Mosque attendee harassed... for wearing the yellow t-shirt

Harakahdaily    KUALA LUMPUR, Jun 27: PAS has hit out at a committee member of the Bandaraya Mosque in Likas, Sabah for trying to remove a man from the mosque because he was wearing the Bersih t-shirt. Reporting the incident in its blog, the Sepangar PAS Youth wing here expressed regret over the action by the person (see pics) who also resorted to physically pushing the youth to force him out of the mosque and uttered some rude remarks. The incident, which happened after the Maghrib prayer, caught the attention of several other members of the mosque's congregation, who intervened and told off the officer for his rude gestures against the youth, a frequent visitor to the mosque. One of them said the committee member had undermined the reputation of the mosque, which is also a tourist attraction. Sepanggar PAS Youth also called on Sabahans to wear the Bersih t-shirt on July 9 to express their support.

Siasat dulu kesahihan berita, mufti senada

Jimadie Shah Othman

Mac 31, 111:38pm

Dalam menghadapi keadaan politik yang mengeksploitasi isu peribadi, seperti isu video seks yang dikaitkan dengan Datuk Seri AnwarIbrahim, umat Islam dinasihatkan menyiasat dahulu kesahihan dakwaan itu.

Perkara itu disepakati beberapa mufti negara ini, termasuklah Dr Juanda Jaya (Perlis), Datuk Tamyes Abd Wahid (Selangor) dan Datuk Mohammad Shukri Mohammad (Kelantan).

Menurut Dr Juanda, Allah berfirman dalam surah al-Hujurat, apabila datang berita daripada orang fasik, perkara itu hendaklah diselidiki terlebih dahulu.

"Dan kalau tidak cukup empat orang saksi, sepatutnya penuduh dikenakan hukuman Qazaf. Hukum orang fasik ini, dia tak layak lagi jadi saksi untuk sebarang kes kerana sudah hilang kredibeliti."

Ketika dihubungi Malaysiakini hari ini, Dr Juanda (kanan) berpendapat isu melibatkan keaiban peribadi tidak boleh dijadikan modalpolitik, apatah lagi jika perkara berkaitan seks yang amat memalukan.

"(Kalau betul pun), kita tak tahu, mungkin dia sudah bertaubat. Kenapa perlu dedahkan perkara itu? Siapa tak ada aib di masa lalu?" soal Dr Juanda lagi.

Katanya, rakaman video sahaja tidak mencukupi jika tidak disokong oleh empat saksi yang adil kerana kesalahan zina amat berat dan hukuman yang dijatuhkan hendaklah bebas daripada sebarang prasangka.

"Kalau ada (hanya) tiga orang saksi yang melihat perkara itu, lebih elok mereka tutup mulut sahaja daripada mendedahkannya. Kesan tindakan itu melibatkan banyak pihak, termasuk anggota keluarga yang terlibat," katanya.

'Jangan terpalit, terikut-ikut'
Semalam, ulama terkenal Prof Madya Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin berkata, para mufti wajar menyatakan pendirian berhubung isu “politik selak kain” susulan tayangan video kontroversi minggu lalu.

Sementara itu, Tamyes (kiri) pula menyifatkan apa yang berlaku sekarang ini berjalan secara tidak betul.

"Untuk menuduh, mestilah mendatangkan bukti, iaitu empat saksi untuk mensabitkan kesalahan. Jika tidak, pihak itu boleh dikenakan hukum Qazaf. 

"Hukum ini tidak pernah berubah dari dulu sampai sekarang. Kepada yang dituduh, boleh bersumpah untuk menafikan apa yang dituduh. Tetapi sekarang, yang menuduh bersumpah, yang dituduh diminta mencari bukti. Ini terbalik dan tidak betul," katanya.

Tamyes juga menasihatkan orang awam yang tidak tahu menahu tidak masuk campur, walaupun sekadar bersembang-sembang mengenaninya di kedai kopi.

"Biarlah diselesaikan oleh pihak yang berkenaan. Janganlah terpalit sama, terikut-ikut buat tuduhan," katanya lagi.

Beliau bagaimanapun enggan mengulas berhubung gejala "politik selak kain" yang dibangkitkan Dr Mohd Asri sebelum ini.

"Bagaimanapun, saya minta kembalilah ke jalan Allah. Sekiranya tidak ada asas sesuatu tuduhan itu, eloklah kita sorot kembali (kesasihan dakwaan itu)," katanya.

Kod etika dalam Islam
Sementara itu, Mufti Kelantan Datuk Mohammad Shukri Mohammad pula berkata, Islam menetapkan kod etika untuk pelbagai pihak, sama ada ada penuduh atau orang awam dalam menghadapi isu pendedahan aib orang.

Katanya, pendedahan perkara buruk melibatkan orang lain boleh dibuat bagi tujuan pengadilan dan penghakiman sahaja dan tidak boleh didedahkan secara terbuka.

"Kalau dengan niat hendak aibkan orang memang dilarang. Kalau dengan tujuan mencari kebenaran atau mendapat pengadilan yang adil, perlulah dedahkan. 

"Tetapi cara mendedahkannya biasanya dedah pada qadi, hakim atau mufti, tidak kepada orang awam," katanya kepada Malaysiakini.

Bagi orang awam pula, Mohammad Shukri sependapat dengan Dr Juanda bahawa sesuatu berita yang disampaikan mestilah diselidik dahulu dan tidak terus menerimanya bulat-bulat.

"Jabatan mufti sepatunya jadi sumber rujukan. kalau pihak berkenaan rujuk dulu, barangkali ada cara lebih sopan untuk nyatakan kebenaran dan mendapatkan pengadilan. 

"Sebabnya menonton video lucah, undang-undang negara pun tak boleh," katanya.

mkini

Islamic gold dinar gains ground in Malaysia: official

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4, 2010 (AFP) – Malaysians are embracing gold dinars which were introduced last month by the northern state of Kelantan to promote usage of Islamic currency as an alternative to paper money, an official said Saturday.
The gold coins and silver dirhams were introduced in early August by the Islamic opposition party PAS which rules Kelantan state to coincide with the start of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Umar Ibrahim Vadillo, chief executive officer with Kelantan Golden Trade, said the first batch of gold and silver coins worth two million ringgit (625,000 dollars) had been sold out in less than a month.
"There is enormous response in Malaysia. Their reaction is unbelievable," he told reporters.
"In Kelantan, businesses including garage owners and taxi drivers are using the gold and silver coins."
Civil servants in Kelantan are paid up to 25 percent of their salary in dinars and dirhams if they wish.
Umar said three more Malaysian states controlled by the opposition -- Selangor, Kedah and Penang -- had indicated interest in minting similar coins.
"By the end of the year, we anticipate sales of the dinars and dirhams to hit 60 to 70 million ringgit," he said.
According to Islamic law, the dinar coin is 4.25 grams of gold, while the dirham is 3.0 grams of pure silver.
A gold coin is equivalent to about 582 ringgit (183 dollars) while the silver coin is worth around 13 ringgit but their values fluctuate according to market prices.
The coins were intended to be used as an alternative to the Malaysian ringgit and sen but are not legal tender.
"Of course it is not legal tender," Umar said. "The gold dinar is a commodity. The use of it is on a voluntary basis."
"The government of Kelantan has not received any petition from the government of Malaysia (against the usage)."
"The people in Kelantan have spoken loud and clear that they like the gold and silver coins," Umar said.
Former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, whose administration promoted a moderate form of Islam that emphasised economic and scientific development, shot down the proposal to use the traditional Islamic currencies.
But his predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, was an advocate of the dinar system and urged Muslim countries to use it as a trade instrument.
http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100904/tap-malaysia-politics-islam-currency-0193655.html

Vatican: stoning in Iran adultery case 'brutal'

By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer Frances D'emilio, Associated Press Writer – Sun Sep 5, 1:04 pm ET

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican raised the possibility Sunday of using behind-the-scenes diplomacy to try to save the life of an Iranian widow sentenced to be stoned for adultery.
In its first public statement on the case, which has attracted worldwide attention, the Vatican decried stoning as a particularly brutal form of capital punishment.
Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the Catholic church opposes the death penalty in general.
It is unclear what chances any Vatican bid would have to persuade the Muslim nation to spare the woman's life. Brazil, which has friendly relations with Iran, was rebuffed when it offered her asylum.
Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani was convicted in 2006 of adultery. In July, Iranian authorities said they would not carry out the stoning sentence for the time being, but the mother of two could still face execution by hanging for adultery and other offenses.
Her son, Sajad, told the Italian news agency Adnkronos that he was appealing to Pope Benedict XVI and to Italy to work to stop the execution.
Lombardi told The Associated Press that no formal appeal had reached the Vatican. But he hinted that Vatican diplomacy might be employed to try to save Ashtiani.
Lombardi said in a statement that the Holy See "is following the case with attention and interest."
"When the Holy See is asked, in an appropriate way, to intervene in humanitarian issues with the authorities of other countries, as it has happened many times in the past, it does so not in a public way, but through its own diplomatic channels," Lombardi said in the statement.
In one of the late Pope John Paul II's encyclicals in 1995, the pontiff laid out the Catholic Church's stance against capital punishment.
John Paul went to bat in several high-profile cases of death-row inmates in the United States. One of the first was the case of Paula Cooper, who was convicted of murdering her elderly Bible teacher when she was 15 but spared the electric chair by Indiana in 1989.
But that same year, a papal appeal for clemency to Cuba to spare a war hero and three other Cuban officers convicted of drug trafficking from the firing squad went unheeded.
Meanwhile, Italy's foreign minister, Franco Frattini, told the ANSA news agency that while Italy respects Iranian sovereignty and isn't in any way interfering, "a gesture of clemency from Iran is the only thing that can save her."
Italy has strong economic ties, primarily energy interests, in Iran.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100905/ap_on_re_eu/eu_vatican_iran_stoning

More Americans say Obama is Muslim

WASHINGTON (AFP) - – Roughly one in five Americans wrongly says President Barack Obama is a Muslim, according to two new US opinion polls out Thursday amid a furor over a planned mosque near New York's "Ground Zero."
And about 30 percent of Americans say followers of Islam should be barred from running for president or serving on the US Supreme Court, according to one of the surveys, published in Time magazine and available on Time.com.
The Time poll found 24 percent of respondents said Obama -- a Christian church-goer who has repeatedly spoken out about his faith -- is a Muslim, while 18 percent said the same in a study from the non-partisan Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
The White House responded by underlining that Obama "is a committed Christian" and that his "faith is a part of who he is, but not a part of what the public or the media is focused on everyday."
Deputy communications director Jen Psaki said in a statement that Obama relied on his faith in dealing with challenges like the sour US economy and the Iraq war "but he doesnt wear it on his sleeve."
The polls amounted to another headache for Obama and his Democratic allies, who worry they face a rout in November elections to decide control of the US Congress and key governorships because of the sour economy.
Pew took its poll before Obama waded last week into a bitter dispute over plans for a mosque and community center roughly two blocks from the New York site of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Time conducted its survey afterwards.
Obama on Friday affirmed the right to build on religious freedom grounds, and on Saturday clarified that he was not taking a stand on the "wisdom" of doing so.
Republicans, including some possible 2012 White House hopefuls, have vowed to make Obama's support for the right to build the project, which is broadly opposed by a majority of the US public, an issue in the upcoming elections.
Pew noted the overall number of those saying Obama is a Muslim had spiked from 11 percent in March 2009 but that the view "is more widespread among his political opponents than among his backers."
Still, "even among many of his supporters and allies, less than half now say Obama is a Christian. Among Democrats, for instance, 46 percent say Obama is a Christian, down from 55 percent in March 2009," said Pew.
Just 34 percent of Pew's respondents overall correctly identified him as a Christian, down from 48 percent from March 2009, and 43 percent said they did not know his religion, up from 34 percent.
Time found 47 percent of its sample labeled Obama a Christian, while 24 percent said they did not know his religion.
Pew's assessment had an error margin of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, while it was roughly three percentage points for the Time study, which found sizeable hostility to Islam nine years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks by Osama bin Laden's extremist Al-Qaeda Islamist network.
Forty-six percent said Islam was more likely than other religions to encourage violence against non-believers, against 39 percent who said "about the same" and six percent who said it was less likely to do so, said Time.
And 32 percent said Muslims should be barred from running for US president, while 28 percent said they should be prohibited from serving on the US Supreme Court, and 25 percent said most US Muslims do not believe in US values.
Asked about the controversial mosque project in New York, 23 percent said it would serve as a symbol of religious tolerance, 44 percent said it would be "an insult" to the victims of 9-11 and 27 percent said it would be both.
Overall, just 26 percent supported the project, while 61 percent said it should not be built, according to Time.
The poll also found 34 percent of respondents would oppose the construction two blocks from their home of a Muslim community center and place of worship for major religions in the United States.
But 24 percent said they would oppose such a project by Mormons; 18 percent would oppose one for Jews; and 14 percent would oppose one for Catholics.
A senior White House aide, requesting anonymity, noted that 60 percent of those who said the president was a Muslim learned it from the media and charged that his "faith is often maligned and distorted by critics."
http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/afp/20100820/tts-us-politics-religion-obama-islam-972e412.html

Kelantan akan perkenal produk pelancongan agama

2010/06/22

KOTA BHARU: Kelantan akan perkenalkan pelancongan agama, satu produk pelancongan yang berasaskan ilmu keagamaan melalui sistem tradisional pengajian Islam atau lebih dikenali sebagai "pengajian pondok".

Cadangan bagi Kelantan mempunyai produk pelancongan baru sebagai daya penarik kepada industri itu di negeri berkenaan dibuat oleh Menteri Besar, Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kerajaan Tempatan, Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan berkata, berikutan cadangan itu, pihaknya telah mencari tapak yang sesuai untuk tujuan itu.
Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Kerajaan Tempatan, Pelancongan dan Kebudayaan Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan berkata, berikutan cadangan itu, pihaknya telah mencari tapak yang sesuai untuk tujuan itu.

"Kami bersetuju untuk membina sebuah apartment di Kandis, Bachok. Projek pelancongan agama itu akan dimajukan oleh Perbadanan Kemajuan Iktisad Negeri Kelantan (PKINK)," katanya pada persidangan Dewan Undangan Negeri di sini hari ini.

Beliau berkata demikian bagi menjawab soalan Muhamad Mustafa (PAS-Demit) mengenai langkah kerajaan dalam menjadikan negeri itu sebagai warisan ilmiah.

Takiyuddin berkata, melalui pelancongan agama, pelancong sama ada dari dalam dan luar negara akan disediakan tempat penginapan bagi mengikuti kursus agama yang ditawarkan dalam pakej pelancongan itu.

"Pakej ilmu agama akan ditawarkan kepada pelancong yang berminat mungkin dua atau tiga hari dalam mengenali program ilmu agama di Kelantan," katanya.
Menjawab soalan Zulkifli Mamat (PAS-Pulai Chondong) mengenai warisan seni ukir kayu, Takiyuddin berkata kerajaan negeri telah mewartakan seni ukir kayu Kelantan sebagai warisan kebangsaan.

"Kita juga akan bawa seni warisan ukir kayu itu di peringkat antarabangsa," katanya. -