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"Wahhabi is a term created to disgrace an individual with different views on religious questions. The defendant tried to associate me with the ideology when I am not a Wahhabi follower."
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
UKM Lecturer sues blogger for defamation
(MySinchew) - SHAH ALAM: A Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) senior lecturer Thursday filed a defamation suit against an assistant director at the Islamic Training Institute of Malaysia (ILIM) over an article on the Wahhabi issue posted on a blog.
Dr Azwira Abdul Aziz, 41, of UKM's Quran and Sunnah Studies Department who is also a member of the Perlis State Fatwa Council filed the suit through lawyer Adnan Seman @ Abdullah at the High Court Registry here at 10.40 a.m.
He is seeking RM500,000 in general damages and RM500,000 in exemplary damages from Zamihan Mat Zin of ILIM's Quran and Core Knowledge Centre who also owns a weblog at al-ghari.blogspot.com, as well as cost and other relief deemed fit by the court.
In his statement of claim, Azwira said Zamihan had on March 6 last year posted on the weblog an article entitled "Kisah Lama dari UKM" which contained statements associating him with the Wahhabi ideology which were not true and defamatory.
Words in the article, among others, carried a meaning that he followed the Salafi Al Wahhabi methodology, a Wahhabi fanatic and promoted a deviationist teaching, he said.
Azwira said the posting of the article disparaged his dignity among the public, especially the Muslim community.
He said that he had sent a solicitor's letter on May 11 to Zamihan to seek a written apology and damages totalling RM500,000 but the defendant had failed and/or refused to comply.
He told reporters later that he filed the suit to clean his name and reputation that had been tarnished following the posting of the article on the weblog and to correct public perceptions on the Wahhabi issue.
"Wahhabi is a term created to disgrace an individual with different views on religious questions. The defendant tried to associate me with the ideology when I am not a Wahhabi follower," he said. *************************************************
Now can you see why the Umno blogs said my wife is a Catholic and that I too have now become a Christian and now follow my wife to church? You would imagine that this would be so childish and petty of the Umno boys. As if the fact that my wife has reverted to Christianity and that I too have converted to Christianity is the height of shame and disgrace?
But that is how Malays in general think -- at least the majority of the Malays although there are some who do not think this way at all. But then these people would be classified as ‘liberals Muslims’. And being called a liberal Muslim is not something to be taken as a complement. It is meant as an insult, akin to an apostate or heretic or someone with extremely loose morals.
Oh, no! Not, yet again, another Malay-Muslim bashing piece from Raja Petra. And on a Friday too on top of that!
Well, I can’t help it. I am quite prepared to let sleeping dogs lie, even sleeping pussies. But when MySinchew comes out with reports like the above, how in heaven’s name can I just not say anything? That is just not RPK, if you know what I mean.
Hey, I was detained under detention without trial for allegedly insulting Islam. When under detention they subjected me to sleep depravation and endless debates on Islam 24-7 until I was so sick of hearing the word ‘Islam’ and actually told the six Special Branch officers so, much to their shock and horror. Then they spread this story through the Umno blogs that my wife and I had done the worse possible thing ever conceivable -- we have both become Christians. You mean after all that you expect me to leave this issue alone?
No way Jose!
Okay, in the MySinchew news report above it is not about a Muslim who has become a Christian. It is about an allegation that a certain Malay university lecturer who is now following the Salafi sect of Islam, also known as Wahhabi. The Malay lecturer who has been accused of such a foul and defile ‘crime’ is suing his accuser for RM1 million.
"Wahhabi is a term created to disgrace an individual with different views on religious questions. The defendant tried to associate me with the ideology when I am not a Wahhabi follower," this man told the press.
Yes, that’s what he said. It is a disgrace to associate him with the Wahhabi ideology or accuse him of being a Wahhabi follower.
In short, Wahhabis are deviants and not true Muslims. And these Wahhabis are mostly in Saudi Arabia. That is the official religion of that kingdom.
But there are worse things than being called a Wahhabi. If they accuse you of being a Shia you will suffer detention without trial. Those who associate themselves with the Shia sect or follow the Shia ideology will get arrested and will be sent to Kamunting for detention without trial.
Being a Shia is considered worse than being a Wahhabi. The International Islamic University (UIA) will not admit students who are Shia because they are not considered Muslims even though they too go to Mekah and face Mekah to pray five times a day (some Shia pray only three times a day, which they say is what the Quran really stated).
Okay, you can gamble, drink, have sex with prostitutes five times a day, take bribes from Chinese pimps, drug syndicates and Ah Longs (which many Malays do), and whatnot. That is okay. You can always ‘repent’ later by going to Mekah. But never become a Wahhabi or Shia. And if you accuse Malays of following the Wahhabi or Shia sect they will sue you for millions.
Is this not strange? Tens of thousands of Malays go to Mekah every year. If you include the Umrah and not just the Haj the figure will run into maybe 100,000 or more. They spend millions every year to do these pilgrimages if you consider the average cost to go to Mekah is about RM10,000 per person.
Malays sell their land and livestock to find the money to perform this pilgrimage. Many actually pray that they will die on this pilgrimage so that their body need not be brought home and instead can be buried in Mekah. And if they don’t die in Saudi Arabia they sometimes come home broke because they have spent all their money to perform the pilgrimage.
They believe that praying one day (five times a day) in the Holy Mosque of Mekah is equivalent to praying thousands of times in a normal mosque. And praying 40 times in the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina (that means five times a day for eight days running without interruption or else you have to start all over again) is your fast-track to heaven.
Okay, I do not want to dispute these beliefs because everyone is entitled to his or her belief and no one should be ridiculed for his or her belief. Nevertheless, when you pray in the Holy Mosque in Mekah and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina you will be praying in a congregation (jemaah) led by a Wahhabi Imam.
Let me put it to you again. The Imam will be Wahhabi. You spend at least RM10,000 of your hard-earned money to go to Mekah and Medina to pray behind a Wahhabi Imam. This Wahhabi Imam, who holds the rank equivalent to a Cabinet Minister, is leading the prayers so that you can go to heaven. But if someone accuses you of being a Wahhabi you will sue him or her for RM1 million because being a Wahhabi is a disgrace -- worse than being a pimp, gambling den owner, loan shark, or drug pusher.
Do I understand my Islam correctly?
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