Penang mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor said today his department has no control over controversial Islamic speaker Shahul Hamid as he is an "independent" ustaz.
"We cannot prevent preachers from sharing their knowledge and expressing their thoughts based on their knowledge," Wan Salim told Malaysiakini.
"We can apply our guidelines on registered preachers but we cannot control the independent ones. We can only advise them," he said.
However, Wan Salim said he would give his views on Shahul’s insulting of the Hindu religion in his lectures, and propose proper guidelines for such preachers at the next National Fatwa Council meeting in September.
This was necessary, he said, as the latest incident in which the sensitivities of non-Muslim communities were affected by religious issues occurred in other states as well.
"The bodies that can then enforce these guidelines are Majlis Agama Pulau Pinang (Penang Islamic Religious Council) and Jabatan Agama dan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) at the federal level," he said.
Wan Salim said this after meeting with Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia (PHM) national adviser N Ganesan and its Penang chief K Kalay Selvam at his office in Komtar today.
Accompanying Wan Salim at the meeting was MAIPP president Salleh Man.
Shahul (left), who is also a member of the PAS Tanjong division, cooked up a storm last week when a video clip of one of his lectures at a closed-door session in Shah Alam went viral on the Internet.
Shahul was widely condemned for saying in his lecture that Muslims should not be buying products such as curry powder from Hindu companies like Alagappa and Baba’s.
He also made some references to Hindu deities which were deemed insulting to the community.
Shahul’s actions prompted a rally, organised by various NGOs and the MIC, in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, and there were also 400 police reports against him.
Shahul has since apologised for his statement while the police have recorded a statement from him and said he is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233 (1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Met after his meeting with the Penang mufti, Ganesan said Wan Salim was cooperative and was willing to look into their complaint against Shahul.
‘We don’t want such acts repeated’
He said PHM submitted a letter to Wan Salim today so that the department can act on Shahul to prevent a recurrence of such acts by its preachers.
"Shahul's apology was good but it is a one-time thing. We don't want such acts to be repeated by others," Ganesan (right) said.
"We recommended that the Penang mufti’s office takes away his licence or put Shahul in probation to set aan example to other preachers not to hurt the sensitivities of other communities," he added.
Ganesan said Shahul would not have apologised if the video clip of his insults was not publicised.
He also urged the National Fatwa Council to clarify whether Shahul's remarks were consistent with his Islamic knowledge, as he had claimed.
"We have also decided that from now on, we will not only issue petitions, statements or organise rallies but will take up issues directly with the relevant authorities," he said.
"We cannot prevent preachers from sharing their knowledge and expressing their thoughts based on their knowledge," Wan Salim told Malaysiakini.
"We can apply our guidelines on registered preachers but we cannot control the independent ones. We can only advise them," he said.
However, Wan Salim said he would give his views on Shahul’s insulting of the Hindu religion in his lectures, and propose proper guidelines for such preachers at the next National Fatwa Council meeting in September.This was necessary, he said, as the latest incident in which the sensitivities of non-Muslim communities were affected by religious issues occurred in other states as well.
"The bodies that can then enforce these guidelines are Majlis Agama Pulau Pinang (Penang Islamic Religious Council) and Jabatan Agama dan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (Jakim) at the federal level," he said.
Wan Salim said this after meeting with Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia (PHM) national adviser N Ganesan and its Penang chief K Kalay Selvam at his office in Komtar today.
Accompanying Wan Salim at the meeting was MAIPP president Salleh Man.
Shahul (left), who is also a member of the PAS Tanjong division, cooked up a storm last week when a video clip of one of his lectures at a closed-door session in Shah Alam went viral on the Internet.Shahul was widely condemned for saying in his lecture that Muslims should not be buying products such as curry powder from Hindu companies like Alagappa and Baba’s.
He also made some references to Hindu deities which were deemed insulting to the community.
Shahul’s actions prompted a rally, organised by various NGOs and the MIC, in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, and there were also 400 police reports against him.
Shahul has since apologised for his statement while the police have recorded a statement from him and said he is being investigated under Section 4(1) of the Sedition Act 1948 and Section 233 (1) of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Met after his meeting with the Penang mufti, Ganesan said Wan Salim was cooperative and was willing to look into their complaint against Shahul.
‘We don’t want such acts repeated’
He said PHM submitted a letter to Wan Salim today so that the department can act on Shahul to prevent a recurrence of such acts by its preachers.
"Shahul's apology was good but it is a one-time thing. We don't want such acts to be repeated by others," Ganesan (right) said."We recommended that the Penang mufti’s office takes away his licence or put Shahul in probation to set aan example to other preachers not to hurt the sensitivities of other communities," he added.
Ganesan said Shahul would not have apologised if the video clip of his insults was not publicised.
He also urged the National Fatwa Council to clarify whether Shahul's remarks were consistent with his Islamic knowledge, as he had claimed.
"We have also decided that from now on, we will not only issue petitions, statements or organise rallies but will take up issues directly with the relevant authorities," he said.
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