Selangor PAS: Trio who questioned fatwa on SIS do not speak for party

Selangor PAS has clarified that the actions of three PAS members of Parliament (MP), who questioned the state Fatwa Committee's decision on liberalism and pluralism, is not their stand.

"I would like to reiterate that the actions of three MPs who questioned the Selangor Fatwa Committee's decision regarding liberalism and pluralism is not our stand," said state PAS commissioner Iskandar Abdul Samad in a statement Friday.

"Reports claiming that the three MPs are part of the Selangor PAS leadership, one of whom supposedly a deputy commissioner, are untrue. PAS regrets the unprofessional actions of the media concerned," he added.

Iskandar said questioning the Fatwa Committee's decision openly was not right as it would open up other fatwa (edicts) to dispute.

"Such a situation will confuse Muslims. They did not discuss their actions with Selangor PAS even though we have meetings with elected representatives every Wednesday," he said.

He said that elected representatives should not act independently as they competed in general elections on the party ticket.

He added that their actions would be reported to the PAS Central Committee for further action.
On Thursday, three MPs, namely Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa (Parit Buntar), Hanipa Maidin (Sepang) and Khalid Samad (Shah Alam), questioned whether the Committee had provided any recourse for groups that allegedly practised pluralism and liberalism to state their stand, before ruling they had violated Islamic teachings.

They said any edict passed by the Committee could be used to ban any particular organisation and any should be issued only after adequate discussion and scrutiny.

On Oct 31, Sisters in Islam had filed for a judicial review on a gazetted fatwa in Selangor declaring that the Muslim women's rights group subscribed to liberalism and religious pluralism principles, and had thus deviated from Islam.