By Mahadhir bin Monihuldin
GOMBAK, 5Â March 2015: œI am an apostate of Islam, someone said to you. Now, how should you react to that? This was the central question to the œMurtad: Lets Love Them forum organised by the Islamic Revealed Knowledge Students Society (IRKSS) on Thursday.
The event held at the Moot Court in the Ahmad Ibrahim Kulliyyah of Laws (AIKOL) was graced by panellists Abu Shariz Badr Bin Sarajun Hoda, a trained preacher of Majlis Agama Islam Selangor (MAIS), Jabatan Agama Wilayah Persekutuan (JAWI), and Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM); the renowned Muslim scholar Dr Zakir Naik; his panellist counterpart Mr. Rehan Ahmad who specialises in dealing with Murtad under MAIS; along with the president of Skuad Mubaligh Malaysia (SMM), Mr. Muhammad Zamri Vinoth Bin Kalimuthu acting as the moderator of the forum.
œMany Muslims assume that apostates should immediately be punished by death, but we must refer to the actions of Prophet Muhammad and its been documented that he had left many innocent Murtad free and unpunished said Mr. Shariz when asked about the appropriate way of dealing with apostates.
As the forum went on, Mr. Shariz emphatically stated that one of the main reasons why people leave Islam is from their observation of the appalling examples set by certain Muslims who are ignorant towards the teachings of the religion.
œIve been blessed with the beautiful gift of Islam from Allah S.W.T that I treasure very much and I feel its my duty as a human being to share this gift with the Murtads and non-Muslims alike, Mr. Shariz said as he expressed his care and concern for apostates and non-Muslims.
On the other hand, Mr. Rehan Ahmad who had many years of experiences dealing with Murtads pointed out that œin most cases of apostasy it is not about the individuals rejection to the doctrines of Islam but rather, it involved personal problems that hinge on them from continuing their faith.
To add on that, Mr. Rehan also said that majority of the Murtads in Malaysia are people who had only recently joined Islam and are not yet well adapted to the faith, leaving them exposed to the idea of abandoning the religion.
The chief organiser of œMurtad: Lets Love Them, Nadhirah binti Kamaruddzaman, shared her aspirations for the event.
œOn behalf of all members in IRKSS, I truly hope that this forum would be able to provide rational answers to the questions people raised concerning Islam and allow us Muslims to connect with the Murtads on a deeper level, Nadhirah said.***
