The Rise Of A New Breed Of Islamic Preacher In Malaysia – OpEd

By Vanitha Nadaraj

(UCA News) -- The Malaysian government has consistently claimed that it will not tolerate any discussion in the public domain that touches on the 3Rs (race, religion and royalty).

However, the government’s track record when it comes to Muslim preachers who berate non-Muslims and their religious beliefs, has been less than robust. There have been numerous irate individuals and civil society groups who have over the years accused the authorities of dragging their feet in acting against these alleged offenders.

The same is being said of a recent case involving controversial preacher Firdaus Wong Wai Hung. News of a TikTok video emerged in early June where he was seen advising a group of Muslims on how to convert non-Muslim children in schools, and how the child could practice Islam discreetly without the knowledge of his or her parents.

There was a public outcry and police reports were made but the government’s silence and inaction over the unethical action of the preacher was deafening.

A Muslim lawmaker from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s party brought the matter up in parliament,sayingWong’s actions had caused concern and alarm among non-Muslims in Malaysia. Hassan Abdul Karim also chastised the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia for being silent on matters involving racial discrimination and religious freedom.

On June 25, police were said to have started investigations on Wong for inciting hatred. Social media responses show two distinct reactions. Some Muslims feel Wong’s actions were justified because he was pursuing religious interests. Another group, made up of both Muslims and non-Muslims was cynical and felt the possibility of a prosecution, much less a conviction, was unlikely just like in the cases of other local preachers.

Wong was the one who exposed the sale of socks with the word Allah in Arabic script at KK Mart, a supermarket owned by an ethnic Chinese. That post snowballed into a nationwideboycottfueled by ethno-religious anger and led to police charges against the supermarket chain owners for hurting religious feelings.

Like Wong, Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah is an ethnic Chinese who converted to Islam. Tee and Wong, along with others— Zamri Vinoth Kalimithu, Ahmad Iqram Mohd Noor, Ustaz Syakir Nasoha, and Ustaz Idris Sulaiman — were singled out in a Jan 2022 memorandum to the Federal Islamic Affairs Agency (known by its Malay acronym Jakim) asking the agency to act against these Islamic preachers for their allegedly seditious remarks.

The memorandum was signed by 62 NGOs and they said this was their second memorandum to Jakim because there was no response to the first in 2018. It has been two years since the second memorandum was sent and there is no known update on this.

In 2016, Tee was refused entry intoSingaporeand no reason was given by the authorities at the border. Another Malaysian preacher Haslin Baharim wasbannedfrom entering Singapore in 2017 and it was due to his "hardline teachings." It is not known if the banon the two is still in force.

The Malaysian government, however, said that Haslin was free to preach in the country, but the southern state of Johor decided to ban him from giving religious talks in the state.

Religious matters come under the jurisdiction of the state government, and not the federal government. Only preachers with permits issued by a state can teach or speak at mosques or other venues in that state.

This breed of local preacher has been highly influenced by Indian national Zakir Naik, known for his inflammatory anti-religious and anti-racial comments. Wong is said to be a protégé of Naik.

Naik first came to Malaysia in 2012 to speak at a series of lectures, which were attended by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad and other well-known figures.

In 2016, when the Indian government issued an arrest warrant against him, he moved to Malaysia, became a permanent resident, and built himself a strong support base. Malaysia has remained silent on India’s extradition request.

Much of his popularity was the result of Muslim Malays being impressed with non-Muslims publicly declaring their faith in Islam during his talks, and the translation of his writings from English to Malay.

He also enjoys large support from Tamil and Malayalam-speaking Muslims who often fund his events, according to acommentarypublished by the Hudson Institute, an American conservative think tank.

Naik also has the support of Muslim-based political parties who want to cash in on his popularity by aligning themselves with him.

In August 2019, a total of 115 police reports were made against Naik for intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace. Police said they had started investigations but the outcome is not known.

There were calls for Naik’s deportation and his permanent residency revoked. Naik left the country only to say that he would be returning. It is not known if he is back.

One of Naik’s followers, Muhammad Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu, had 790 police reports made against him earlier that year for allegedly insulting Hinduism in a lecture. He was remanded and released.

Naik’s initial talks in Malaysia coincided with a pivotal time. Learned clerics and Islamic jurists ormuftiswith their dominating presence on national television and mainstream media had enthralled Muslim-Malays for decades but their influence was starting to weaken, according to a commentary published by theISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institutewhich comes under Singapore’s Education Ministry.

Since the 1980s and with the implementation of the Islamisation policy, local television networks have been producing religious programs. Almost every television network has religious programs targeting Muslim audiences.

The audiences, however, have been over the last two decades gravitating towards media-savvy celebrity preachers who are not as adequately trained in religious sciences as their predecessors but are engaging, entertaining and charismatic.

Many of these new preachers are products of highly rated television reality shows likeImam Muda(Young Religious Leader),Pencetus Ummah,andDa’i Pendakwah Nusantara,which was discontinued when one of its former participants was charged with rape and other sex-related crimes.

There have been numerous headline-hogging controversies involving celebrity preachers, from criminal charges to broken marriages. In one case, a preacher divorced his pregnant wife because she did not consent to a polygamous marriage. Popular preacher Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew is facing 11 charges including outraging the modesty of a woman.

Despite this, support for celebrity preachers has not waned, according to the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute commentary.

This new breed of controversy-courting preacher and tele-evangelist tend to bring politics into religion. There is concern that Muslims are being schooled by a group of media-savvy people with no formal training in religious studies and that they are likely being used by political parties as influencers.

They have millions of followers on social media and are a mighty force when it comes to forming opinions, especially for the younger set and those with low levels of political literacy.

These concerns are not unfounded. A 2023 Pew Research Centrestudyrevealed that 60 percent of respondents want their religious leaders to discuss politics and 50 percent of them said these leaders ought to enter politics.