‘Kafir Harbi’ in Malaysia: another path to polarization
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On 23 June 2016, the Mufti of Pahang shocked Malaysians by stating that it is a sin for Muslims to support the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which he labelled as Kafir Harbi (infidels against whom war can be waged). The statement received mixed reactions from the Muslims...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute
2017
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/54575/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/54575/1/ISEAS_Perspective_2017_4.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848784434243829760 |
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| author | Malik, Maszlee |
| author_facet | Malik, Maszlee |
| author_sort | Malik, Maszlee |
| building | IIUM Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On 23 June 2016, the Mufti of Pahang shocked Malaysians by stating that it is a sin for Muslims to support the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which he labelled as Kafir Harbi (infidels against whom war can be waged).
The statement received mixed reactions from the Muslims: some voiced their support while many opposed it. For non-Muslims, it became a source of fear, given recent threats announced by the Malaysian Islamic State (IS) based in Syria, and the first bombing incident by IS in Malaysia.
Following the overall rejection of the labeling by Muslim scholars and intellectuals who claimed that the label was invalid and unsuitable under contemporary circumstances, the Prime Minister’s Office soon announced that no Malaysians should be placed under the Kafir Harbi category.
There is in Malaysia an unfortunate practice of using the term Kafir Harbi for political reasons, and for demonising certain opposition political parties and certain non-Muslim groups. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T16:37:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | iium-54575 |
| institution | International Islamic University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T16:37:11Z |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publisher | ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | iium-545752017-03-16T10:09:55Z http://irep.iium.edu.my/54575/ ‘Kafir Harbi’ in Malaysia: another path to polarization Malik, Maszlee BP Islam. Bahaism. Theosophy, etc BP1 Islam BP171 Relation of Islam to other religions BP173.6 Islam and the state JF Political institutions (General) JQ Political institutions Asia EXECUTIVE SUMMARY On 23 June 2016, the Mufti of Pahang shocked Malaysians by stating that it is a sin for Muslims to support the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which he labelled as Kafir Harbi (infidels against whom war can be waged). The statement received mixed reactions from the Muslims: some voiced their support while many opposed it. For non-Muslims, it became a source of fear, given recent threats announced by the Malaysian Islamic State (IS) based in Syria, and the first bombing incident by IS in Malaysia. Following the overall rejection of the labeling by Muslim scholars and intellectuals who claimed that the label was invalid and unsuitable under contemporary circumstances, the Prime Minister’s Office soon announced that no Malaysians should be placed under the Kafir Harbi category. There is in Malaysia an unfortunate practice of using the term Kafir Harbi for political reasons, and for demonising certain opposition political parties and certain non-Muslim groups. ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute 2017-01-12 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://irep.iium.edu.my/54575/1/ISEAS_Perspective_2017_4.pdf Malik, Maszlee (2017) ‘Kafir Harbi’ in Malaysia: another path to polarization. ISEAS Perspective, 2017 (4). pp. 1-8. E-ISSN 2335-6677 https://www.iseas.edu.sg/images/pdf/ISEAS_Perspective_2017_4.pdf |
| spellingShingle | BP Islam. Bahaism. Theosophy, etc BP1 Islam BP171 Relation of Islam to other religions BP173.6 Islam and the state JF Political institutions (General) JQ Political institutions Asia Malik, Maszlee ‘Kafir Harbi’ in Malaysia: another path to polarization |
| title | ‘Kafir Harbi’ in Malaysia: another path to polarization |
| title_full | ‘Kafir Harbi’ in Malaysia: another path to polarization |
| title_fullStr | ‘Kafir Harbi’ in Malaysia: another path to polarization |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘Kafir Harbi’ in Malaysia: another path to polarization |
| title_short | ‘Kafir Harbi’ in Malaysia: another path to polarization |
| title_sort | ‘kafir harbi’ in malaysia: another path to polarization |
| topic | BP Islam. Bahaism. Theosophy, etc BP1 Islam BP171 Relation of Islam to other religions BP173.6 Islam and the state JF Political institutions (General) JQ Political institutions Asia |
| url | http://irep.iium.edu.my/54575/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/54575/ http://irep.iium.edu.my/54575/1/ISEAS_Perspective_2017_4.pdf |