Politicised & mosques

12 May 10 : 8.00AM

By Shanon Shah
shanonshah@thenutgraph.com

ZaidPARTI Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)'s Datuk Zaid Ibrahim is under attack yet again, this time for characterising the Selangor sultan's "decree" for mosques not to be politicised as a "personal opinion".
It all started when Selangor executive councillor in charge of religious affairs Datuk Dr Hasan Ali delivered a pro-Pakatan Rakyat sermon at a mosque during the April 2010 Hulu Selangor by-election. Hasan is also the Selangor PAS chief.
It was in response to this that the sultan ordered for mosques not to be used for political activities.
Sultan of Selangor (Wiki commons) PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan Menteri Besar Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat joined in the fray, saying it was not wrong to use mosques for political campaigning. Nik Aziz was soundly attacked by Umno leaders and the Umno-controlled media.
It was then that Zaid posted his comments about the sultan's decree being a "personal opinion". The PKR political bureau chief was promptly accused of disrespecting the monarchy, and had a police report lodged against him.
Few, however, are questioning the separate assumptions behind this spat on whether mosques can be politicised:
Is it true that mosques have never been politicised in the first place, according to the teachings and traditions of Islam?
Is there a new and rising trend of mosques being politicised in Malaysia, in particular?
If mosques are indeed being politicised, is this good or bad?