Mixing Islam and politics is bad for both, Tuan Ibrahim
Academic Ahmed T Kuru, who is also the director of Center for Islamic and Arabic Studies in San Diego University, said that exploitation of faith for political reasons is not right for any faith and it is also detrimental for a country’s well being in the long run.
Specifically, Kuru who authored “Islam, Authoritarianism and Underdevelopment: A Global and Historical Comparison” pointed out that Islamic parties use this method in countries where voters give credit to religious discourses.
This is bad for Islam as the public would view Islam as a political instrument.
“As a result, people, especially the young, become sarcastic about religion and prefer to avoid religious practices,” he said, FMT reported.
He added that politicisation of Islam also contradicted the concept of sincerity since the concept of “munafiqun” or hypocrisy is mixture of religion and politics.
Kuru said the above in response to Pas deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s claim that a victory for Islam in elections could absolve “past and future sins.”
The Pas man said that a new government would correct vices of previous governments. The article was published in Pas’ official mouthpiece, Harakah Daily before it was removed.
Kuru also said mixing religion and politics is also bad for politics because it would allow unqualified politicians to become religious demagogues once they gain power.
“They may also label their opponents as ‘anti-Islam,’ similar to Israeli politicians who label their critics as ‘antisemitic’.”
He added that this problem is not exclusively faced by Muslim majority nations.
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