KUALA LUMPUR – It is Islamophobia, says PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang of those who criticised last Friday’s Himpunan Pemuda Islam Terengganu (Himpit) rally-goers marching with weapon replicas and military costumes.
Hadi also claimed that the detractors gave the impression that Islam is a scary religion.
“What are they so afraid of Islam? It seems like Islamophobia with the various accusations and slander.
“They are afraid of Muslims carrying wooden swords but it is okay for the enemies of Islam to use destructive nuclear weapons,” he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian last night.
He added that it is unfortunate that there are those who are taken by the narrative of fear.
“Unfortunately there are people who are influenced to think that Islam is scary. The success of Islam is not with weapons, but justice, wisdom,” he said at a dinner event in Ampang last night.
This is not the first time that PAS defended the Himpit rally, with party deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man reported as saying that the matter should not be blown out of proportion and the party should not be depicted as militants.
Tuan Ibrahim drew parallels between the Himpit rally and Chinese opera, where performers sometimes also carry swords and spears.
The photos and videos of what appear to be PAS members marching on the streets armed with swords, shields, and body armour, as well as bows and arrows, have since made their rounds on social media.
Meanwhile, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said police have opened an investigation paper into the rally and that it is insensitive to organise such an event because we are living in a multiracial country.
The organiser should consider the consequences and also religious sentiments before holding the event, he added. – The Vibes, February 23, 2023
