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Malaysiakini.com
21st November 2006

Apostasy - the debate continues
Fauwaz Abdul Aziz

Several groups and individuals expressed concern that ‘obsessing’ over the exact numbers of apostasy cases runs the risk of missing the larger problems, as well as questions that should be addressed by the Muslim community and its religious authorities.

Malay advocacy group Teras head Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid said findings by researchers that only a minimal number of Muslims are officially recognised as having left Islam are in no way indicative of the extent of apostasy.

Obviously, said Azmi, the numbers of those granted such status by the National Registration Department (NRD) and the state Syariah courts and religious departments would be small and those who apply to be recognised as non-Muslims only slightly higher.

“But even if one accepts the argument that the official numbers are very small, apostasy in all the forms that apostasy can take should be seen with concern by the religious authorities and dealt with seriously,” said Azmi when contacted.

He explained that renunciation of faith can take place when a Muslim is involved in or practises something that conflicts with the core tenants of the religion’s aqidah (belief system).

Azmi cited the banned ‘Ayah Pin’ sect whose missing leader Ariffin Mohammed has claimed to be the reincarnation of holy figures from the world’s major religions.

Before the commune was shut down by the authorities, followers of Ariffin claimed he commanded a following of 5,000-10,000 Malays, with 30,000 more from other ethnic groups.

Azmi also pointed out that the National Fatwa Council had determined it was haram for Muslims to take part in Black Metal cult due to the predominance of satanic or pagan influences and occult imagery in the music.

The cult-music gained notoriety in Malaysia in 2001 after a series of media exposes on young Black Metal fans, including lurid stories about ritualistic practices such as drinking blood.

“There are already thousands involved with Ayah Pin, thousands of Malay youth in Black Metal. What about the other religious sects?” asked Azmi.

Varying concerns

Dr Mohd Azam Mohd Adil of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) last week told malaysiakini that the numbers of official conversions from Islam were minimal.

The NRD, he said, recorded only 220 changes of names - from Muslim to non-Muslim - in the identity cards between 1999 and July 2003.

The law professor also said the state with the highest number of recorded conversions, Negri Sembilan, saw only 16 cases of apostasy approved by the Syariah courts in that period.

The official numbers, Azam concluded, shed some light on the nature of the problem of apostasy in Malaysia.

Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria has claimed that 100,000 Malays had apostasised, while 100,000 more have sought to do so.

While concurring with Azam on the figures, International Islamic University lecturer Dr Shamrahayu Abdul Aziz differed on the significance placed on the numbers and the conclusions reached.

These numbers can only represent the tip of the iceberg of the apostasy problem, said Shamrahayu.

The ‘unofficial' incidence of apostasies from Islam is thus far greater and still warrants immediate attention by the authorities and the Muslim community, she added

Islamic group Jamaah Islah Malaysia’s propagation wing head Muhammad Abdullah Nicholas Sylvester said the researchers should be commended for seeking empirical data on a problem that has yet to be accurately grasped.

However, he said the findings still do not address concerns that thousands of Malays had in one way or another compromised their faith as Muslims by practising or being involved in un-Islamic sects or groups.

“Researchers should expand their research into apostasy in all its forms and not confine themselves to this or that mode of apostasy. The researcher’s work doesn’t nullify what has been said on the matter,” he said.

Sisters in Islam programme manager Norhayati Kaprawi expressed concern that the problem that has yet to be addressed is the apparent contradiction between the Qur’an’s guarantee of religious freedom and the religious authorities disdain of it.

She said the Qur’an states that there shall be no compulsion in religion.
"Had it been thy Lord's Will, they would all have believed, all who are on earth! Wilt thou then compel mankind, against their will, to believe?" she said citing the Qur'an.

“We urge Muslim leaders to be honest in dealing with this issue and not politicise Islam or turn this beautiful religion into hard dogma,” she added.