DESPITE Malaysians coming together to help one another during the devastating floods last month, some quarters are still bent on inciting division among the fellow public.
This time around, an independent Islamic preacher named Abdul Halim Abdullah apparently had a conversation with his followers on social media, discussing whether it was right for Muslims to clean up places of worship of non-Muslims.
In a response, he stated: “Kalau ada rumah sarang pelacuran dilanda banjir dan lumpur, adakah kita boleh bantu membersihkan rumah tersebut. Lepas tu pelanggan dan pelacur berpesta semula selepas banjir. Tentu tidak boleh.
“Kuil lebih dahsyat dari sarang pelacur sebab ia tempat syirik. Sungguh syirik adalah kezaliman yang amat besar.”
(If a brothel got inundated by flood waters and mud, are we supposed to help clean it up so that customers and prostitutes can continue having a good time there? Of course not.
(A temple is far worse than a prostitution den because it is a place of heresy. So heretic that it can be attributed to great evil)
His response had received 59 likes on Facebook.
A check on Abdul Halim’s profile indicates that he had studied in both Egypt’s Al-Azhar al-Sharif Institution and University of Queensland.
However, Abdul Halim’s remarks drew ire from netizens, with lawyer-activist Siti Kasim leading the criticism against the former.
Misusing Islam to divide people
Echoing Siti Kasim’s sentiments, user Rukunegara Pancasila added:
Netizen Wan Akmar lamented that many Muslims in Malaysia interpret Islam using narrow mindset, dividing mankind further instead of uniting them.
On that note, user Yahya Sudirman was less diplomatic in his criticism against Abdul Halim stating: “Bigotry at its best! But if one offer a pelacur (prostitute) to him FOC, 100% he will take it up. I am sure S&M too to say the least!”
On Dec 24, a group of undergraduates from the Islamic University Malaysia in Gombak (IIUM) of various races helped clean up a Hindu temple in Taman Klang Utama which was affected by flood waters, with many heaping laurels on them for their kind gesture. – Jan 10, 2022.
