'I Want To Touch A Dog' Event Organiser Gets Overwhelming Support From Moderate Muslims
"He is being vilified by those who refuse to see the good in what he did and are instead inventing bad things which did not happen."
By Sadho Ram — 23 Oct 2014, 02:25 PM — Updated almost 10 years ago
Syed Azmi Alhabshi, the kindhearted Muslim who organised 19 October's I Want To Touch A Dog event for the eager Muslims to fight their fears of dogs, has become the target of online hatred, accusations of apostasy and vilification by fellow Muslims
Syed Azmi Alhabshi (in orange t-shirt) touches a dog for the first time at the 'I wanna touch
Image via themalaymailonline.com"The event on Sunday in Bandar Utama proved to be popular with about 1,000 people participating and learning compassion for dogs as well as Islam’s views on canines. But Syed Azmi came under fire from other Muslims who were furious over his audacity at holding the event."
themalaysianinsider.com
However, many Malays – clerics and ordinary citizens alike – took offence at photos of Muslims petting and holding the dogs and circulated his mobile number online, while on WhatsApp, messages claiming he is a Christian in disguise have spread like wildfire.
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Ustaz Mohd Kazim Elias, one of the several condemning the event, accused it of being a subtle attempt to introduce "liberal" and "pluralistic" ideas among Muslims. He even went ahead and said that it would give way to campaigns on touching and eating pigs.
Ustaz Mohd Kazim Elias, who condemned the ‘I want to touch a dog’ event, has seen his Facebook page filled with numerous hate messages for the organiser
Image via themalaysianinsider.comBut at last, author Anas Zubedy and social activist Marina Mahathir has come out in defence of Azmi, voicing their concern about how those who are accusing him are actually shaming Islam and are the antithesis of the teachings of the religion
Syed Azmi Alhabshi (right) organised a ‘touch a dog’ event on Sunday
Image via themalaysianinsider.comAnas, who knows Syed Azmi personally, implored Malaysian Muslims and clerics to stop attacking Azmi for organising the event, claiming that he had not contravened the religion
“I Want to Touch a Dog” organiser Syed Azmi Alhabshi is one of the better Muslims around and would be the first to volunteer to help the poor and needy, said unity advocate and author Anas Zubedy.
thestar.com.my"A lot of people are drawing conclusions. Maybe they are picking up from their own fears and confusion. But this guy (Syed Azmi) is not at fault. He helped us with the 'Say Something Nice' campaign. He would be the first to help the poor," Anas told The Star on Tuesday.
He said Syed Azmi had regularly organised his #tamakpahala project, where people can give away clothing, food and unused items to the poor for free. “I’m not trying to go against the religious authorities, but I hope they can see that Syed Azmi had good intentions."
thestar.com.my“It is hard-hearted to accuse him of wanting to challenge the clerics and insulting Islam,” said Anas, adding that people had also hurled hateful words against Syed Azmi instead of trying to understand where he was coming from.
However, the advocate for unity also defended the Islamic religious authorities and disagreed with the manner in which some people chose to hurl insults at the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) for its stand on the issue, The Star reported
“How we Muslims treat each other, especially how our opinion leaders handle disagreements with others, will play a bigger role in ensuring respect for Islam or otherwise,” he added.
thestar.com.myMeanwhile, Marina Mahathir said that she is "sad that a faith that should be associated with good values, is being hijacked by a few who are instead associating it with hate and violence"
Social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir says Islam is being hijacked by those spreading discord and violence when they turn an educational event into something evil
Image via themalaysianinsider.com"I am sad that a faith that should be associated with good values, such as education, kindness, compassion and beauty, is being hijacked by a few who are instead associating it with hate, lies and violence," she said. "He is being vilified by those who refuse to see the good in what he did and are instead inventing bad things which did not happen.”
themalaysianinsider.com
Sisters in Islam programme manager Suri Kempe, however, took a harsher stand on the matter, saying the threats to Azmi's life and circulating his mobile number on WhatsApp, bordered on criminal intimidation, The Malaysian Insider reported
She urged the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission to look into the abuses against Syed Azmi. "The kind of vitriolic and violent responses to this event by Muslims are abhorrent, shameful and antithetical to Islam," Suri told The Malaysian Insider. "It is ironic that such violent and abusive behaviour is done in the name of 'defending Islam'.
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"As Muslims, we need to ask ourselves why such violent exhortations are considered acceptable and yet an altruistic endeavour to illuminate the minds of Malaysians and dispel fear is condemned," said Suri.
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Suri said that the accusations hurled at Syed Azmi that he was allegedly a "kafir" not only prejudiced the maintenance of harmony and unity as enshrined in the law but also went against the Quranic injunction to avoid "takfir", or accusing someone of being kafir. "It is also ironic that Muslims don't see the circulation of unverified information about Syed Azmi as fitnah – that he is attempting to spread a new religion – especially when such accusations could lead to endangering his life," she added.
themalaysianinsider.com