BAGAN DATUK, July 12 — Umno strongly oppose any efforts by the government to allow Muslims to practice or spread the Shiah ideology in the country, says its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Ahmad Zahid said even though they respect the Shiah followers, but he said the efforts to assimilate the ideology among the Sunnah Wal Jamaah members, which is practiced in this country, will divide the unity among Muslims.
“According to the article 3 (1) of the Malaysian Constitution, it stated that Islam is the federal religion.
“And in terms of the social contract based on the constitution, it is understood that the National Council for Islamic Affairs and National Fatwa Council clearly stated that it cannot accept the Shiah ideology to be spread in this country,” he said after attending the Bagan Datuk constituency future Haji thanksgiving ceremony here.
“The National Fatwa Council decided to reject the Shiah ideology not because they hate them, but we don’t want this ideology to distort the teaching of Islam in the country,” added Ahmad Zahid.
This came after the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Mujahid Yusof Rawa, who oversees the Islamic affairs, said that they the followers of the Shiah ideology still has their right as the Malaysian citizen as long as they did not a commit crime.
In the report published by an online news portal, Mujahid agreed that Islam is the official religion with member of Sunnah Wan Jamaah being the main channel, but at the same time he also points out that the same constitution also talks about freedom of religion.
Mujahid was quoted saying that all the people in the country has the right to choose the religion which they believe is right.
“In this context, I cannot violate the clause of religion freedom under the federal constitution,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid, who is the former Home Minister, also condemned the government’s move to ink a memorandum of understanding via the Malaysian Institute of Translation and Books with a country that practices the ideology.
“This will open a wide space for the books from the countries, which practice the ideology to be translated into our national language.
“We oppose it strongly. Only books which has no contents of such ideology should be allowed from the countries which practice the ideology. When I was in the Home Ministry, I banned many books with such contents,” he said.
Ahmad Zahid also urged all muftis, Islamic preachers and Islamic non-governmental organisations to join hands with Umno to oppose any move that allow such ideology from being spread.
