KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — Ex-Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin believes there is an attempt by certain quarters to "destroy" his reputation.
The recent allegation made by a known conservative Islamic scholar with the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) that Asri forged his syariah qualification was, for Asri, proof to back his belief in a conspiracy.
Zamihan Mat Zain Al-Ghari, in an interview published in Utusan Malaysia, said the former Perlis mufti had no syariah qualification, that he had only studied syariah as a minor course when he was studying abroad.
The Jakim official's accusation is serious as it suggests that Asri was never qualified to become a mufti which means that all his views as the second highest authority on Islamic matters in the state were questionable.
"There is definitely a conspiracy here. I don't know who is behind this but there is definitely a conspiracy to discredit me," Asri told The Malaysian Insider yesterday.
"I am perplexed by this allegation as it is coming from someone in the religious department, someone who is supposed to have a high moral authority," he added.
Asri had just finished giving a press conference in Penang where he showed documented proof of his syariah qualification when The Malaysian Insider called.
Prior to that, Asri had just given a lecture themed "Wave of deceit", a likely reference to the series of events surrounding his arrest.
Asri's rise to prominence had caused uneasiness among the conservatives which make up the country's religious elite.
It is no secret that many of them find Asri's progressive Islamic views — including calls to break the hegemony of the conservatives on Islamic matters — a threat to their authority.
Asri has repeatedly insinuated that his arrest on Sunday night by the police and Jais, the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department, was a result of this ongoing war between them.
"Why arrest me with such force? I am the former Perlis mufti. The way they arrested me was as if I was a terrorist," said Asri, again suggesting that the heavy-handed manner of his arrest was proof of conspiracy claims.
Jais claimed Asri's arrest was simply because he had been giving lectures in the state without authorisation, a requisite for any scholar to give sermons but the former Perlis mufti felt otherwise.
"I call for the abolition of this authorisation system. It puts too much power in the hands of certain quarters," blasted Asri.
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