COMMENT | It is quite sad to know that the mufti of Perlis, Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, known for his progressive views on Islam, has stooped so low as to seemingly undermine Hinduism by characterising it as a religion that ‘worships’ cows, imposes Sati requirements on women to jump into the funeral pyre of their husbands and maintains its nefarious caste system.

I am not sure who ‘educated’ him on Hinduism, but there are some indications that he could have gathered all the negatives about the religion from his ‘Mahaguru’ Zakir Naik, the controversial Mumbai preacher known for his extreme negative views on faiths other than Islam.

This preacher, a permanent resident in Malaysia, is wanted by the government of India for allegedly being involved in terrorist activities and for money-laundering. Apparently, India has sought the help of Interpol for his extradition from Malaysia.

Contrary to the views of Mohd Asri or Zaik Naik, engaging in a mindless attack on Hinduism is not going to do any good for Islam or for that matter Hinduism.

Little does Mohd Asri know that Hindus do not worship cows although they are considered animals that need respect and care. The practice of Sati might have existed in certain parts of India many, many years ago, but to say that the practice of Sati, the burning of widows on the funeral pyre of their husbands, still exists is stretching his wild imagination to the extreme.

Caste exists amongst Hindus in India, but then the government of India many years ago has outlawed it. Caste practices amongst Hindus are basically non-existent in Malaysia.

Mohd Asri, as religious scholar of Islam, should know something about religions other than Islam. The famous Iranian Muslim scholar Ali Shariati once remarked that to be a true Muslim scholar, there is need for a comparative religious knowledge. Sad to say, Mohd Asri has basically engaged in ‘essentialism’ by reducing Hinduism to a few non-essentials.

While Hindus and Muslims should take to task extremist and incorrect views, they should not be too agitated about their uneducated remarks. The very fact that Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world and had withstood foreign invasions, colonialism, conversion and myriad other challenges, speaks well of the survival of the religions against odds.

In India, despite years of Mughal invasion and conversions of Hindus to Islam, more than 80 percent of the population are Hindus. However, the Hindu population has tremendously declined in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. The second largest Muslim population in the world is still in India. This tells much about the tolerance and understanding of Hindus towards Muslims.

It will be a pipe dream for Zakir Naik or his followers or others to think that they can undermine Hinduism by engaging in hate-mongering. Hinduism will remain strong and vibrant among its followers.

What was written in the form of a poem on the Facebook of Mohd Asri is not something acceptable. The police will have to act to ensure such acts don’t get away without any punishment. The question is whether the police will act appropriately, setting aside their political priorities.

P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the state assemblyperson for Perai.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.