ISLAM DISCOURAGES DEMONSTRATIONS AS WAY TO REPROACH LEADERS - SCHOLAR

KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- A university lecturer has advised Muslims
in the country to use the approach recommended by Islam to reproach leaders
instead of holding street demonstrations.

Dr Fadlan Mohd Othman, a lecturer with the Department of Al-Quran and
Al-Sunnah Studies, Faculty of Islamic Studies of University Kebangsaan Malaysia
(UKM), said street demonstrations would only cause disunity among the people.

He said Muslims should heed the advise of Prophet Muhammad in using the
proper channel to rebuke leaders.

"Do it in private to avoid embarrassing the leaders. This is very much
emphasised in Islam," he said over Bernama TV's "Hello Malaysia" programme.

Dr Fadlan criticised the attitude of pro-opposition 'ulama' (scholars) for
using a 'dalil' (evidence) inappropriately to sanction the illegal street
demonstration scheduled for July 9 in Kuala Lumpur.

A researcher at the Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Ustaz Idris Sulaiman, who was a
panellist on the show, also urged Muslims to observe Islamic principles in
expressing their views to leaders.

He said the guideline outlined in Islam included a suggestion by Prophet
Muhammad for Muslims to reproach leaders through sincere advice.

"If these requirements are followed, then the action can be deemed as
advice. If not, then it will only disgrace the person we want to advise.

"Should there be disagreements or misunderstandings, we must solve the
problems by referring to the Al-Quran and Sunnah instead of holding
demonstrations," he said.

Idris said demonstrations were not encouraged in Islam, and added that there
was no valid 'dalil' that allowed such an activity.
-- BERNAMA