PAS leader: Liberals are a threat
KEDAH Liberal Muslims are a threat to Islam who must be banned, PAS deputy spiritual leader Ahmad Yaakob said.
"They must be wiped out or at least banned because it will result in the formation of groups among Muslims here who will end up fighting one another," he said when opening the 56th Dewan Ulama Assembly in Kedah yesterday.
He said that liberal Islam is a western agenda promoted as an alternative to "extreme Islam" as portrayed by media.
Without naming specific individuals, Mr Ahmad said these liberal Muslims had influenced some leaders of the country to the extent that they dare not utter terms such as hudud or Islamic nation.
At the same meeting, PAS said it was adamant that proposed amendments to the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act against unilateral conversion is against Islam.
Its ulama (council of learned men) chief, Dr Mahfodz Mohamed, said the rise of "liberal Islam" among Muslims and some leaders has led to the proposal being made.
"The proposed amendments to the Law Reform Act are against Islam and Article 12(4) of the Constitution, which allows a parent to convert a child below 18 to Islam," he said.
He added that there is even a national fatwa (edict) and Federal Court decision which allows for a Muslim parent to convert his child. The Bill on amendments to the Act was tabled in Parliament last November and seeks to prohibit the unilateral conversion of a child below 18 by a Muslim parent.
However, the Bill, which was up for second reading in Parliament, was withdrawn by the Government earlier this month to allow religious experts to take a further look at the amendments.
Dr Mahfodz also said that PAS will continue to push for party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang's Private Member's Bill to empower syariah courts to impose stiffer penalties. - THE STAR
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