Muhammad Rashidi claimed that Muslims need to defend Islamic institutions from being destroyed by liberal groups. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 17 ― Liberal Muslims are trying to get rid of Islamic institutions in Malaysia by magnifying problematic cases involving the bodies, a lecturer said today in a forum against liberalism and the so-called Illuminati here.

Speaking at the newly-launched Putrajaya Islamic Complex here, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin’s Muhammad Rashidi Wahab said among the characteristics of liberal Muslims is rejecting and toppling Islamic institutions.

“Among the main focus of liberals is to eliminate religious institutions, including Jakim and other Islamic religious institutions in other states,” he said, using the acronym for federal body Malaysian Islamic Development Department.

“We know that religious institutions know about this but they need to take a more drastic and systematic action because we are facing with liberal groups, not illiterate people; liberal groups are highly intelligent, have high education, doctorates, Tan Sri and Datuk Seri.”

The lecturer claimed that Muslims need to defend Islamic institutions from being destroyed by liberal groups that have targeted the bodies by painting them as problematic.

“The liberalism way [of criticising] is not to improve but to bring down, unlike us who also have our dissatisfaction towards religious institutions but we criticise for the improvement of religious institutions,” he said.

He also highlighted a news report carried by now-defunct portal The Malaysian Insider, where former deputy prime minister Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman’s eldest son Tawfik Ismail urged in late 2015 for Jakim to be abolished.

“If Jakim and other Islamic institutions are abolished, what will happen to Malaysia?” he asked.

“Now we are being disturbed even when we have religious institutions that safeguard Islam ― Jakim, religious councils and departments, fatwa council and others. Imagine if there is no Islamic institution?”

The forum today titled “Liberalism: Agenda of the Illuminati” was organised by Muslim group Muafakat, with support from Jakim and the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council.

Earlier in the forum, Muafakat president Ismail Mina Ahmad had accused the Illuminati of being linked to Zionism. According to him, the spread of liberalism is part of a “Grand Design” by Zionists to allegedly destroy Islam.

The Illuminati is a conspiracy theory where secret group of masterminds allegedly control world affairs and try to establish a New World Order, although there is no evidence suggesting such a group exists.

Liberalism encompasses a wide array of ideas, but its supporters usually push for civil rights, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, free trade, private property, and free and fair elections.

Jakim regularly demonises liberalism in its Friday sermons, while deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki also said in November 2015 that the RM724.6 million set aside for Jakim last year was not sufficient to combat “extremist” ideologies, which had included liberalism.