Ustaz with 3,000 reports lodged against him says remarks ‘misconstrued’

KUALA LUMPUR – A Muslim preacher who courted controversy after a clip of him spewing allegedly hate-fuelled remarks against other religions said his comments have been misconstrued.

Syakir Nasoha today posted a 22-minute YouTube video explaining the matter, after 3,000 police reports were lodged against him by civil society groups and members of the public.

He said the one-minute clip was recorded during a sermon at a mosque in Sg Petani in 2017.

The sermon was meant only for Muslims, he said, adding that he never intended to have it recorded or shared with others.

“The ceramah was more than an hour long, and the video that surfaced recently only showed excerpts of my entire sermon.

“It was shot by Ar-Rahman TV and heavily edited. The excerpts may have created a misunderstanding.”

He said, however, that he does not blame the video editor.

Syakir said he is not racist, citing his use of services provided by non-Muslims.

“In my other videos, I mention calling Chinese-Buddhist contractors to help with renovations at my house and to fix my air conditioners.”

He said he also has Indian friends of the Hindu faith.

He said it is his right as a Muslim to believe in the teachings of his religion, and to go against the hadith, or the words of Prophet Muhammad, would cause him to be a “kafir”, or non-believer. 

An understanding of Islamic teachings cannot be achieved only through one video, but requires years of learning, he said.

He ended the YouTube video with an expression of hope for Malaysians of all religious and cultural backgrounds to continue living together harmoniously.

Last week, a TikTok video of Syakir saying “at the end of time, disciples of non-Muslim religions will be scrambling together to kill Muslims in the world” made the rounds on social media, including the WhatsApp messaging platform.

He also alleged that Buddhists and Hindus are behind the killings of Muslims in Thailand and India.

“If Malay Muslims are racists, would we allow them (non-Muslims) to stay in our homeland? This is the land of the Malays. But there is no problem, we allow them to be here.

“However, it seems like they have become big-headed,” he said in the clip sighted by The Vibes.

Checks by The Vibes found that the clip was taken from a video titled Ustaz Syakir Nasoha – Nak Syurga Tapi Takut Nak Berjuang posted by Ar-Rahman TV on March 16. – The Vibes, October 5, 2021