Abdul Rahman: I do not condone killing

PETALING JAYA: Pahang mufti Datuk Seri Dr Abdul Rahman Osman says he has never condoned any killing of those he labelled as kafir harbi.

He said the term did not bring any literal context and the remark could even be subjected to Muslims, if they went against Islamic principles.

“As Muslims, we have the responsibility to declare jihad against kafir harbi. But in this context, jihad does not necessarily mean picking up weapons and going to war.

“In this case, jihad means we just declare war against their ideology through debate and argument,” he told The Star yesterday.

Dr Abdul Rahman said it was “absurd” to wage war against non-Muslims in a multi-cultural country like Malaysia.

“I have friends who are Chinese and Indians. Why would I want to trigger chaos?” he said.

Sounding unperturbed, Dr Abdul Rahman said it was their right to lodge police reports against him.

“They have the right to do that. But I never intended to call on the Muslims to slay the non-Muslims as I was just making a general statement,” he explained.

He said non-Muslims should not be concerned over the proposed amendments meant to strengthen the Syariah courts as they were only meant for Muslims.

“This does not concern them and it is better for them not to interfere in our religious affairs,” he said.

Asked whether his remarks could lead to attacks, specifically by the Islamic State (IS), Abdul Rahman said this was too “far-fetched”.

“There’s a vast difference from what I said and what IS champions. They want to set up an Islamic State and they even kill other Muslims in the process.

“What I want is just jihad against this ideology and it is for the better,” he said.

Bernama has quoted Abdul Rahman as saying that he would not retract or apologise for the remarks labelling the DAP as kafir harbi.