KUALA LUMPUR, July 11 — Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) today struck back at detractors accusing it of racism, claiming that it was being maligned for standing up for Islam.
Denying claims by Parit Buntar MP Mujahid Yusof Rawa that it was a racist organisation
masquerading as Islamic defenders, the Islamist group instead accused the PAS lawmaker of being an agent to “liberals”.
"We are only fighting for Islam and defending the country’s Islamic identity," Isma president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman said in an interview with news portal Malaysiakini.
“And because of that, we are labelled as racists.”
Yesterday, Mujahid labelled the Islamist group as a bigger threat to the country than the similarly controversial Malay rights group Perkasa.
Isma and Abdullah Zaik have repeatedly courted controversy with statements critical of the country’s non-Malay and non-Muslim communities, as part of its professed defence of Islam against a multitude of perceived threats.
Last month, Abdullah Zaik was charged with sedition for his remarks in May calling the Chinese community “intruders” and labelling their arrival in pre-Independence Malaya a “mistake” that must be rectified.
In February, Isma vice-president Muhammad Fauzi Asmuni had also been investigated for sedition after he was reported calling on Muslims nationwide to be aggressive when defending Islam.
Nothing has come of the investigation since.
Isma is among the groups professing to defend Islam and Muslims, which have risen up to fill the void of Malay rights group that have become less outspoken following allegations of racism.
