioned religious dogma. 

Two months ago, he won a three-year legal battle against religious authorities for allegedly insulting Islam and disobeying a Federal Territories fatwa at a seminar in February 2014, where he had made remarks about religious scholars. 

Shariah prosecuters dropped the charges against Kassim after the Court of Appeal in December 2015 and the Federal Court in March 2016 both ruled that the charges brought by the Federal Territories Islamic Affairs Department (Jawi) against him to be invalid and illegal.

Faizal said Kassim was a victim of archaic thinking.

Writer and poet Pyanhabib Rahman said Kassim provoked thought on any subject he taught.

“He was a forerunner in polemical taught. Whatever issue he touched would spark off all kinds of reactions,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Lawyer and activist Siti Zabedah Kasim said Malaysia had lost a great man in Kassim, who she called a pioneer in challenging accepted norms in Muslim thinking.

“I’m very saddened about it. We have lost a great man, he’s irreplaceable. No man as great as him had taken on the religious authorities. There are not many like Kassim Ahmad.

“We need more people like him to challenge the minds of Muslims, to open their minds, it’s a great loss. Pak Kassim is someone I look up to,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Siti said the death of Kassim would be felt not only by the Muslim community, but the whole nation. 

“Despite being arrested and condemned by the people, he continued in his quest to get people to open up and restudy the interpretation of our religion.

“By opening up our reinterpretation of Islam, it helps other communities as well understand the kindness in Islam,” she added. – October 10, 2017.