THE social media is rife with pro-Madani social media influencers calling on Muslims to be wary of celebrity status freelance preachers who are given undue recognition due to their gift of the gab instead of their true religious credentials.
This comes in the wake of the 10-year jail term and three strokes of the rotan sentence meted out on celebrity preacher Syed Shah Iqmal Syed Mohd Shaiful a.k.a. PU Syed by the Shah Alam Sessions Court yesterday (Aug 30) after being found guilty of raping a woman five years ago.
“This is a problem that Malaysians experience unknowingly, especially Muslims,” lamented Amer Hamzah (@amer7211) in a post on the X platform. “Nobody really knows their background, (religious) education or even if they have proper recognition and credentials.”
Ini masalah yang rakyat Malaysia alami tanpa sedari khususnya kepada yang muslim.
📌Menang pertanding program Da’i terus dapat status Da’i.
📌Menang pertandingan Pencetus Ummah terus dapat gelaran Ustaz.
📌Bijak bercakap soal2 agama dalam masjid dengan cerita2 dalam kain terus… https://t.co/EH7MmE1qsQ— Amer Hamzah (@amer7211) August 30, 2024
Towards this end, Amer Hamzah took a swipe at the Muslim society for easily “uplifting” the status of freelance preachers, notably to the “Da’i (preacher) status” upon winning the TV3’s Da’i Pendakwah Nusantara programme or even to ustaz upon winning the Astro’s Pencetus Ummah (Ummah Initiator) reality TV programme.
“Or even acknowledging as ulama (Islamic scholar) those who address (big crowd) at mosques with obscene stories,” he hit out with reference to PAS life member Ustaz Azhar Idrus who recently caused a stir by linking political opposition to martyrdom (mati syahid) while insinuating resistance against Malay rulers.
“Do you know that the title of da’i, ustaz and ulama is highly dignified in Islam? When cases like this happen, then the image of Islam will be scarred in the eyes of non-Muslims. Non-Muslims don’t read the Quran but they read the character and attitude of a Muslim, and more so someone like a da’i, ustaz or an ulama.”
For context, Judge Norazlin Othman ordered the 29-year-old Syed Shah Iqmal who was weeping incessantly to begin serving his sentence immediately and dismissed his application for a stay of execution.
His wife, Nurulhana Ismail, 38, who is in confinement after delivering their baby 16 days ago, also cried after hearing the decision.
Dismissing a stay of execution, Norazlin in her judgment that stressed Syed Shah Iqmal’s role as a celebrity preacher has a huge impact on the Muslim society, especially youngsters and university students.
Another deemed Pakatan Harapan (PH) backer JOKER🔺(@tjerealjoker) urged TV stations to stop rolling out programmes in the likes of Da’i Pendakwah Nusantara or Pencetus Ummah in the future.
Harap lepas ni berentilah buat program tv pertandingan PU lah Da’i lah.. sume poyo jer.
Berentilah jadi bodoh. Jgn senang sgt kena tipu dgn jubah dan serban.
Yg ni rambut karat bertocang mcm rempit camna jadi Da’i pon aku tataw. pic.twitter.com/rOxUG0XwVI
— JOKER🔺️ (@tjerealjoker) August 30, 2024
“Stop being stupid. Don’t be fooled by robes and turbans. How can one be a Da’i with hair both dyed and braided like a pigtail (referring to a clip of Syed Shah Iqmal being brought to court)?” wondered JOKER.
Recall that there have been a number of cases in recent times of so-called popular ‘religious personalities’ who ended up on the wrong side of the law for sexual assault.
On Aug 28, Azman Syah Alias a.k.a. PU Azman of the Pencetus Ummah fame was also charged at the Shah Alam Sessions Court with two counts of performing sexual acts on an underage boy at a homestay five years earlier.
Both charges were framed under Section 14(a) and Section 14 (d) of the Sexual Offences against Children’s Act 2017, in which each section carries a punishment of a jail term of up to 20 years and whipping upon conviction.
All in all, he faces 12 charges related to sexual offences, namely five charges at the Seremban Sessions Court, Klang Magistrate and Sessions Court (four), Ampang Sessions Court (one) and Shah Alam Sessions Court (two).
Another more distinguished preacher Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew a.k.a. Ebit Lew is currently facing a court case at the Tenom Magistrate’s Court in connection with an alleged sexual harassment case.
The 38-year-old faces 11 charges, including outraging the modesty of a woman in her 40s by sending obscene words and lewd images to the victim’s phone number via the WhatsApp application between March and June 2021.
The charges under Section 509 of the Penal Code provide a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine or both if convicted. – Aug 31, 2024
Main image credit: Bernama
