Liberalism, Islam can coexist, say Muslim groups

Conservative and liberal Muslim groups today agreed that liberalism could survive in harmony with Islam despite Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's constant reminder that it is a threat to the religion and its adherents in Malaysia. Speaking at a forum organised by think tank IDEAS today, Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president Abdullah Zaik Abd Rahman today said that as long as liberalism did not demand that Islam reform itself, then it should not be a problem. "Can faith and liberalism exist side by side? If we refer to Islam, liberalism can coexist if it is under the system of Islam," said Abdullah, a panellist in the discussion titled "Liberalism and faith: Do they go hand-in-hand?" "But if liberalism tries to reform Islam, maybe that cannot be accepted by Islam because this religion came down from Allah and cannot be added to or reformed by any party." His co-panellist, Datuk Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa, said liberalism was not against Islam, but was "the authoritarian face of religion". "The broad agreement with political liberalism is unmistakable: the state does not come down on one side or the other of metaphysical questions," said Farouk, who is the founder of the Islamic Renaissance Front. "We are facing the authoritarian face of religion who believe they have a right to dictate who are Muslims and not, what is the true face of Islam and what isn't. "That's why liberalism is important." He added that promoting liberalism would not mean influencing people to become agnostic or atheist, because the concept itself was irreligious. Political liberalism encompassed recognition, restraint, and the respect of individual freedom, he said. Abdullah said liberalism could only affect Muslims' faith if it required them to reject Allah. "In Islam, we believe that God created us, we believe in His laws and words. If we reject Allah's role, then that could touch on our belief and faith." Meanwhile, UIA lecturer Dr Maszlee Malik, who moderated the forum, said liberalism contributed important ideals to the Muslim community that had been lost in history: abolishing slavery, free market and representative democracy. "Muslims are indebted to liberalism. There is no excuse to say that liberalism is against Islamic values," said Maszlee. Co-panellist Dr Patricia Martinez, an executive committee member of the Christian Federation of Malaysia, reminded the audience that liberalism provided minority Muslim communities to continue practicing their religion. "Does liberalism and religion go hand in hand? Yes, because if we don't demonise liberalism, if we take Dr Farouk's definition of it, it provides the space for people to have freedom of religion. "For Muslims abroad, who are the minority, it gives them freedom to practise Islam," she said. Najib has often warned Muslim Malaysians against humanism, secularism and liberalism, saying that it would ruin the identity of Islam. Most recently, the prime minister cited the case of a Malaysian student convicted of possessing child pornography in the United Kingdom as an example of liberalism and its dangers. – September 19, 2015.